Have you ever stopped to wonder why people want to become ultra-rich? Or why so many hope one day to become the “top dog” in the corporate hierarchy? I pondered these types of desires a few mornings ago and was led to a very interesting conclusion: to obtain a sense of freedom within … not just any freedom, but specifically freedom from competition – to exit the rat race. This freedom absolves one from feeling like they must still “measure up” or “compare themselves” to others, because – hey – they are already on top. Yes, at times it takes on the theatrics of a powerplay. But again, what are powerplays about? Squashing the competition and standing “above” others so as not to be answerable to anyone.
And this is not a wholly modern (or even American) condition. Just look at history, going all the way back to ancient times. Kings, emperors, rolling bands of vagabonds. It appears to be part of the human state. So, I had to ask: Why do all of us feel we are in competition with everyone else? Why are we always comparing ourselves to others in a strange kind of mental disorder?
The only answer that made sense was … the Ego.
The Ego creates a sense of unique identity within the greater self. That “uniqueness” unfolds a sense of division – separateness – and it is at that point where we begin the competition. Separation creates the ability to judge, as we are able to perceive something as “other” than the Egoic Self, as you compare (judge) what is “outside” in contrast to what you perceive within the notion of your own personal identity. From judgment, competition naturally arises, in order to feel safe and secure for the equal perceived resources being sought after by all others, whether those resources are physical (land, housing, food) or emotional (love, acceptance, joy). This separation makes us lose sight of Oneness, where one’s self really isn’t separate but is simply PLAYING A ROLE – and not really jockeying for some imaginary egoic position.
Consider yourself like an organ in a much larger body. The body’s organs are unique, yet work TOGETHER in HARMONY, without competition, to produce the health of the body. We must come to consider ourselves in a similar manner. We are acting as organs for the healthy functioning of the Universe (or at a minimum, planet Earth). Organs do not compete for supremacy, rather they contribute and give to the overall life of being. The only “competition” must exist within the Self – to become the best of yourself, of who and what you are. In other words, it is ridiculous for the liver to compete with the spleen, yet it would not be ridiculous for said liver to compete against itself to become the best liver it could be, as well as the spleen becoming the best it could be, each knowing the value they play in the overall body fitness.
Therefore, we should stop trying to compete with other people, jockeying for position, being better than, etc. This is an illusion as to what we are really doing. We are here for the health and vitality of the Universe, like a singular organ in a much larger body.
At what point in existence does competition disappear? When do we stop comparing and see ourselves in union?
When we come from a place of Love.
Again, Love is the answer. A most important point when we consider Valentines Day is this month!
Love doesn’t recognize competition or one-upmanship; quite the contrary. Love is about UNION. BLENDING IN JOYOUS HARMONY. BECOMING ONE, where the uniqueness of the other is celebrated and embraced – like the organs of the body working together in unison because they understand or accept the role and vitality of the other organs all working together. In this sense, everything is vital, worthy, and of utmost importance. The health of the body breaks down when one of the organs loses its vitality. So, too, does society when one organ (person) attempts to deny the vitality of another, or place themselves above the level of all others and their worth.
It is really a conflict that begins with the clinging of self to the imaginary and false sense of separation created by Ego. And when we examine this under the microscope of history, it becomes apparent this is exactly what we must let go of, as all disagreements and wars revel around people’s egos who have created a destructive streak of separation that invites death, upheaval, and ruinous discord with their perceived “other”. Steer away from the Ego of Separation which grows judgment and competition, and move toward the Ego of Universal Health, coming from a center of Love and Union with all things perceived as “other working together for ultimate health” instead of “others needing to be squashed for supreme Egoic Identity.”
Of course, this will take time, as we are dealing with deeply ingrained “habits of thought.”
Consciously pay attention to your thinking and you will discover you often frame things in your mind as a competition between your Self and what’s “out there.” You feel you have to fight for worthiness, validity, and a right to existence. When you discover these thoughts, stop them in their tracks. Train your brain to re-frame so as to perceive your uniqueness not as something to squash others in order to feel safe and secure, but as a vital organ in a much larger body of experience. That is, stop and say “It isn’t a competition. I am not competing with anyone or anything outside of me, because I am fulfilling a role and function of the Universe, vital in purpose and being, something only I can do because of my uniqueness – that is why I exist.” You do not have to compare yourself to others. You equally don’t even need to know WHAT your unique traits are or what you are supposed to be doing, only that you are being YOU, whole, without separation or competition, and thus are naturally unfolding your own prized vitality (which is exactly what the Universe is asking for in its overall health and existence).
You are not an Other that must compete for dominance and supremacy, thereby stepping out of the fray. There is no fray. That is an illusion of the Ego. You are an Other that is a vital organ with Other vital organs for the Life of the One Great Universe. All are important. Not one is greater than the other; they must all be praised, as they all work together to express the vitality of the cosmos. LOVE is the expression, acknowledgment, and HEALING from that separation the Ego has so wounded all of us with in this physical world.