The Selfish Man

The selfish man walked down the dusty road, oblivious to anyone but himself.  He didn’t see the old lady on the porch who was struggling to hang her wash. He didn’t see the child with the bloodied knee peddling his tricycle across the lawn.  He missed the pregnant lady walking her dog on the other side of the street. Birds chirped unbeknownst to him.  His mind was on himself.  No one else need to try to enter.

The selfish man lived a selfish life.  His only interest in the World was how the World affected him.  His curiosity was as stunted as the lungs of a baby of a chain smoker.  If it didn’t affect him, it didn’t exist.

The selfish man watched the destruction across the Globe on his television. He switched the channel to Jersey Shore.  The selfish man ignored his dog who wanted to be petted. There was no time for that.  The selfish man was like a waterbug, skimming across the top of the water.  There was no time to experience anything deeper.  The selfish man took no risks. He rocked no boats.

The selfish man could not read others and thought everyone loved him as much as he loved himself.  He believed in his bosses and knew he would never lose his job. He was, in his mind, too valuable.

The selfish man did not worship Anyone other than himself.  He only believed in the face he saw in the mirror.  His soul was like an empty China pitcher.  Beautiful to look at the outside but with nothing on the inside.

The selfish man lived in a house of cards he had built in his own image.  As long as he believed in himself, he would live a comfortable life.  But one day he was rocked to the core.  His house of cards came crashing down.

His bosses did not believe in him.  His wife did not either.  His friends melted away like sugar in hot tea.  His confidence in the man in the mirror failed like the Hindenburg’s fire extinguishers.  The selfish man had no one to turn to but himself. And that wasn’t enough.

The selfish man reflected on his life.  He reached out to a higher power.  Having faith in Someone or something bigger than himself gave him a new strength. The selfish man quit thinking of himself first. Instead he gave everything he had to his wife and kids. He began living Zig Ziglar’s quote, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”   He quit living on the surface like the water bug and experienced the cool, clear water of life below.

The unselfish man walked down the road and saw the lady struggling to hang her wash. He helped her with her basket.  He then fist-bumped the boy on the tricycle.  He smiled at the formerly pregnant lady’s new baby in the stroller.  The birds chirped beautifully and the sun lit his new, fuller world.

The unselfish man smiled at the water bugs in the puddle on the side of the road.  He said goodbye to his former life and allowed his curiosity to lead him on down the road.