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Monday, February 22, 2010

Self-obsessed, Self-centred, Megalomaniacs! Are We?

A fine morning, a fresh day in the life of me. It's about me, this blog post is about me. Read on, you will see why. Some thought that occurred to me randomly while on the way to work.

While I appreciate the value of not reacting to situations, as Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" advises me (confession: I am a great fan of self-development books, I devour them) I wonder if it will turn me into a completely cynical and hardened sort of person. That said, we are living in the age of hardening of positions, points of view, in fact, corporate life is full of such hardened notions which the corporate type (not me!) try to impose on others.

Then if this hardening, not reacting to situations, makes us better persons, where is it leading all of us? We will lose our compassion, our sympathies, and our sensitivity to others. Already it is happening on a mass scale. And it's (how shall I say it) scary! A contestant, a very vociferous sort, says in a reality show, "He is so insensitive, if only he will listen to me, why does he react to me that way, why doesn't he care for me." See the me's repeated in her angstful outpourings? Such discontent and disaffection, I have never seen. So its all about me,me,me! No one else. Are we fostering a civilization of self-obsessed, self-centred, magalomaniacs? I don't know.

Need to think about these things. I do. Anthonybhai has a solution: "Our children, men, they need to be more sensitive. Today if a man lies dying on the streets, or garbage lies unpicked, they will just walk away. Not react. Not good, no?"

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