The Vajra Parrot Squawks!

Ego and selfishness are bedfellows. If you have are preoccupied with a BIG ME (like I am), then you have to care for its needs first; everyone else's needs come second, a mere afterthought.

Ego and fear are also bedfellows. If you are preoccuppied with a BIG ME (like I am) then you have to protect it first; worrying about others' safety is just a secondary consideration.

If we talk about heroic qualities we usually add 'generosity' and 'fearlessness' to the list of virtues, which arise effortlessly when one is not so much concerned with BIG ME but BIG THEM: other people's needs and fears in the life outside our own, conceited mental soap-opera-existence.

When one is preoccupied with BIG THEM one's own needs and self-protection become a mere afterthought. There's not much to lose personally and there's everything to gain.

Virtue is its own reward: the smile that blooms on a face, or even the wag of a tail of one who has been benefited by even one simple act of generosity on your part is more precious than anything than can be bought with a Platinum Amex. So I have heard, anyway.