Look, I'm going to get more serious now, because I believe that I'm in a transitional phase of my life and have been within this phase for a few years now (I know...long phase). I want to be free from myself, from my own prison, from my own personal hell - a hell which is lorded over by the ultimate, almost unconquerable, gaoler - the 'I', 'me', 'myself' - the Ego. There are many pieces of literature detailing the Ego and it's persuasion towards imprisonment of the mind. Everything we do, no matter how banal, is a testament to the power of the Ego.
Let's face it, from our early childhood years, we are primed to be imprisoned by our own Ego's - especially in this modern world where image is such an all important thing that it chokes the soul and bleeds it dry. Let me pose the following question: next to self-preservation (and this includes procreation), what is the one overriding urge common amongst all of us? Not much of a question, because I think it's a lot more rhetorical in its nature - it's a question everyone knows the answer to, although many may be afraid to admit it. The one overriding concern common amongst all human beings is the urge to be accepted and liked. Basic, isn't it? Being accepted or, at least, being able to perceive that you are accepted is possibly the most important driving force behind an individuals actions, and behind this driving force is the Ego.
People go to great lengths to gain acceptance (or perceived acceptance); their energies wasted on relatively fruitless activities. People push themselves to the brink of death on ridiculous diets, go under the knife in dangerous procedures and get involved in stupid antics just to satisfy the Ego. And I'm going to tell you the worst part - society not only allows this, but actively encourages it. Society, with it's beauty magazines, advertisements and various pressures pushing us to give in to our Ego's and be beautiful, cover our faces with make-up laid on so thickly it's like Siberia in the winter; masking every single little blemish - masking our souls.
Am I the only one who thinks this is sick? We have become worse than animals in this world. Animals have no rise to rational thought and do not engage in these seemingly savage activities. They do not diet, do not push each other towards spirals of uncontrolability and do not put pressure on one another to change. The Ego is, then, inextricably linked with our capacities for rational thought, and yet it is an irrational beast - stopping at nothing to get it's fix of acceptance, pushing us ever closer to the edge over which we will soon peek and be thrust into oblivion by ourselves.
It seems like rational thought is a double-edged sword; giving us the ability to reason, to think on a level other creatures would only dream of, but burdening us with this prison; the Ego in all it's infinite stupidity. I feel the need to rid myself of this burden; to let go of my Ego and, thus, be free of my prison, as should everyone else. But we've all come to depend on our Ego's. It is, after all, a part of us, isn't it? Yes it is, but so is cancer when you have it. Baby steps, though. Baby steps...
Let's face it, from our early childhood years, we are primed to be imprisoned by our own Ego's - especially in this modern world where image is such an all important thing that it chokes the soul and bleeds it dry. Let me pose the following question: next to self-preservation (and this includes procreation), what is the one overriding urge common amongst all of us? Not much of a question, because I think it's a lot more rhetorical in its nature - it's a question everyone knows the answer to, although many may be afraid to admit it. The one overriding concern common amongst all human beings is the urge to be accepted and liked. Basic, isn't it? Being accepted or, at least, being able to perceive that you are accepted is possibly the most important driving force behind an individuals actions, and behind this driving force is the Ego.
People go to great lengths to gain acceptance (or perceived acceptance); their energies wasted on relatively fruitless activities. People push themselves to the brink of death on ridiculous diets, go under the knife in dangerous procedures and get involved in stupid antics just to satisfy the Ego. And I'm going to tell you the worst part - society not only allows this, but actively encourages it. Society, with it's beauty magazines, advertisements and various pressures pushing us to give in to our Ego's and be beautiful, cover our faces with make-up laid on so thickly it's like Siberia in the winter; masking every single little blemish - masking our souls.
Am I the only one who thinks this is sick? We have become worse than animals in this world. Animals have no rise to rational thought and do not engage in these seemingly savage activities. They do not diet, do not push each other towards spirals of uncontrolability and do not put pressure on one another to change. The Ego is, then, inextricably linked with our capacities for rational thought, and yet it is an irrational beast - stopping at nothing to get it's fix of acceptance, pushing us ever closer to the edge over which we will soon peek and be thrust into oblivion by ourselves.
It seems like rational thought is a double-edged sword; giving us the ability to reason, to think on a level other creatures would only dream of, but burdening us with this prison; the Ego in all it's infinite stupidity. I feel the need to rid myself of this burden; to let go of my Ego and, thus, be free of my prison, as should everyone else. But we've all come to depend on our Ego's. It is, after all, a part of us, isn't it? Yes it is, but so is cancer when you have it. Baby steps, though. Baby steps...
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