Letting go of "living selfishly" to "live freely"

Living "selfishly"
Living "freely"
Have you ever thought about the difference between them?

I myself have constantly asked myself,
thought about,
and continued to practice
what I should do to truly live freely.

However,
there is both a version of me
that lives freely with an expanded consciousness of love,
and a version of me that is selfish and arrogant.

I dislike living selfishly
as a person,
but embarrassingly, that version of me
exists.
That is precisely why I am constantly thinking about wanting to let go of selfishness.
So,



living selfishly versus living freely
what is the difference? I tried thinking about it.

《Living selfishly》

Only seeing one's own perspective

Being arrogant, thinking one is always right,
and not listening to others' opinions

Prioritizing one's own convenience over others'

Interpretations are biased
in a way that is convenient for oneself

Being irresponsible

Doing what one wants to do, but
running away from what one does not want to do

An attitude lacking consideration

Living in a narrow world of only oneself

Having no connection with others

Causing trouble for those around

《Living freely》

Seeing both oneself and those around

Being humble, listening to others' opinions,
and having an attitude of constant learning

Being able to think about what is best
for oneself and for those around

Taking responsibility for
what one has undertaken

Always being in the middle path
(The middle path (chuyo) is one of the important concepts of Confucianism, referring to a state that is unbiased, constant, and the most appropriate and harmonious.)

Having consideration

Being sincere and having an attitude of
facing everything earnestly

Living in a world with an expanded consciousness of love

Living connected to all people and things

How do you let go of "living selfishly"?

While you are in the midst of living selfishly,
you cannot notice that you have an attitude
that lacks consideration for others
or that you are causing trouble.

Because you are in a narrow world of your own,
you cannot see those around you, so you cannot notice.

However, there are times when you do notice.
It is when you look at someone else's selfish behavior
and reflect on yourself.

In that moment when you can notice someone else's selfish behavior,
you are in the middle path (living freely).

When you are in the middle path,
you feel a sense of discomfort when you see someone
who has strayed from the center.

(You can tell immediately if they are clearly acting selfishly, but)

when you take that discomfort into yourself
and face yourself deeply,
you can sometimes realize that you were actually
doing the same thing.


When you realize it,
you might feel embarrassed,
or you might want to blame yourself.

However,
when you realize it, you can make your narrow world
a little wider.

To get closer to true freedom,
you must notice this version of yourself that is living selfishly
and let it go yourself.

Everyone has a selfish way of living.
To let it go,
you must live by connecting with people.
People are your mirrors,
and thankfully, they show you yourself.

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓

◯ When you are living selfishly, you are in a narrow world.
Please connect with people.
Surely, a trigger to let go of selfishness
will come.

◯ People are your mirrors. Please observe those around you well.
When you feel discomfort seeing others' words and actions,
you can find your own blind spots
that you hadn't noticed.

◯ Always try to imagine yourself in the other person's position
or try thinking about it.
By doing this habitually, you can
break free from selfish thinking.

Connect, notice, and let go

Connect with people,
connect with yourself,
and choose to live freely.
I would like to walk such a life.

Thank you for reading
today as well.