At times it seems so easy for one to seem alone in the world, hence the bulk of literature and popular media exploring the topic. Whether one believes they are above everyone, below everyone or simply on another wavelength altogether everyone seems to exhibit selfishness to a degree if they dwell on their own interests.

My question is whether or not selfish interest is pure delusion. Its a very subjective thing to dwell on it seems, and if you think of how other people perceive you and what your best interests are it can be quite interesting to think what motivates that.

If you have an ongoing experience of being connected to all things and have risen above the need for support in separation and the belief in separation. Wouldn't it be more likely your experience of yourself would be that to need something from yourself would be a matter of focus and resonance with truth rather than illusion?

In separation one is attracted opposites thru the belief that there is something missing. Relationships survive on need. Love is given in exchange for love, very rearely is it given when non is given back. The mind that is locked in separation will most likely abandon the attention given to another if there is no return in favor of another who will.
In the state of union, consciousness pervades the intellect and the emotions with fullness of being. When someone first steps into the experience illusions of separation fall like sandcastles in the surf when approached while retaining the greater experience.
lesser thoughts based on fear, grasping and self worth are replaced with love and appreciation.

The actions of such an individual are similar to an individual who is in love and pours out attention to his/her beloved. When the fullness of love permeates all things, actions are poured out in support of the whole rather than the few or a single person or noone at all based on the influence of feelings and emotional attachments.

The parent child relationship that is based on wisdom: the parent gives from the greater knowledge of experience and greater vision, allowing the temperament of the growing reactions to emergent emotions guiding the child out of love rather than out of selfishness and to manipulate the child to give back what the parent gives, seeking to control the child to fulfill its own selfish motives and desires.
This type of relationship is unconditional and love or attention is not based on selfish desire but rather compassion, or love coupled with wisdom.

Any conditional love or attention, is based on the return of attention in equal, sometimes greater measure, to fullfill the need one has to replace what was never experienced, often as a result of grwoing up in a less than loving or compassionate environment that did not support ones emotional growth and association to inner strength and spirit.

Generally the relationships one has with their parents and the peergroup developed in school shapes the emotional body forming beliefs of ones own worth.
Perceptions of society that the better looking get the better looking partners and attract better jobs and lifestyles weakens the social system and divides it into competitive groups that fight for their brass ring rather than support equal distribution of love and wealth. This not only creates stress in the system but further perpetuates division in human worth and social values.
Those that seek to find equality will often try to find a way to exemplify themselves in their own minds and expression of individuality. Cliques are formed and certain people hang out with certain people ignoring other no conformists because of their own perception of being unwanted or outcast.

To the untrained intellect and unstable emotional belief systems that perpetuate division these things seem very real, but when the cause is seen as dysfunctional by another group, say psychologists then their motive would be to heal the symptoms hopefully by curing the cause.
If the cause is seen as wrong then is it real or illusion?
The afffects may seem real enough but if something seems unnecessary is it illusion based on ignorance or necessary to stimulate growth in knowledge and experience?
Then if it repeats itself over and over again and knowledge does not find cures, is knowledge illusion when it does not or cannot recognise or change destructive patterns of belief and emotional attachment?

How much do you yourself remain cognisant of what is around you? do you visit the idea when it comes around or do you remain cognisant of reality at all times?
When you don't feel or think about something does it exist or is it illusion?
What is it you put your attention on?
Is it selfish to give to what is around you and not to the rest of the world, or does giving have a ripple affect that spreads like the disease of greed,suffering an sloth?
Will you ultimately take anothers word for what is illusion or will you somehow at sometime look inside of yourself to see how you feel and whether you give freely and without conditions?

Mt 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
This is often interpreted to mean if someone smacks you, stand there and take it.
No one is obliged to put their body in front of harms way but they are obliged to take the time to open the intellect to understand the situation and that time can be instant.
Often we react to situations out of selfish reasons thinking in terms of only ourselves. Not knowing why another does things we assume based on feelings, past experiences related to those feelings and our own experiences rather than the one who is coming at us in emotional distress.
It takes two to have a conversation and it take two to have an argument.
Generally one who is frustrated and attacks another will, if given the chance move out of the emotional state of reaction of one has the patience to wait long enough to let it play out.
With encouragement and love one can often disarm violence. By this I mean one can avoid the violence and remain objective and supportive of the healing that can take place when one stands unaffected by a greater experience of themselves and the other. Meaning that the violence is not the person but the person is feeling violent.
Which is illusion the violence or the person inside displaying the violence or are they a necessary part of each other. If it is a necessary part in all of us to be violent then this subject is meaningless. There would be no illusions and you better get what you can at all costs because that's just the way it is baby..