Arguably, the natural nature of all humans is made up of both selflessness and selfishness, both working hand in hand and comes forward in times of need. The most strongest instinct that every human possess is the unhinged need to survive, which is one of the reasons why humans will continue to exist and evolve, only a devine intervention can exterminate humans from the universe. Which means even if earth is no longer livable, we will find comfort else where, this is just to prove how strong human instinct to survive is.
For both selfish act and selfless act are both deployed based on the challenges we encounter, which means naturally once in awhile we are bound to commit a selfish act for self preservation. Though we have humans that shift more towards one side than the other, which means while some people might be selfish once in awhile, for others; they might be selfish always, then selfless once in awhile. We humans are indeed complex creatures.
As a human I have always categorized myself as a selfless person, when it comes to prioritizing others needs before mine without seeking reward or to be worshiped in return, it is something I find myself doing without blinking. I think it was around two years ago, I began to learn about the concept of saying no to others request because I started feeling exhausted as a result of giving too much of myself and getting none in return, it was not as if I feel entitled to others help just because I helped but a little bit of intrinsic appreciation will definitely be encouraging.
That aside, as selfless as I might be, one fact remain the same, I'm also human. Speaking of a recent act of selfishness, I don't even need to think too far about it. The funny thing about selfishness is that, it is a matter of perspective. What you consider as selfishness as a victim of the act, the doer might just consider it as an act of self preservation, which is kind of ironic. An African proverb quoted, "When it is their turn to eat Vulture, they call it guinea fowl" which further proves the level of hypocrisy that dwells in the lives of humans.
About the selfish act, last year November I decided to get my driver's license, I was introduced to someone that would assist in making the whole process a lot smother. A made all the necessary payment, did the driving school stuff and I was scheduled for capturing around January. Since I had done all the necessary documentation, I felt i could relax, enjoy last year's festivity and visit the VIO office on the scheduled date. After the whole festivity was over, on the day for my appointment I went to the office, I got there before 8am but to my surprise, people were there and it wasn't a small number. I felt demotivated and I started hearing stories from people, saying they had come around for about 4 to 5 times before that day.
I waited around for awhile but I knew i won't be able to get it done because aside from the long queue, there were dubious act going on. So I decided to come early the next day. I arrived around 6:20 am, met 4 people in the premises, we wrote our names on the list and more people kept arriving. Around 8:05 am, the office was opened and we all got in, we were addressed by one of the FRSC officer but she kept saying something about attending to people who had submitted their forms few days ago before attending to us, I knew i didn't hear anything about that the last time I came. I knew that was another form of "Mago-mago" meaning misconduct.
That was how they kept attending to people and I kept waiting, despite being number 5 on the list. People kept going in and out, I was just sitting there like a statue. Others in my situation kept lamenting loudly and getting into arguments with the officers but it didn't change anything, in fact I felt it worsen our case. That was how I sat there till around 2pm. They kept complaining about server error and network issue but still, people kept going in and out. I was already shivering on my sit because I was starving, It has been long since I sat for that long.
Around 3pm, I and some people moved closer to one of the officers and discussed our situation, it was not as if we were claiming our right, in fact it was like we were pleading. Eventually they decided to have mercy on us and decided to start calling names on the list I belong. So I got in with two other people, I was the first person among the three people they called in. I was about to sit down when one officer came and brought two other people in. He claimed that, they should have been called in before us but they went out to get something.
He said I should allow them to be attended to before me, he was trying to guilt trip me, despite knowing the closing hour was drawing near and their network wasn't stable. At that moment, I had already exhausted my tolerance and patience bundle, I just looked at the man with my side eye and said, "even if these two people are my relatives, no one is getting anything done before me" and the two other people that were with me also supported my claim.
He got the message that we were not going to move an inch, so he just let us be. The ironic part was, he might actually be telling the truth but I wasn't interested in allowing myself believe it. I did what I had to do and walked out of there, when it comes to being selfish, this is the closest thing I have done recently.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled A selfish act in hive learners community.
Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
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