Beyond Self
“An individual has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow horizons of his particular individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. And this is one of the big problems of life, that so many people never quite get to the point of rising above self.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
In looking over my previous articles, it seems the themes dominating my thoughts revolve around an ever-diminishing inner world. I have health, material abundance, a rich spiritual heritage, and no diagnosed neuroses, yet I still manage to find or create endless self-involved problems. They may be legitimate so far as they go – the spiritual and existential problems I most often circle back to may be among our most significant. But there’s something small about the self-concern.
I first noticed this while reading Bono’s autobiography, Surrender. A full third of it is devoted to his work combating AIDS and extreme poverty in the developing world. The compassion and scale reminded me of… Jesus. I recently relocated to New York City where it is impossible to ignore the tidal wave of squalor, the hordes of homelessness, trash and rats littering the streets. Not only does this put my own problems into perspective, it makes me think my job may be bigger than merely attending to them.
There are enough problems in any person to consume his whole life. If all you did was take care of yourself – get enough sleep, stretch, exercise, eat healthy, meditate, attend a 12 Step Program, hydrate, save and invest money, read, and spend time in community with mentors, mentees, and peers – it would take all day. We don’t have all day, so whatever scraps of time we can spare are devoted to plugging the most desperate holes in the dike. We watch as the rest of our unattended problems accumulate nervously until they, too, can no longer afford to be ignored.
But I can’t help thinking we were made for more than just plugging the holes in our own dike. What is this health intended for if not to afford us the opportunity to better serve elsewhere? Health is a means to an ends, and if we are too busy bothering about the means to ever get to the ends, we will have managed to become healthy and useless.
In A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens wrote, “It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide… Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.”
Even the most privileged and blessed among us faces a battlefield of struggle and hardship every day. It’s inherent to the human condition and is worth all the empathy and attention it can get. But even the most rundown and destitute among us can rise above self to offer a hand to someone else. And who’s to say what could be accomplished if we did? What would be the result of a world full of souls who walk abroad among their fellowmen? Jesus gave His life in ministry to others. So did Bono, Charles Dickens, and countless unnamed saints and martyrs, heroes, artists, and outlaws. What if you and I did, too?
J.
March 22, 2023