Unselfish



Did you know that in a few weeks, on May 5, Kim Kardashian is releasing a new book called Selfish, containing over 350 of her favorite pictures she has taken of herself?

Read that last part again. Containing over 350 of her favorite pictures she has taken of herself.

This is not a joke.

Bless her heart.

It is available for pre-order on Amazon now. 

*****

This is not a post about whether or not you should be keeping up with the Kardashians. This is not a post analyzing whether or not Kim Kardashian is a good person. I like to hope that there's a little bit of goodness in everyone. And besides, I don't have enough content to work with, because around here we are keeping up with Elmo, and that cute Australian show about mermaids on Netflix.

This is a post about another book coming out on the same day as Kim Kardashian's, but this one is titled, Unselfish.

It is a book that contains 99 stories of people putting others before themselves. 

I feel like everyday we are constantly shown examples of humanity getting it wrong. This book is refreshing as page after page demonstrates stories and beautiful photography of people getting it right. I felt grateful that the people inside are scattered all over the same planet where you and I live.

I'll be honest, while I was excited about having the opportunity to review a book before it was released, I got a little nervous as I started reading. I was worried this book would make me feel like I sometimes feel at a university graduation ceremony. You know, when all the accolades of highly successful individuals are read. That it would be full of stories of people who dropped everything and moved to a third world country to help the people there. Or people whose passion for an issue developed into a gigantic foundation. That it would make me feel like I haven't accomplished much at all.

Sorry for my bad attitude.

While the book is full of stories like that, it is also sprinkled with stories that made me feel like, hey, I could do that.

One of my very very favorite pieces in the book is about two auto shops in the same Georgia town. In 2011, one of them was leveled by a tornado. In the aftermath, the auto shop that was still standing opened its doors and let its competitor in. The two businesses shared car bays and office space and worked side-by-side for ten months. "We truly believe that God wants us to take care of our fellow man, and when we do, he will take care of us," said the shop that opened its doors.

Along the way I learned that unselfishness is like a muscle. We all have that muscle. Kim Kardashian has that muscle.We better ourselves and the world around us every time we exercise it. 

Some are blessed with the vision to apply unselfishness on a grand scale and can bless vast numbers of lives. Others quietly apply it on smaller scales and have profound impacts on individual lives.

It took me about five or six sittings to get through the whole thing, and each time I put it down, I found myself wanting more and more to get outside of myself and be more selfless.

I stand with the book's claim that, "Unselfish will reignite your faith in humanity and may just inspire you to love your neighbor as thy selfie."

*****

Since I read Unselfish, selfless acts around me seem to be happening more often.

Yesterday I was watching my kids play at the park. The weather was lovely, it was the perfect afternoon to be out. But one little girl kept interrupting the scene by screaming at the top of her lungs. Her mom apologetically smiled at us. "Mildly autistic and I'm forcing her to be social today." She carried a baby in her arms as she knelt down and gently talked to her daughter in distress. I observed with admiration this mother who had her hands full as another child, a little older than the screamer started calling, "Mom! MOM! I need a PUSH!" I realized this woman had a third child who was not enjoying her time on the swing because her mom was required to tend to the crisis at hand.

A mom among the rest of us stood up. "Is that your mom?" she spoke to the girl, motioning to the other woman. "Is it okay if I push you while she helps your sister?"

And she did. Not just five or six times, but for nine or ten minutes.

What was so beautiful about the scene to me was that it was clear by their outward appearance that these mommas would not probably run in the same social circles. Their differences in dress and hair fed my assumption. But the inner beauty of each of those two mommas was so apparent in that moment. The one with her I'm sure day-in, day-out patience with her children, and the others willingness to step in and lighten her load made me grateful for the unselfishness I was witnessing in my very own neighborhood.  

I don't think selfless acts are actually happening more often. I think I am just more in tune to recognize them better. And they inspire me to be better. And the world seems a more beautiful place.

*****
 
Interested in learning more about Unselfish or owning a copy?

You may do that here:

unseflishstories.com

here:


https://www.facebook.com/unselfishstories


and find it for sale on Amazon here.




4 comments:

  1. I love the contrast of the two books haha. I'm a little baffled that someone would publish a book like that, and call them Selfish. But I love the Unselfish idea!!

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  2. This is so cool! I love this. Much better than the Kardashians. I remember when we went to help with the Hurricane Katrina cleanup. It was such an amazing experience and it felt so good to help. I can't wait to read more of these stories when it comes out.

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  3. I love your story about the swing. We all need to be a bit more selfless. The world would be a much better place!

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  4. Unselfish sounds like a great book. I love how you articulated your thoughts about it and your experience at the playground.

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