La Quica
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 19, 2017
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The battle of ego vs. loveInside every human being, two opposing forces battle against one another: love and ego. Each has its own agenda, suggestions, and ideas, and they are almost always opposite. It's up to us to choose which we will allow to govern our lives.
Here's how this battle plays out:
The force of love
Love draws us toward the good. It moves us to be kind and sensitive at all times, and it admonishes us when we are unkind or neglectful. It is not manners or upbringing, but the force of love in us that makes us feel so uneasy with being angry, rude, reactive, jumpy, or paranoid.Every heart is sensitive to love's requirements. Even if no outer voice called on us to love, we would call on ourselves. Our conscience is love's voice speaking from within.
For example: Your sister breaks your favorite glass while washing the dishes. You start to scold her because you are angry, but you don't get too far before you notice she looks awfully hurt, and she starts to cry. Suddenly the wind goes out of the sails of vengeance, and you find yourself wishing to offer comfort. You apologize for making such a big deal out of it. Once more, the sensitivity of the human heart has enforced love's rule.
If we followed our hearts, love would govern our every move, and we'd create beauty wherever we go.
The force of ego
But to ego, love is dangerous. The painful parts of love are threatening, and so are the good parts. Rejection and conflict can be threatening, in the sense that they create pain—and no one likes pain.But then so are commitment, surrender, and trust. Even pleasure threatens ego, particularly great pleasure. A lot of love is too much for ego. Too much to give. Too much to take. If ever love raises its beautiful head too high, ego gets uncomfortable, and reacts in ugly ways, because it knows that if love rules in our hearts and minds, egoism is out.
"Too much love" begins to call ego's ways—selfishness, self-protection, fear, doubt, defense and offense—into question. Wherever that love light shines, all such junk sticks out like a sore thumb.
So, ego not only fears that loving will result in hurt, it also fears that if we love too deeply, too happily, we will abandon the ego-concept (of separation and self-protection) altogether. Ego fears its undoing in love.
By: David Truman
