Me to We

The monkey sees a penny in a jar.  He reaches in to get it.  With the penny in his closed fist, he cannot remove his hand from the jar.  It is only when he drops the penny, drops the self-interest, that he can pull out his hand.

You know I read Richard Rohr's daily devotional.  I love his thinking.

Recently he posted one that included the phrase moving from "me to we."  Now in my brain, this can become political real quick.  Trump talked about America first.  Well, on a political note, I do believe that we need to strike a balance between giving all of America's assets away and taking care of our own.  Keeping America strong while being a part of a global community.  Whatever your political views are, the issues are complicated.

But let us consider the phrase, "me to we" on a personal basis.  When we are babies it is all about me.  Feed me, hold me, clean me.  Me, me me.  Somewhere along the line, we [hopefully] engage in the process of growing up.  Growing up means thinking long term.  Growing up includes the consideration of how my actions effect others.  Growing up means moving away from selfishness into something that is more inclusive and other oriented.  There is something bigger, something more important than me, mine, and what I want.

Selfishness, while promising to make us happy, never brings the desired results.  Loving others, reaching out, showing compassion and empathy on the other hand, takes our minds off of our worries and gives us a feeling of satisfaction...  that is why I am, that is why we are here, to love others.

The journey of life... from me to we...  let us continue.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.