Let go of Ego
Worry and tension, guilt and hostility, resentment and vanity lay the foundations for all of our physical afflictions. They spring like growths from our over-developed little egos, which are forever being hurt and frustrated in a world which we set out to beat instead of cooperate with. Victory seems to be all we can think of. We have to outshine somebody, get the better of someone, make more money, be better looking, wear better clothes. How transient such victories are, and how unrewarding. Find a champion and you will see behind him the shadow of the man who will replace him. There is no victory for the hounded little ego, for it is nothing by itself, and it cannot see the larger dimensions of the being in which it is rooted. So it is hurt and sad and lonely and frustrated, and is forever turning upon itself and rending itself, as if by the self-affliction of pain it confirms the poor opinion it has of life. Turn to the gigantic Self that dwells within, and you will cease to be concerned with the pains of your ego, which will immerse itself in an untroubled sea and bother you no more.
Some of your hurts you have cured
And the sharpest you still have survived
But what torments of grief you endured
For evils which never arrived.
—Emerson
The entire miracle of existence and creation lies at our fingertips, yet most of us fill the pathways of our lives with wails of fear for what lies around the corner; we bemoan past mistakes, or dwell forever on the saddest words of tongue or pen—it might have been. Each day is a new birth, unlimited with miraculous possibilities for each man who lives. No matter what your age, situation, clime or time, you need only awaken to know with Kahlil Gibran that "That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space."
Worry and tension, guilt and hostility, resentment and vanity lay the foundations for all of our physical afflictions. They spring like growths from our over-developed little egos, which are forever being hurt and frustrated in a world which we set out to beat instead of cooperate with. Victory seems to be all we can think of. We have to outshine somebody, get the better of someone, make more money, be better looking, wear better clothes. How transient such victories are, and how unrewarding. Find a champion and you will see behind him the shadow of the man who will replace him. There is no victory for the hounded little ego, for it is nothing by itself, and it cannot see the larger dimensions of the being in which it is rooted. So it is hurt and sad and lonely and frustrated, and is forever turning upon itself and rending itself, as if by the self-affliction of pain it confirms the poor opinion it has of life. Turn to the gigantic Self that dwells within, and you will cease to be concerned with the pains of your ego, which will immerse itself in an untroubled sea and bother you no more.
Some of your hurts you have cured
And the sharpest you still have survived
But what torments of grief you endured
For evils which never arrived.
—Emerson
The entire miracle of existence and creation lies at our fingertips, yet most of us fill the pathways of our lives with wails of fear for what lies around the corner; we bemoan past mistakes, or dwell forever on the saddest words of tongue or pen—it might have been. Each day is a new birth, unlimited with miraculous possibilities for each man who lives. No matter what your age, situation, clime or time, you need only awaken to know with Kahlil Gibran that "That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space."
Three Magic Words
U.S. Andersen
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