The Act of Being Selfless

PURPOSE- RECOVERY WORD OF THE WEEK

With all the time for introspection that quarantine allows for, and another year older, I’ve began to ask myself what values, principles, and standards of behavior are important to me and how I use these to serve myself. One unintended consequence of years of addiction was the dissipation of strength, self-love, safety, and autonomy. So how do I begin to develop and uphold these areas of my life that I need in order to break this cycle of addiction and relapse? With Salina’s help, I’ve been able to identify my core values that have allowed me to regain some sense of identity, an important step in the process of developing a vision for my life. Without knowing what I want, and what I stand for, I wouldn’t have a blueprint of sorts, to construct this new life of self-love, autonomy, and healthy relationships. But as I trek this road of the unknown, I must be humble, flexible, and able to adapt and compromise as the situation’s see fit. Only through upholding myself throughout these transformations, will I be able to attain fulfillment and purpose. These constantly maintained instruments, if you will, must not be used selfishly. I have come to learn that the act of being selfless leads to a clearer understanding of myself and purpose. It is as if humans are energetically entwined for eternity, and that to discover life’s meaning, one must tap into this reserve of altruism. What a paradoxical concept- that in order to find “my” purpose and meaning in this life, I must be selfless in my thinking and actions. To quote Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search For Meaning,

“The more one forgets himself- by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love, the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.”