Eckhart Tolle
Who is This?
I came out alone on my way to my tryst.
But who is this that follows me in the silent dark?
I move aside to escape his presence but I escape him not.
He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger;
he adds his loud voice to every word I utter.
He is my own little self, my Lord, he knows no shame;
but I am ashamed to come to Thy door in his company.
Rabindranath Tagore
Do you Have an Ego that Won't Leave You Alone?
Can you relate to Tagore's description of the ego? Are you aware of an ego that follows you around wherever you go, that just does not seem to want to leave you alone? Are you at least trying to avoid and escape "his" company? ( I often wondered why I wanted to refer to ego as a "he" and now I know why, I was remembering this poem....not that the ego has a gender:)) Are you ashamed to bring this ego with you when you pray or meditate?
I know I have a strong and clingy ego, pretty much wrapped around my legs and I can't shake him/her/it off. I so want to get beyond its loud and sometimes obnoxious presence that just will not allow me to be at peace. This presence weighs me down as it constantly whispers conflicting messages in my ear to make "me" special in one way or another: One moment it tells me why I should be ashamed of myself and the next, why I should be proud. It constantly points out all the dangers "out there" and tells me what I need to do to avoid them. It gets me to run after "things" it feels I need to have or "do" to keep it happy and then it gets me collecting grievances so I stay unhappy. It is a nasty and very confusing little fellow to have around.
Ashamed?
The more I evolve, albeit slowly :), the more I see it in action and the more "ashamed " I am of it. But then again "ashamed" is a feeling ego would use and not what The Innocent Aware Presence, that it so ferociously clings to, would use.
Innocent Aware Presence
What we want is to be that innocent aware presence, don't we? We want to experience the world without the "burden" of an ego imposed identity. Whenever we look upon the ego without judgment, criticism or condemnation and therefore without shame...we are that...we are aware that we are that. Whenever we get beyond fear and all its nasty consequences...we are that Innocent Aware Presence. We are Love. How cool is that?
Maybe our escape from ego...will simply involve our awareness of it in a nonjudgmental and accepting way. Just bringing ourselves back again and again to this awareness will help to shake ego off, maybe? Maybe that is the only anti-adhesive we need to detach it from our lives?
Obviously still not detached because ego is tapping me on the shoulder, whispering in my ear, "Tell them. Tell them." So I will and I will try not to be red faced as I do so. I love Tagore and wrote an article based on one of his beautiful poems, A Moment's Indulgence, that was published in The Mindful Word a few years ago. I will link it here. Pure ego making me do this lol. The innocent aware presence is simply watching...saying nothing!
All is Well!
Inspired By:
Poem Hunters:https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/who-is-this/#content
My article (correction- the article that came through me as inspired by Tagore :): https://www.themindfulword.org/2017/learning-tagore-take-break
Wayne Dyer & Eckhart Tolle (January 2013) The Importance of Being Extraordinary. Hay House. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di9VOwPzmZw
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