Having just returned from holiday in Santiago, Chile, I realize that there’s no place that your mind cannot go. We have to start by programming our minds to control our mouths so that our egos and dignity are not wounded. It is the quest of being able to see ourselves as we are. Yet with each passing year, our reflection changes; the hair begins to gray, the skin begins to lose elasticity. No matter how vigilant we are with applying lotions and potions, and being careful with our diet and fitness regimens, the external expression of who we are changes with or without permission, and our bodies will grow feeble. Life wanes but our souls must continue to grow throughout the process, so that our transformation is not only a reflection of the dignity of our souls, but also a reflection of who we are and who we choose to become. Miguel de Cervantes in his book Don Quixote writes, “I know who I am and who I may be if I choose.”
Change is the reflection of choices that we make. In fact, our lives are the sum total of the choices we make, and those choices have a direct impact on our ability or inability to exist in peace and harmony.
Subduing the ego is a difficult, but a necessary step in the evolutionary process of growth. Ego attacks love, applauds jealousy and makes self-centeredness a rite of passage. It is incumbent on us to subjugate our base emotions in order to attain a higher level of consciousness. Who we are is not necessarily who we should or can be.
There is a reason to study all manner of historical guideposts, Buddha, Jesus, Allah and the Gita, for they are guideposts to understand how we can change and love the world and ourselves without losing a thing. Hitchhike to catch up with the mind of peace and its race through the giant steps that we trail through the universe. Peace.
