This World Is Bigger Than You: Starve Your Ego And Feed Your Soul

What’s the difference between an ego and a soul? Egos are our self-importance; they're the part of us that tells us we matter. The bigger or more intense our egos, the more important we believe ourselves to be.

Without egos, human beings cease to be individuals. They cease to have a reason for being. Egos give us the ability to have purpose – a purpose that is, in a large sense, selfish.

Being partially selfish is only natural for people and, I’d argue, entirely necessary. If no one were selfish, then no on would care enough about anything enough to create change in the world.

This is the complexity of life that all living things inevitably discover. All animals need some variety of an ego in order to be moved to do anything; however, because we all need each other to continue to live on, having an ego alone is not enough.

We can’t just care about ourselves, and ourselves alone, because if we do, then we will end up hurting ourselves – something that the ego itself doesn’t want to allow for. We not only need other people, but other living things in order to stay alive, our egos require a counterpart.

They need an accomplice that will help them stay balanced. And so we have a soul. While our egos allow us to focus on us and us alone, our souls allow us to keep more balanced.

No human being can survive alone. Therefore, our egos don’t want us to be alone. They recognize the fact that we need other people and other living things in order to survive.

This – as many of you have surely experienced – can cause us to fall into confusion. We feel opposing urges and have trouble sorting ourselves out. This only really happens when our egos overpower our souls.

Our souls, in opposition to our egos, are our ability to connect with other living things – with the rest of the world. Our souls are what allow us to feel we are part of something else, something bigger than ourselves.

More precisely, a soul is what allows us to connect with other living creatures. It’s what allows us to understand the importance of life itself and is what keeps our egos from tearing us apart. The human soul is what tells the human brain that other people matter just as much as you do.

It is vital that all individuals nurture both their ego and their souls, as without one, the other only harms us. You can’t live entirely for other people just as you can’t live entirely for yourself. You need to keep your ego and your soul in balance.

Most individuals lead unbalanced lives. Many will delve into their souls and lose themselves and their egos. However, most don’t have a problem limiting their soul exploration, but rather have a problem with curbing their egos.

Truth be told, the trick isn’t to focus on curbing your ego, but getting back in touch with your soul – well, not so much your own soul, as such a soul I don’t believe to exist.

What you can do is tap into the soul of the universe and become a part of all that exists. Your ego is your very own, but your soul is the essence of life itself – a river that flows through every living thing.

Tapping into the soul of life isn’t quite as difficult as it seems; we all do it to some degree or another. Most of us simply don’t do it often enough. Here are a few ways to help you help yourself get back in touch with the rest of the world:

Interact with others in a positive way.

If you’re going to be part of something bigger than yourself, then you need to interact with people other than yourself. The real trick is to leave your ego out of it as much as possible. Of course, this is incredibly difficult. Especially for those who listen only in order to respond.

If you want to get in touch with your soul, then you’re going to need to care about people other than yourself. You may never be able to feel deeply for others, but you have to be capable of seeing things from their perspective.

Have a conversation. Help a random stranger. Reach out to people who seem like they need it. Go out and become a part of other peoples’ lives.

Understand the state your planet is actually in.

Planet earth is our life support. It is our home. It is our history, our legacy, our only way to survive. Planet earth is only good to us as long as it is inhabitable. Once it can no longer sustain life, it will become just another rock floating to space.

Many people believe many different things about the state of the environment and the ecosystem. You can have whatever opinion you want, but make sure you first have the facts.

Yes, facts can be hard to find even in this day and age, but if you search, you will eventually find what you’re looking for.

Do your best to interact with nature and figure out ways you can help maintain it. You may not feel like you yourself hold any responsibility, but keep in mind that everyone having exactly that mindset is what is damaging the planet as we speak.

If no one cares, but instead we allow egos to take over, then we will all suffer. Having a soul means having an appreciation for all living things. Period.

Make your purpose in life something that benefits both others and yourself.

We are designed in such a way as to have our egos and souls balance each other. If either gets the upper hand, the other diminishes and we suffer. If we are too egotistical, then we lose sight of life.

If we are too selfless and spend too much time being a part of something bigger than ourselves, then we lose ourselves and cease to exist.

We need to be both selfish and selfless in order to live correctly. We all need to find a purpose in life as our egos demand it. However, as many have already come to learn the hard way, that purpose can’t be entirely selfish. Our egos, as stubborn as they are, recognize that while we matter, we are not all that matters.

Our purpose in life must reflect this. We must pursue things that benefit both us and other living things. This is the ideal that we must all try and aspire to. Anything short of this is plain wrong.

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It

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