Meditation on Ego
Happy, beer in hand, in my green rubber ring, in the Ionian sea somewhere between the top of Corfu and Albania - 2024
A meditation on Ego
Your ego is an ever-changing vision of yourself, the version of you that you outwardly portray to others. I have read many accounts of people trying to shed their ego, trying to lead a path to an enlightened life where they are a “true self” with no ego. I’m not sure this is conducive with leading a great life, I think its fine to have someone that you are in private and someone that you are in public. These are not separate people, they’re just you in different social situations and that’s OK. Social media has also skewed the idea of pursuing an egoless existence, your social media IS an ego, a third one that sits on top of your true self and your social ego, like a third layer. Be wary of those telling you how zen they are on Instagram, without being too judgy, that photo took them 3 hours of posing and editing and the text another 2. I personally think it’s impossible for normal run of the mill western people to aspire to living an egoless life.
In my family, we try live a life of achievable goals. Come new year we have a drink and see in the new year, then we’ll each set an “achievable goal”. This can be a family walk on New Year’s Day (depending on how much we have had to drink) or maybe saying this year I really want to go to a zoo or get a new fencing jacket. We really try to remember and push each other to do these things, until everyone’s complete.
There is power in seeing something full circle and achieving goals, much like anything you practice. Achieving gets easier with time and practicing achieving goals by bringing the goalposts closer, is a wonderful way to start the year on the right path as opposed to starting the year with inevitable failure. In this same light, I think rather than saying you’re going to be true to yourself all the time and relinquish all ego, its far better to truly get to know your ego, become comfortable with it and later be able to adapt it with personality traits from your true self. Simply put, being a Zen master is out of most people’s reach but being very comfortable with who you are both on your own and in social situations, be them physical or digital, is the key to enlightenment-lite.