The Dangerous
Ego
Looking good to others is what ego is all about and controlling our ego can be
extremely difficult. It can be a hard Master, causing us to waste resources
trying to live according to how we think others want to see us. There's only one
person on the planet who knows how and why I feel and act as I do, and that's
me. As long as I can satisfy myself, the opinions of others concerning my value
are of no real importance.
A term that grates on me is 'Professional Person'. I've never met an amatuer,
and anyone who has been paid for their labor has done it professionally. People
hang this label on themselves for nothing more
than status. Elevating ourselves in a particular area can only be done by
lowering others, then things get out of balance. The need to be right or feel
superior on some level can really screw up the harmony around us. Winning an
argument at all costs because we know we're right can change marriages or
friendships and destroy group
dynamics.
Many years ago I participated in a growth group. During a particular session the
leader offered us the opportunity to ask any of the group what their first
impression of us had been. For some, this was a real
risk to their ego and they felt genuine fear in the exercise. As though they had
built a house of cards and someone just asked them to turn on a fan. For the
most part egos aren't real, they are only a mask we wear in public. When we are
alone the mask comes off, and it is who we are then that carries true weight.
It seems people who haven't accomplished much have a tendency to drag what
they've done into the light of day, while those who have achieved a lot are too
busy with their work to worry about what others think. We don't have to defend
our views or positions, because no amount of selling will make them more valid.
It's a waste of energy.
I read the other day that there are at least a billion galaxies in the known
universe, and each galaxy contains 300 to 500 million stars. In the Milky Way
galaxy there is a yellow star, rather on the small side, with nine little
planets whizzing around it. This star and its planets are almost beyond
microscopic in the scheme of things, probably much like an individual atom in
our world. But on the third planet from this star countless varieties of
organisms cover the surface. Of all these microbes on this invisible speck, one
species has convinced itself that it has real importance.
Ego is hard to control, even if
there's no basis for it. If we think we have acquired humility and feel pride in
this accomplishment, then we haven't acquired it ... it ain't easy.
John Crusey
jcrusey@woh.rr.com
y@woh.rr.comwoh.rr.com
