PAUSE

Actor-Producer-Writer Gregor Collins

Let's not kid ourselves. We’re all selfish. Virtually everything we do in our lives, whether it be offering an old lady a hand with her groceries, or feeding the homeless on Thanksgiving, we do it to feel good inside. At the end of the day, we’re unselfish only to keep from feeling selfish.

Once we’ve faced this deep-rooted truth, we can move forward with being unselfish, which in reality is what keeps this world from imploding, and is the only thing that ultimately makes a life worth living.

What’s the meaning of life, you ask? There’s only one answer in my eyes, and it’s very simple: To spend it unselfishly.

And we all know simple is eons away from easy.

I was thinking the other day what gives me pause; what, during a typical selfish, emergency-filled day, causes me to literally stop what I’m doing, and stand there as if I were never born, and would never die.

For me, it’s the four-year-old girl in a white sundress running around in the grass chasing a ball or a puppy. This is one of those rare chances in my life - because I won't be having any of my own anytime soon - for me to experience pure, unselfish God-given beauty in its most natural form.

I live in East Hollywood, and because of my work-at-home lifestyle these days, regular hikes in Griffith Park have become a cherished escape from the monotony and lifelessness of a MacBookPro. At any hour of any day, families of all kinds - Mexican, Middle-Eastern, Asian, and, believe it or not, the occasional full-blooded American - seem to be there solely for my viewing pleasure. This usually brings me to sitting on a bench at the bottom of the mountain, peacefully observing a life I crave yet push aside. Sometimes I get so engrossed I forget about my hike entirely, and turn around and go home.

Now filled with perspective and love – and things to write about – I walk back into the eye of the storm equipped with my umbrella and my windbreaker.

What gives you pause? Feel free to tell me in a comment below.