Present to ourselves

Not until a person dissolves, can he or she know what union is.

                                                                                Rumi, The Soul of Rumi,  Trans. Barks, p.93

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Ah, ego

born out of fear

our protective crust

our false self

it seems so useful

so protective

it feel like that which gives us substance

and identity

I am

I am

and yet it is a cage

that lets little out

and little in

it traps the soul

and will not let

the winged bird fly

the ego threatened

even by God

becomes a tyrant

(“the ego hates losing, even to God” – Richard Rohr)

I am at my worst when ego dominates

the ego is suspicious, competitive, and stressed

it asks “am I liked” and “am I admired”

and keeps the focus on me

and so I fail to see, to hear, to be present with

the one who is next to me

and even fail to see, to hear, to be

present with myself

if I am to find love

acceptance

hope

if I am to find myself

ego must dissolve

for only then can I find behind the façade

the familiar and strange things that are

the eternal me

and can I find the familiar and strange

and wonderful things

that are the eternal you