Have you ever wondered what is so wrong with being self-centred?

The first time I heard the air-hostess instruct me, in the event of an emergency, to secure my own oxygen mask before helping others, I was horrified.  It provoked in me an involuntary response that had me mentally defying her and visualising putting my daughter’s mask on her first…..and then the penny dropped!  If I do not ensure that I am breathing first, I will not be able to help anyone, including my beloved daughter.

Throughout our developing years we are thoroughly schooled in the art of selflessness.  No more “Me, Me pick Me!!!!”, putting oneself last is seen as a virtuous trait.  Simultaneously,  we are told to grow our “self-confidence”, and always be “true to ourselves”.

Selflessness literally means “a state of being without self”. 

It equates to ignoring the self, denying the self.  It is the polar opposite of self-centred, a much maligned trait.  Yet, if one is “without self” and not “centred in self” how is it possible to be self confident or even begin to understand what it is to be true to oneself?

I wonder how much more effective you would be in the world if you were centred in your self first…….

Much love,