I am egocentric and self-centered. Well, duh.
I readily admit that I am both of these things most of the time. I hope that it's not to the extent that others don't matter and that their feelings aren't important. But I can honestly say that I am the center of my own universe.
I am self-involved. Everything I do involves myself, so . . . how can I be otherwise?
The truth of who I am is so much more than what others see. I live inside this shell of a body. I cannot leave this shell and live. So I must experience life from the inside looking out. As we all do.
Everything I do is colored by my own experiences, my own thoughts, my own beliefs. No matter how hard I try to understand what another person feels, it is still a guess. Because I cannot spend time in their shell. I cannot truly know their thoughts and beliefs like they do, from the inside out.
And I've tried living my life centered around other people, always putting their wants and wishes ahead of my own. This is not a healthy way to live. Nor, do I believe, is it how God would want us to live. My life revolves around me. God wants me to take care of me.
It is important to try to see through someone else's window. It is important to serve and to give. It is important to let someone else be the center of my universe for a time.
But ultimately, I am responsible for me. For how I think. For what I do. For all I accomplish -- or don't, as the case may be.
I believe egocentricity is part of our human nature. I believe it is a part that we too often work so hard to overcome that we don't see the value in learning to school it and use it to our benefit. Like all tools, it can be used in good ways and in bad. Your choice.