My thoughts on integrating loving others with my own self-interest came from one of my many re-readings of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" when I realized that the question had always been phrased as "you can care for yourself or for others, which will it be?" and that that question was based on a false either-or premise.
The lower the environmental stress level around me is, the better it is for me. Sometimes I have to prioritize my needs ahead of someone else's (think of the idea of triage in an ER), but sometimes I can put their needs ahead of my own in the queue. Often times, though, I've found that I can address both their needs and mine simultaneously.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-03-22 09:37 am (UTC)The lower the environmental stress level around me is, the better it is for me. Sometimes I have to prioritize my needs ahead of someone else's (think of the idea of triage in an ER), but sometimes I can put their needs ahead of my own in the queue. Often times, though, I've found that I can address both their needs and mine simultaneously.