A dialogue on the importance of egoism despite how we have been conditioned to think about it - 🧵
“What is a gift?” The old man asked.
“Well, a gift is something you give without expecting anything in return.” The young man replied.
“Can you be more specific?” He pried again, his broad almost archaic head perched aloft an impressive yet now frail frame.
The young man hesitated, knowing the benefit of choosing one’s words with care.
The young man hesitated, knowing the benefit of choosing one’s words with care.
“Can you ever give something and not receive anything in return?” The young man asked, “Would you not receive a sense of gratification in knowing you have given?”
A smile wrinkled the old man’s face.
A smile wrinkled the old man’s face.
“A true gift is not just when you don’t expect anything in return, it is when you don’t need anything in return.
To give something only to require something, perhaps, from someone else entirely is not a gift.
That is a trade.
To give something only to require something, perhaps, from someone else entirely is not a gift.
That is a trade.
One can give a gift only when they do not require anything in return, and one need not anything in return only when they have a surplus.
Do you understand?”
“I think so.” The young man furrowed his brow.
Do you understand?”
“I think so.” The young man furrowed his brow.
“Okay. So tell me… what is an egoist?” He added.
“Someone who thinks only about themselves.” The young man replied, quicker this time.
“Yes, well, perhaps this is what we have come to consider an egoist, but it is not quite the case. An egoist, more specifically, is someone who puts themselves first.”
There was a pause.
“Yes, well, perhaps this is what we have come to consider an egoist, but it is not quite the case. An egoist, more specifically, is someone who puts themselves first.”
There was a pause.
“It has a negative connotation, no?”
The young man nodded.
The young man nodded.
“Yet is this such a bad thing? For how can you give a gift if you have not a surplus for yourself. How can you truly help someone if you then need help yourself?
My boy, you have not yet accrued a surplus in your biography. So, be wise with the gifts you think you give.”
My boy, you have not yet accrued a surplus in your biography. So, be wise with the gifts you think you give.”
He squeezed the arms of his chair. “I am am old now, my dear, and closer to meeting my maker than you are… and I can say now that it was never worth it.
It was never worth giving to others at the expense of myself, no matter how virtuous I felt...
It was never worth giving to others at the expense of myself, no matter how virtuous I felt...
...or how strongly I thought it was the right thing to do. For in the long run it did not bear fruit for them or for me. For I was left wanting, and the sense of gratification I felt was just that… a sense.
You must put yourself first, and when you do, and have achieved your surplus, you will be able to give freely and with full authenticity. Then you must give. In this way, the energy you transfer is free.
But remember, you are born alone and you die alone, and at the end of it all, when you meet your maker, he will ask you:
Of all that I gave you, have you brought back ten times more?
And if you say, but my God, I gave it all away to those who needed it.
And where are they, now? He will ask.
And you will look around, and there will be no one else there, just you and your maker.”
And where are they, now? He will ask.
And you will look around, and there will be no one else there, just you and your maker.”
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