The best way to deal with that is to live in a fully conscious, compassionate, loving way. Don't wait until you're on your deathbed to recognize that this is the only way to live.
Morrie SchwartzRead
People are only mean when they're threatened… and that's what our culture does. That's what our economy does. Even people who have jobs in our economy are threatened, because they worry about losing them. And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself. You start making money a god. It is all part of this culture.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often act selfishly and meanly when they feel threatened by external circumstances.
This quote by Morrie Schwartz reflects the idea that fear and insecurity, particularly within a competitive culture and economy, can lead individuals to prioritize their own interests over the well-being of others. It suggests that the pressures of society can corrode compassion and provoke selfish behavior, as individuals become preoccupied with self-preservation and financial security, often at the expense of community and connection.
Themes
FearSelfishnessSocietyEconomyThreatCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
A speaker might use this quote to discuss the impact of economic insecurity on social behavior in a community meeting.
More from Morrie Schwartz
All quotes →Now that I'm suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer more than I ever did before. The other night, on TV, I saw people in Bosnia running across the street, getting fired upon, killed, innocent victims....and I just started to cry. I feel their anguish as if it were my own. I don't know any of these people. But - how can I put this? I'm almost......drawn to them.
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Do the kind of things that come from the heart, When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overhelmed with what comes back
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It’s natural to die. The fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we don’t see ourselves as part of nature. We think because we’re human we’re something above nature.
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When you look at it that way, you can see how absurd it is that we individualize ourselves with our fences and hoarded possessions.
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Because if you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward.
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