The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever
At first glance, selfish and selfless look almost identical, just a few letters apart. However, in meaning they stand worlds away from each other. The former is centered on me. The latter other is anchored in us.
To be selfish is to place your own survival, comfort, or victory above everything else. There’s an old Emirati saying that captures this mindset with brutal honesty: “If my camel and I survive, I don’t care what happens to my companions”. It reflects a way of thinking where success is measured only by personal escape, even if others are left behind.
To be selfless, on the other hand, is to pause, even when you’re winning, and consider someone else’s need before your own. It’s choosing dignity over trophies, values over applause, and purpose over pride.
Most of us already know these definitions. However, knowing is not the same as understanding. True understanding comes when you see these two paths collide in a single moment. When someone is forced to choose between taking what they can or giving what they should.
That’s why I’ve included a short video below. I won’t explain it, because it doesn’t need explanation. Just watch it. Not casually, but consciously. Let it sit with you. Let it challenge you.
By the end, you’ll feel the difference between selfish and selfless. Not as words, but as a choice.
And that choice, sooner or later, belongs to all of us.
Choose carefully.
Naser Alhemeiri Blog 