How Well Do I Sleep

Like a Dog pulling on a rag, I can't let go of ego.

So many great masters, from the Buddha to the Christ, insist that it is the ego that drives selfishness, self-will, self- hatred, self-destructiveness, and self-denial, that I have to give them some consideration. However, the very idea that I must abandon the guiles of ego to break through to the Heart of Compassion is anathema to me. It seems to not matter at all how miserable my life has become trying to appease the increasing demands of ego, I will keep at it like a dog pulling on a rag. Now, this is almost a universal condition so why should I be ashamed of it? Has my addiction to security, sex, food, alcohol, drugs, TV, isolation, prestige and power, given me anything of real value? How well do I sleep and how much true love and light have I accepted or given in my life?

The answer, for the most part, isn’t shame for my failures along these lines. It is a simple matter of having enough humility to address these road-blocks to happiness and take comfort that faith, in the Heart of Compassion, will lift me from the morass of self-deception. Where I am helpless God can, and will, do so if only I ask and am willing to follow the loving guidance provided from every tradition. Love is the answer and compassion is the expression of a higher love than any of us can comprehend. Rest in it and breathe.

I say this because I have observed that even the most vile uses of various scripture, from the Bible to the Koran, contradict and are steeped in the power of God’s love when seen through the eyes of the saints in those traditions (i.e., from Saint John of the Cross to the poetry of Rumi). If I only seek out compassion in my teachers, I will be washed and compelled within the power of that Spirit.

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