About selfishness:
He sat down and placed his bag on the cushion beside him. Just as the train was starting, another man asked: “is this seat taken?” The selfish man said: “This seat is engaged, sir; a man just stepped out, he left his baggage here as a claim to his seat.” Said the new man: “I’m pretty tired, and if you don’t object, I’ll just sit down here and hold his bag for him until he returns.”
He now became very much interested as to where the man beside him was to get off, for he was caught in his own trap. He tried to read his neighbor’s ticket, but could not. Station after station was passed and his companion made no move to get off. The man sweat in his agony. By and by he wanted to get off himself, and had the humiliating experience of confessing himself a liar.
Selfishness is foolish.
Selfishness is voracious, it is insatiable.
About self-care:
And yet she, of all women, is most casual in the care of her health, and in the choice of her food—she eats whatever is cheapest and easiest to attain, and is always “too tired to bother” about herself, so she goes her way.
The reason for this self-neglect on the part of the woman worker is probably twofold: lack of time and interest to do otherwise, and an almost unconscious reluctance to acknowledge the need for care.
For the woman worker, breakfast is an important meal, and it should be something more than tea and toast; lunch may be light, but during the day at least one meal must be taken which is really nourishing. This is essential if health and strength are to be maintained. And in every case, be it breakfast or dinner, it must be remembered that “food” is not merely something to eat, but something which can help in the rebuilding and strengthening of worn-out tissues.
Self-care is not an acknowledgment of weakness, it is merely a fortifying of strength, and even machines cannot run without a regular supply of fuel.