I believe that there are three things that every living creature deserves: contentment, health and comfort. Yes, it sounds like entitlement until you take it apart a little further and acknowledge that what each individual needs in order to have these things is very different. And, in my opinion, entitlement is a matter of degrees and perspective.

I’ve always felt that I deserved to have those three things and I have done what I needed to do in order to have them. If sometimes I had to bother people or felt I had become burdensome in order to get them, well that’s what I did. You will never get what you want and need if you don’t ask for it.

Selfish? Maybe. A number of my relatives were fond of saying of my younger self that I was selfish.

But I am also giving. I find helping others to be fulfilling even if my help is not acknowledged or rewarded in any way. It doesn’t matter because I’ve already been rewarded by the good feeling I get from helping someone.

I’d be willing to bet that the majority of humanity feels the same way. People want to help. Helping feels good. I feel that when you let someone help you, you are also doing them a service. Self-serving? Maybe.

Some people don’t want to bother other people with their issues or burden others. I actually get a little bit angry when I hear that sort of thing. I don’t really know what the motivation for feeling that way is, but to me it says that the person does not feel they are deserving. And that makes me very sad.

I think most people might find it difficult to balance personal need against the needs of others. I think this is where the feelings of being a burden arise. But we all need help sometimes and we are all deserving of it.

And that’s my thought for the day.