Love the World, but never forget : You are your only true Friend - 2

If you can’t rely on someone or something 100% of the time, then you should not rely on them ever — by definition, they are not entirely reliable. The only people that you could arguably say may consider giving up their lives to save yours are members of your family — most likely one of your parents. Parents share a bond with their children that at times can be extraordinarily strong.

But again, we are not contemplating over whether our parents would risk their lives for us, but rather whether or not they are entirely reliable and therefore deserve to be relied upon. Of course, the answer is again no. You may have plenty of examples yourself as to why you can’t always count on your parents.

The reason why human beings are unreliable is because we are egocentric creatures. In our world, we are the center of it. Everything we know and experience involves our existence. Our mental properties are focused on us and always put us ahead of others. This is not to say that you cannot put someone else ahead of yourself — but in order to do so, you will have to be focused and do so with strong intent.

When things are important then we can easily put someone’s well being ahead of our own. However, if we don’t give the particular event importance — even if it were to hold importance for the other person — then we are unlikely to focus on that other person and will automatically hone in on our own wants and needs instead.

We are built to survive on our own, yet simultaneously could not stay sane if isolated indefinitely — we both need and don’t need other people. Nevertheless, one ought to learn how to rely on oneself and not on friends and family. There will come a time when they let you down or are no longer there to lend you support.

Learning to stand on your own two feet all the time will make it easier to stand alone when things get ugly and there is no one there to help you; it could mean a matter of life or death, if not of your body then of your sanity. This is not to say that we shouldn’t ever ask for help — we should ask as often as possible. However, we must be ready to take on any burden ourselves if that is the only possible solution.

Author and Credits: Paul Hudson