by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: June 10, 2010   Last Updated: September 13, 2010

It may be difficult to imagine a time when we become so completely unaware of ourselves that we do an act of sacrifice or generosity with no thought whatsoever as to the consequences for ourselves. But such conditions do exist in people everywhere and such behavior goes on every day.

Many humans are brought up or are socially and professionally conditioned to doing acts that are in the interests of others without thinking constantly or even frequently about the risks or benefits to self. Does a nurse constantly think about the portion of the paycheck that an individual patient who is in crisis represents? Does a parent think that "this kid will be choosing my rest home someday" when automatically reaching out to pull the child out of harms way? Does a soldier sit there and debate the full load of consequences when in the full heat of combat?

Of course, there are people who are human calculators. Some humans are malformed to the point where every interaction with the world and with other humans is a transaction, where costs, risks and benefits to self are constantly being calculated. Others are so focused on each and every action and its relationship to the larger and long term personal goals that very little is done for others without delaying to place the act among the other priorities that contribute the the bigger schemes in life.

Selfless acts are done every day by someone who absent mindedly hands some coins to the homeless and moves on with a mind that is fully occupied by their own concerns and issues. Such acts are done every day by those who step in to break up a fight, to help a person who has fallen, or to take a lost wallet to the lost and found department. Of course, gaining social approval and the good feelings that come from doing the right thing can be considered to be selfish motives, but are they truly selfish motives or are they motives that are externally imposed by society?

There is  a condition where many humans simply are not thinking about reward or risks, but are focused only on threat, problem and resolution. A sort of mental focus sets in where there is no other consideration but taking the action that is chosen. Often, people cannot remember why or how they took the action, but they simply knew that it was the right thing to do at the time.

Such mental focus is rare and is for very unique events, or a person would not be able to function in the world where personal needs and safety must be taken care of as a critical biological imperative.

But an equally critical biological imperative is to fight, freeze, flee from a threat or act in the interests of others. The mind will set itself to act according to the individual's overall makeup. Sometimes people freeze. Sometimes they calculate. Sometimes they flee. Sometimes they act immediately, even at grave risk to self.

There are times when complete selflessness is possible. Acts of selflessness happen every day as almost automatic processes in life.

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