when you consider yourself a good person,

but feel that there is so much

selfishness under your skin

when you sense that you have a kind heart

yet feel the greediness of your own state,

time passes and you get yourself lost in the distractions

weighing down the love that has settled itself inside of you

and overflows your walls

debating how long would it take

to take the wrong turn

and had for the hills,

ending up in hate,

because it overpowers you

even more than

the love that you hold

in your open hand,

fingers stretched out and grasping to hope,

feeling the pretense behind your actions,

aiming for your own goal,

instead of really doing good for others

despising your feelings

even if they were born from the purest

and the best of notions

How much of us, makes ous selfless?

How many hours, days, and weeks

do we spend on contemplating our good souls,

if heaven is so far away?

How much does kindness weight?

And how many ounces of gentleness is

in a jar of cruelty?

Am I, really.

I could be.

But I like to think not.

Yet my time is valuable,

sometimes;

even more than people.

Phrases and words like priorities,

take care of yourself first,

comes to mind.

But so too, does empathy,

respect, friendship,

and love of fellow humans.

Where does one draw the line?

Do we all in the end,

take human nature for granted?

How far would we go,

to help another,

when it means you can no longer help yourself?

In war, lives are sacrificed.

In birth, a mother gives of her pain.

In life we strive for betterment.

In family we want to succeed.

In death we want to be remembered.

Everything else; what is left to care about?

I think it cannot be that hard,

to attempt to do the do,

to give even a moment's second,

a rasping breath,

to care for another human being;

without being given accolades.

Am I selfish?

Am I that shallow?

I think not,

but I also cannot save the world,

or the people in it.

One voice that cries out, sometimes,

... cries alone.

FIRST TAKE:

Selfish

Selfish

has followed like

a shadow...

must be somebody else's

past that haunts

and hounds!

For I've taken all of what Life hands!

I have peeled it, prepared it

with a knife

I'm willing to split

every last morsel

if you like...

though we are equally full

of ourselves from what I can see

...not serving up our conceit!

Just the vastness of appetite

one can't seem not to feed

while following along

after doggone

Generosity.

TAKE TWO:

In the Hands of God

I've scampered

and scavenged

this seabed

like a severed claw

selfish selfish selfish

were the whispers

plummeting from the

coastal shore...

As these thoughts roamed

from the huts and totems,

the shells and the bones,

where the rest of us

had washed up

readied long ago

in the hands

of God

#SelfishUniverse #Challenge #FreeVerse

According to Aristotle and Thomas

--Aquinas, that is--

As well as Augustine, Bernard

and some friends of his,

--Philosophers, if you do not know,

who wrote on virtue

in various books, essays, and prose--

There are two ways the scale might sway:

toward excess or defect

and neither is the virtuous way.

Virtue lies in the middle, in balance

and therein lies true happiness--

while the scale tilts, unhappiness abounds.

The selfish man cannot distinguish

his needs from his wants

and thus he will languish

filling himself with empty pleasures

but alone, unhappy, unable to be satisfied

and all his love requires a measure

but no one measures up.

He broods and abuses,

his soul quakes in shadow and annoyance

lost, dis-satisfied and deluded.

Ah, then there is the other side

--that the excess, this one defect--:

the doormat, still lying where he died.

Like bloodsuckers, the selfish feed

upon the doormat, broken child

catering to others' wants, but never to need.

Very often the doormat's motive is fear

his object is to be loved, not to love

and he holds any attention dear.

He will let you walk upon his soul

and wear away his personality

to avoid 'creating' conflict or losing 'control'.

But he never had control and he can hardly love at all,

for he has little concept of right and wrong

and his love, too, is measured, shackled, and small.

Virtue lies in the middle--

Selflessness, this one is called.

It does not neglect daily needs,

and focuses heavily on these.

Wants, important though they be,

must be moderated and cared for accordingly.

The selfless person seeks to understand

the heart and soul of his fellow man.

He clearly sees the right from wrong,

is temperate in filling his wants,

knows how to say "no" to himself each day,

and to others, but in a loving and creative way.

For all virtue leads to inventiveness,

weighing efficiency with attentiveness,

not willing to do any less

than what is balanced, loving, and best.

So is selfishness good or bad? Natural or not?

I must agree with philosophy:

selfishness is a sorry lot.

Selflessness, on the other hand,

cares for self and others lovingly,

well-ordered and balanced to withstand

the temptations to excess or defect,

indulgence or neglect.

So the queston then is: virtue or vice?

To be happy, or to be perpetually left unsatisfied?