The ego is a mask...
The ego is a mask that becomes a sarcophogus when you let your Self die.
How do arrogance and ego relate? A dear friend behaved in a manner towards her beloved that he would never have accepted as behaviour from himself, yet he continued to love with patience and determination. For him, his compassion and love for her allowed him to believe that whilst he would never do what she did, that her experiences meant that such behaviour was expected even if not acceptable. Was he arrogant?
Surely it is not arrogant to have unreasonable standards. But is it more arrogant to hold others accountable to those high standards, or to not hold them to those standards?
If she were to cheat on him, would it be arrogant for him to be willing to take her back knowing that an ordinary person might do the same, even if he never would?
In this sense, how can we reconcile compassion and arrogance?
Pursuing a nonjudgmental consciousness is part of almost every Great Path. Perhaps when we suspend judgment by the ego we can uphold our standards for ourselves while peacefully and compassionately seeking to understand the shortfalls of those around us. I wonder...
posted by Daniel @ 6:02 pm
3 Comments:
Ego is a tool for the insecure to use to hide inequalities and weakness within their own persona. In men, ego is an ancient means of proving that you are a superior ape to another by exhibiting mind power and strength to dominate. Ego is a means of obtaining power and yet so many ego driven people, have often deep rooted insecurities. If they simply were to put their ego aside and not be concerned too much about having it bruised, they would realise that life isn't a game of having to prove oneself and to try and exert power over others. If ego is to be replaced with pride and as you mentioned in one of your passages a greater sense of self esteem, a lot more productivity and prosperity would occur. As well as this would be happiness.
Warm regards
Garry
Interesting thoughts but I'm wondering what has prompted them this week Daniel?
Keep up the great blog.
To me, it is almost like we have an ongoing battle between our ego-driven self and our 'higher' Self. I find that when I am coming from what I believe to be the 'right' place, my ego has no strength, kept in check by peace and love.
Seeing people choosing to be in pain is a challenge for me; indeed one of my great challenges is learning to honour and respect the need for those around me to do things that I know will cause them pain.
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