STEEM As A Microcosm Of The World: Self Focused Versus Community Focused

We live in a world that teaches us "what about me"?

This is especially true in the western nations. The scarcity model we operate under coupled with the media machine gives us each an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Television ads tell us "we deserve it".

It is a me me me world.

The focus upon self means we overlook the bigger picture. Our sense of community is rapidly diminishing. We live in houses that are gated from the outside world. We enter our homes, closes the doors, and shut out the world.

Our careers are a constant tug-o-war between us trying to get as much as we can and a corporation that tries to give us as little as it can. Organizations discuss ethics but pay it no mind. It is a dog-eat-dog world after all. Corporations exist to maximize profits, even if this means abusing customers. Anything goes.

It has gotten so bad that we even see instances where there is competition within marriages. One partner gets upset if the other gets more of the attention from the child. The proverbial "seeing green" with envy happens.

Of course, in a scarcity world, green is the main color. I guess it isn't a coincidence that color symbolizes both money and envy. When someone has something we do not, instead of being happy for them, we are jealous. We feel bad that we do not have it. Hence, we either have a hole within ourselves or wish the other ill-will (or both). Rarely are we happy for another person.

We lost our connection to the biggest ecosystem we belong to: the planetary orb we call Earth. There are hundreds of billions, maybe trillions, living beings on this planet. Yet we could care less. The global community means nothing to us. Cut down the rain forest to grow soybeans to feed animals...I want my steak dammit. Why should I care about the different species who are losing their home? They are not human after all.

Neither is the homeless guy on the street corner since he is shown the same concern as those native species in the rain forest. I wish the cops would remove him...why doesn't he get a job anyway?

STEEM is a microcosm of our world at large. How many come on here looking to contribute? People complain about the rewards they are receiving because they simply want to take. Someone posts an article and is upset it didn't get $100 in payouts. The STEEM White Paper even talks about SP signifying contribution to the platform. The logic is that the more one contributes, the more he or she will have.

What difference does this make anyway? It is all about me. As long as I get all I can, then all is well.

Community is a word we like to through around. It makes us feel good to con ourselves into believing we are that way. The truth is, because of the system we are in, few of us are able to truly embrace that viewpoint. There are a few cultures that have it at the core. The Amish in the United States is one group that comes to mind. Certain religious or spiritual disciplines are genuine in their practice and concern for others. Sadly, most is for show.

It is only the smallest amount of people in the world, or on STEEM, who ask themselves "is this good for the community?". The most common question, even if not consciously asked looks like this: is this good for me?

Obviously, there needs to be a degree of pragmatism. They tell us that if a plane is going down, to put the air mask on yourself first. One cannot help another without breathing oneself. That said, we take it much further. Not only do we put our mask on, we want to take the one from the person's next to us; if one is good, two is better. Who cares if that means the other person dies?

The "Butterfly Effect" is an interesting experiment to investigate. It was also a good movie. It is really fascinating to see how much impact our words and actions can have. How often do we consider this? Due to our selfishness, very rarely.

Mind-control is a real thing and every single one of us on here is a product of that. I am convinced of this. We live in a society that has taken great pains to program us in a manner it wants. Through the educational system, political leaders, religious ideologies, movies and T.V. shows, and advertising, we sucked up the messages they were delivering. Even those closest to us were a part of the process since their job was to pass the programming on.

I wrote an article the other day about the Age of Abundance which mentioned how fear is the weapon used against us. When we are so self-focused, we can only have fear. That is all part of the conditioning. We never feel like we have enough. A rainy day is always something we are looking towards. Of course, since we can only depend upon ourselves, that instills fear.

https://steemit.com/steem/@taskmaster4450/the-age-of-abundance-is-as-much-psychological-as-financial

Being community focus enables us to be connected to what is around us. We are not alone at that point. Instead of asking what is in this for me, ask is this contributing? What can I give to this situation?

@stan likes to say "do no harm to Bitshares". How about we adopt a policy of do no harm to STEEM? I think most everyone one here wants to see this ecosystem grow into something special. There is a great deal of potential with what was accomplished so far. With some of the projects in the works, this can become one of the top blockchains.

Of course, to arrive at that is going to take community. The question is are we so self absorbed that we care only about ourselves and what we are getting out of it. Do we have green each time we come onto the site at seeing the amount of SP the orcas and whales have? Do we post how unfair everything is on here?

Do one's activities add to the ecosystem? Is that being community focused or self focused?

A great deal of the problem, on here, and the world at large, is we are trained for short-term thinking. We live in an instant gratification world. Public corporations only think in 90 day cycles. This quarter is all that matters. Decisions are made with that mindset even if it harms the company a couple years down the road. We see this mindset in all aspect of our lives.

Perhaps STEEM is a great place for us to start changing this. If we ask ourselves "is this good for the STEEM ecosystem", then we might start to do that in other areas of our lives. As I said, we never know the impact our words or our actions could have. One person developing an application on here that is wildly successful could enrich all of us. That is the power of a community.

And it is a way of thinking that is completely counter to how we were conditioned.

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