Background photo by Nick Andréka on Unsplash.
Ego is obsession with demonstrating substance.
Obsession:
- an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind
Demonstrate:
- give a practical exhibition and explanation of (how a machine, skill, or craft works or is performed)
- clearly show the existence or truth of (something) by giving proof or evidence
Substance:
- a particular kind of matter with uniform properties
- the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists and which has a tangible, solid presence
- the quality of being important, valid, or significant
- the essential nature underlying phenomena, which is subject to changes and accidents
Knowing that everything I choose could be inherently pointless & useless gives clarity to my act of choosing.
I believe the answer to separateness is not homogeneity; it is heterogeneity, intraconnection & interdependence.
I want to ensure that I do not inadvertently end up only in echo chambers when I join or build communities.
I refuse to dehumanize those who dehumanize, for once I do, I am no different from them.
Whenever there is the compulsion to "save the world", it is almost always the ego wishing to play the saviour.
One key to friendship is not assuming, needing, nor expecting my friends to be exactly like me.
I am becoming leery of any solutions to collective problems that start with, "Everyone should..."
Aloneness and loneliness are not the same thing.
Evil is born from the delusion of separateness.
Ego reacts to ego.
Clear perception helps me to do less harm to self and others.
The self can become obsessed with confirming existence.
'Tis more important to care about how I perceive rather than how I am perceived.
As I evolve, my frame shifts; with it, my perception. Thus, all in constant motion; nothing remains the same.
The more I grasp, the more I am like the fly, thrashing in the spider's web.
Praise & criticism are no different.
Behind all noise is no noise. Hence, know noise & know no noise.
I cultivated self, to surrender self.
Not trying to be useful; not trying to be entertaining. Expressing experience as it comes & goes, lives & dies.
When authenticity doesn't feel vulnerable, I know I'm hiding behind a performance; using authenticity as armouring.
Hear here. 😉
If I'm perceived as being insane, does that mean I am insane?
Sometimes... the best way to help is to step away & disentangle the threads that bind us to our mutual follies.
Ego seeks to hide its emptiness behind things it refuses to acknowledge as being just as empty.
When we accept suffering... Do we still suffer? 🤔
How much of what's been taught about non-attachment is simply lust & attachment to the escape from suffering?
I choose to be a part of the world while releasing attachments to suffering inadvertently welcomed through my chosen entanglements.
I am given opportunities everyday to remember my utter, utter lack of control in all things.
The freedoms I seek from the things I fear are found deep within the very things themselves.
