Eric Fromm in The Art of Loving lays out the stages toward selllessness in ones life if they follow the natural order of relationships. Allow me to suggest it may be required reading in your case.
. I do not have any children, but I have loved deeply before
There is nothing comparable to the bond of child and parent.
Sorry for the delayed response @novacadian.
I'm not sure what you are trying to suggest about me that The Art of Loving should be a required reading.. lol ;)
I wasn't trying to compare anything to the bond of parent and child. I was just making the statement that while I haven't experienced that I am not lacking in love. Just dropping a frame of reference.
I think our disagreement is more one of word choice. It seems that you are not liking my use of selfishness to describe these acts. So maybe it would be more productive for me to ask what it is you mean when you say selflessness..
When I say selfishness I am simply referring to looking out for the well being of our own, whether that be ourselves, loved ones, or identifying subcultures. The point is to expand that idea until noone and nothing falls outside of that circle.
Hope your having a great day. :)
Because it answers your original question soo eloquently. If you get a chance to read it (it is a fairly small read) then call me back with a reply and we can take it from there.