Thoughts on Ego #1

We often imagine our ego to be like a balloon which we are advised not to 'inflate'.

I find this advice to be counterproductive to self actualization. Instead, let your ego inflate as much as you want. Experience what it is like to feel purposeful and instrumental in the lives of others. Feel the confidence and the inescapable arrogance that comes with it. This affords you more opportunities to experience the discomfort of ego suppression. A suppressed ego is not a natural state. Like a balloon that defies the laws of thermodynamics, the ego equilibrates to its preferred state of internal pressure; it wants to stay inflated as a completely deflated ego would result in the complete loss of self. To suppress the ego is to apply external pressure to it and force the air out against the established pressure gradient . This is an active process that requires mental energy and a humble surrender to a reality capable of applying external pressure in the first place.

Suppressing the ego opens you up to much more experience than inflating it does. However, it cannot be deflated unless it was once inflated, and the more inflated it is, the more you can reap the benefits of suppression. The benefits to ego suppression are endless. Ego suppression builds virtues such as gratitude, forgiveness and discipline. It humbles you, makes you question your beliefs and breaks you out of your axiomatically confined reality. We can only truly feel and become more conscious when our perception of reality is shattered to pieces. The air needs to rush out.

In a society where information, validation and instant gratification are more accessible than food or water, our egos have never been more inflated. While the consequences of this are pretty visible and disappointing, the opportunities for suppression are also more abundant than ever. If we can act dutifully as a community to keep relieving the pressure, we can reach a new state of collective consciousness. If we wish to end polarization, we need to embrace our egos enough to want to suppress them when necessary. Honesty, empathy and humility are the keys to understanding when it is necessary.