The selfish shellfish ~ honoring Eric Carle


Being selfish isn't always a bad thing, I have learned. Though society tends to make individuals feel guilty if they don't behave in a manner pleasing to others, experience dictates that one should ultimately prioritise his/her own mental health to be happy. At 37 going on 38 I can say for sure that one has to be practical in matters - you might end up doing something you ideally wouldn't but there also is no need to feel pressured to please anyone. 

Of course, this is the tricky part because at this point an irresponsible person could use this as an excuse to wriggle out of responsibilities towards children, drink uncontrollably or take anything to an unhealthy extreme. 

What I am talking about applies to the sane. I realized that I am finding it difficult to phrase things as I would want to. Suffice it to say if you are a kind and responsible person you need not feel guilty when you need to stand up for yourself. 

Society pressures us into being people pleasers - forcing us to succumb to the will of others as we grow up, lose touch with who we really are and end up finding ourselves in situations where we are always trying to make amends. 

As I said before, it's tricky. When are you really being selfish and when are you just showing up for yourself. 

So much depends on conscience.. 

Is that even inhereted or inherent or learned? 

Is it karma when one abandons responsibility towards those who depends on him or is it living his best life? So difficult to phrase. To draw any lines. 

Moral of the story is, the selfish shellfish might not be so selfish after all. Nature has given us the birthright to protect ourselves in the form of inbuilt survival instincts. This applies to happiness as well. I find so many friends struggling with feelings of being responsible/respectful towards family/expressing what they really think or feel and being practical. 

So if she sells seashells in the Seychelles, then ultimately the selfish shellfish might as well be excused for just being himself.

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