The selfishness of the wellbing of others

It is actually in my interest that other people in my life are well and safe and secure. Whether this be family members, friends, people I know and have every right to despise, or people who I don't even know but make up this human race I am part of.

Because when people are well, there is less for me to be concerned about. I do not have to be concerned with the negative influence they will have on my life. I do not have to be concerned about materially supporting them. I do not have to be concerned with the impact they will have on those I care about.

And from a positive point of view, when people are well they bring so much goodness to the local and global cultures I am part of. They enhance my life by brining new thinking, new histories and learnings, new ways of being.

There are two specific circumstances I am thinking of in writing this. One is when we have a person in our life whom we are angry with, whom we do not want to see succeed. It feels that their success is our diminishment, and there is no way we can see that their success actually enhances us as well.

The second is when there are groups of people who are part of our global community and whom some people want to see stay undernourished, sick, struggling and second class members of this community. Our liberation can only come when we see the global system we are part of, and see that when one part of this system is sick or hurting, the entire system is sick or hurting.