Unorthodox Angles/Andrew Gramling
Understanding the Ego
In previous articles, I’ve briefly mentioned the word ego, which most often has negative connotations associated with it, but I felt like it deserves much more attention since it is a strong part of everyone’s life, often going unnoticed.
Regarding how the word is used, I never hear people say things like, “That guy has a magnificent ego. I’m so jealous!” or, “If only I had a bigger ego, I could’ve done much better on the test.” Instead, we usually hear things like, “She was all up in her ego, so she didn’t even notice me,” or “My boss is so egotistical. He thinks he runs this company, all 22 locations in five states, all by himself.” Given in this sort of context, it is easy to see how it can be identified as purely a bad thing to have an ego. What a lot of people seem to miss is why we have one to begin with.
It is said that one of the ego’s primary missions in life is to keep us safe. It’s a survival mechanism at the very base level. It’s that voice in our heads that tell us not to change or do anything because there is comfort and security in staying exactly where we are. That may be true, up until a certain point in time.
Another thing they do is keep us sane. If a person’s individualized consciousness were to suddenly melt away into everything else in existence, like a raindrop falling into the ocean suddenly becoming the whole ocean, it would be too much for the majority of people to handle, I’m guessing. Some people who are labeled as crazy or insane are probably just expressing a kind of understanding about the world that our ego tells us not to get into because it is unfamiliar and unknown. I wouldn’t be surprised if sudden-ego-death were a symptom experienced by a lot of drug users who reach out into the fringes of known altered-states, but then return to the ego after the drugs have worn off. Ego can be seen as a protector, but at some point, it can also serve as a prison.
Change is inevitable. Every day, discoveries are made. New and more improved ways of doing things are developed, and things we once thought were true are proven false, and vice-versa. If we always listen to the voice that tells us to stay put, there are a multitude of possibilities we may be missing out on.
What if our ego tells us that something isn’t possible because someone else who tried the same thing failed? Well, then we’ve automatically failed before even trying.
What if our ego tells us that everything is fine in the world because it’s more safe and secure to believe so; meanwhile, the world is falling apart around us, as it cyclically has since the beginning of known history, and we are doing nothing to prepare for it? The consequences would be numerous, and none of them would work in our favor that I could imagine.
I think part of the reason we are alive IS to experience life as individuals, so I can’t dog on the ego for being there to make that possible. What I do disagree with is when the ego takes away from our choices and our freedom. There are countless ways the ego restricts our lives, from “regretful” things that happened in the distant past to things still ahead in the future that haven’t solidified yet. It can be the thing that causes us to need validation and approval from others. It can be the thing that prevents us from living the life we truly desire. But it’s also something that makes us human, so I don’t know if saying goodbye to the ego forever is ideal, nor would it be easy to accomplish since it has many sneaky ways of creeping back into a person’s life without them knowing it, and it has multiple attack angles.
So, what is the solution then? For anyone who is interested in self-realization and self-development, I think the answer is AWARENESS. When we become aware of that voice inside of us that may just be a result of some kind of social programming, we then have the choice to listen or not rather than just go along with it as a default because we think that is who we really are. Being aware of one’s choices and the potential for unlimited possibilities travels toward the direction of freedom, and helps act as a safeguard against remaining a prisoner of the ego.
