Selfish or Selfless?

Me, me, me. I have to take care of me. If I don't take care of me, who will? I have to do things for myself first, before I can do anything for anybody else. If you walk past people on any given day, you're bound to hear, at some point, someone uttering one of these phrases. It is our newest mantra: I can be no good to anyone else, if I'm no good to myself first. Much of these sayings are true, but when does it cross the line from being selfless to selfish?

Everyday, I work on deepening my relationship with God. I figure any great relationship has awesome communication, so that's what I work on; developing and strengthening my communication through prayer, with Him. Most people, myself included, have our standard prayers and the things that we desire and pray for. Yes we may sprinkle in prayers for others and for those we care for, but never do we forget our desires and needs. Well, a few weeks ago, I started thinking about going on a prayer fast for a very special member of my family. I don't know why it entered my mind, but it did, and although I tried to ignore it, the idea kept resurfacing. With several "coincidental" confirmations, I found myself challenged to do it for 7 days, but to not only pray for the original person I had in mind, but to devote all of my prayers, every single one this week, to various people. Whew! I breathed hard and fought the idea. I thought "with all I have going on, could I afford that?" Would God forget about me and all that I needed Him for? As I thought about it, I decided to dismiss my initial reservations and fears, and immerse myself into this selfless act. The more I thought, the more excited I became. Something about putting myself aside and going to God on behalf of others, filled me in a way I've never experienced.

Throughout the week, I've found that there's a special joy and connection that comes from concerning yourself with the well-being of others with complete genuity and complete humility. Even though it's important not to forget yourself, it's also important to maintain balance and continue to lead by example, and sometimes that means, being selfless enough to be able to put yourself aside. Believe me, if you do it with all your heart and with utter and complete truth, you won't need to pray for blessings, because they'll find you and overtake you in more ways than one! That's the beauty of being selfless. It inspires others to do so and that energy finds you and envelopes your core. This week, I urge you to do one selfless deed. You will be amazed at how much you get out of putting someone else first!