Everyone is looking for an antidote to the human idea of “self-worth.” They spend their precious lives measuring themselves against others and worrying about how they “rank” physically, socially, intellectually and economically.

There is no way to invoke the idea of “self-worth” without injecting the narcotic of entitlement into the egomania of emotional pride, which sets into motion the ideals of social appeasement through the allure of beauty (for women) and power and wealth (for men). This is why women seek “makeovers” and plastic surgery to maintain enviable beauty, while men seek cunning strategies to conquer in business and become the “Caesar” of the world.

The pursuit of “self-worth” simply means trying to alter the perceptions of ourselves in the eyes of others through the use of pride, vanity and self-aggrandizement. People like to believe they can CONTROL their lives by “enhancing” the “self.” Most people are hooked on the drug of trying to reinvent their “self” in order to keep the “bad” things away while getting as many “good” things as possible into their lives.

No matter what people do to invent or maintain the idea of a “self” it is only an idea or ideal and haas nothing to do with being authentic. In this world, there will always be the idea of “greater and lesser” people than the “self” we live with. The real effort in this lifetime is to minimize the importance of the ego (“self”) and its demands.

In this earthly world, there is no perceived value in nothing. The ego (“self”) has been allowed to be the only identity people recognize. What they call a “self” is merely the accumulation of fear within that causes them to live without the presence of Love in their lives.

In the spiritual realm, an authentic meditation practice reduces the belief in a “self” and allows the insight for living as no-thing, which means living in the human experience, but not just as a human. As all Masters have taught, from Lao-tzu to Jesus, we are the very essence of the Divine.

Here is a wonderful story that shows the depth of futility the ego creates through trying to find its worth and happiness through a “self”…

There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and his position in life. One day he passed a wealthy merchant’s house. Through the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important visitors.

“How powerful that merchant must be!” thought the stonecutter. He became very envious and wished that he could be like the merchant. To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself.

Soon a high official passed by being carried in a sedan chair accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession.

“How powerful that official is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a high official!” Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence.

“How powerful the sun is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be the sun!” Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. “How powerful that storm cloud is!” he thought.

The stonecutter mused: “I wish that I could be a cloud,” and suddenly, he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind.

“How powerful it is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be the wind!” Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it – a huge, towering rock.

“How powerful that rock is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a rock! Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard surface, and felt himself being changed.

“What could be more powerful than I, the rock?” he thought and as he looked down, he saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.

SIMPLICITY
To become simple takes great intelligence. Simplicity removes the condition of being complicated. In spiritual terms, simplicity means that we live unpretentious to the natural order of Life. Thus, we no longer follow thoughts that seek to come to conclusions about the idea of a “self” that separates us from others.

The effort of being simple means we no longer heap grandiose desires upon our lives to “aggrandize” who and what we seem to be in this world. Living simply, we move with the ebb and flow of every experience that is occurring. It takes practice through meditation, loving acceptance of everything as it is in this life and the willingness to live with whatever is within our daily living as a matter of enhancing compassion within.

When we are no longer willing to be complicated, we achieved a simplicity within, which allows for a deep sense of well-being that serves as a portal to the great abundance that lives within us and all around us. The simple person recognizes the bigger picture by becoming so compassionate that they respect everything that is occurring within the seeming “life” they live.

DESIRELESSNESS
When Buddha became aware and then awakened…it was because he came to the place where he could realize the futility of all human desire and how it drains us of our life energies.

To be able to “manifest” what we need in this world as it pertains to our karma, fate and destiny is the very essence of prosperity. Real wealth is a matter of compassion, not greed. It is the ability to have what we need when we need it and to realize, through everything that is occurring in our life, the consciousness that brings awareness. All “needs” are here to teach us the way of Love through trust and lead us to a profound sense of mercy, which is the greatest measure of Love there is in this world.

MERCY
Most people are only interested in what they can get and not that which lives within them. They betray their own sense of goodness and Love through fear, hateful indulgence and cynicism. Seeking to be “happy” through the world is futile and useless for there is so much missing after it is all said and done. What is missing is that intangible element of joy, of profound well-being. Without it, people feel something is wrong in their lives, but they don’t know how to deal with it.

Deep within our lives is the essence of the mercy that has been given to us throughout our daily living. Live to show the same mercy that has been given…in all ways. Living mercifully is the most beautiful way to live as it affects the body and its future.

Only those who seek mercy can hear the unspoken, inexplicable Truth.