Are We There Yet? vol. 214
In Eckhart Tolle’s book, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, he spends time talking about ego and how ego can significantly influence who we are. What I found interesting was the way he described the ego as almost like a separate entity inside of us, fighting for power over us. Mr. Toole is a German born spiritual teacher and self-help author. The way he described our battle with ego really resonated with me and how I view my path through life.
He says, “How you are seen by others becomes the mirror that tells you what you are and who you are. The ego’s sense of self-worth is, in most cases, bound up with the worth you have in the eyes of others. If you cannot look through the collective delusion, you’re condemned to chasing things in the hope of finding your worth.” When I think about myself, I was very influenced by my parents, and I did a lot of things to please them. Having this need to please is not like a switch that can be turned on and off. I have worked very hard to have more balance and self-awareness rather than the mirror of what others think of me.
I think I’m probably like many of you and might initially think that concepts like ego and self are for philosophers to consider while I stay firmly in the real world. But I try to remain open to them, and occasionally a thought or approach strikes me as something to consider. This was one of those times.
Sometimes our egos can get in the way of who we really want to be and finding the meaning and purpose that we seek.
Take care and stay safe.
BOOK:
Ciao Bella! Six Take Italy by Kate Langbroek
When Kate Langbroek first dreamed of moving to Italy, she imagined a magnificent sun-drenched pastiche of long lunches and wandering through cobbled laneways clutching a loaf of crusty bread and a bottle of wine, Sophia Loren-style, while handsome men called out ‘Ciao Bella!’
In the stark light of day the dream Kate shared with her husband Peter after an idyllic holiday in Italy seemed like madness. They didn’t speak Italian. They knew no one in Italy. They had four children. Kate also had the best job in the world on a top-rating radio show with her longtime friend, Dave Hughes.
But the siren song of Italy was irresistible. This would be the adventure of a lifetime, a precious opportunity to spend more time with their children – Lewis, Sunday, Artie and Jannie – and it came from a deep well inside to seize life after they almost lost Lewis to leukemia.
Ciao Bella! is about having a dream and living it as Kate shares the sublime joys and utter chaos of adapting to a new life in Bologna, what you discover about yourself when you are a stranger in a strange land, and how she fell in love. With a country.
Deliciously funny, insightful and often deeply moving, Ciao Bella! is Kate’s love letter to Italy and her family. It is also a glorious reminder of what Italians can teach us about living life to the full – and what really matters when the world goes to hell in a handbasket.