This is a very good article. A counsellor once asked me "What did you learn about the world and yourself from the difficult experiences you had?" and I struggled to reply. This article sums up what I learned pretty well. I wouldn't say I agree with every world and line, but the overall idea is spot on. Thank you for sharing this with us.
It's not that absolutely nobody gives a shit about anyone at all. It's just that there is an underlying level of motivation to giving a shit about others, and it's that we all ultimately care about others because it makes us feel good for some psychological reasons. Many people would argue, but there are countless examples, from overbearing helicopter parents that ruin their child's life because they "just care too much", to people viciously fighting for the rights of a certain demographic even when the actual members of this demographics tell them "chill out, this is unnecessary". It took me a while to admit I care for selfish reasons to myself as well.
Another very good point in this article is that none of us is entitled to anything, especially to anything to be given to us by other people. You don't deserve love, comfort and loyalty just by being a good guy with a hard life, you need to provide something of value to the person that you want love and comfort from, and sometimes you just need to move on to someone else because sometimes a person is simply incapable of giving you what you want. The only thing I'd argue with is that value is not as straightforward as it is described in the article. It's not always your smarts, money, hot body, etc., for some people you having all of that might even be a detriment because they don't want to feel like shit by comparision. You just need to provide something that would fill the other's person's needs, which might be something you'd never think of as an asset. Some people like being a saviour and deliberately seek out someone "broken" to help them. Some people have fragile self-esteem and deliberately seek out people that are less attractive and less successful to make themselves feel better. Some people like things that are conventionally considered bad. You might never even understand what is your value to other person, yet to them it is going to be very real and obvious.
Once again, love the article, thank you for sharing.
