Inflated Egoes
After reading Eckhart Tolle’s book " A New Earth", I now believe that money is not the root of all evil…instead it’s a person’s EGO. The EGO gives society a warped sense of how the world should be. Too many expectations that people try to meet when they don’t have to.
When I read the book, I discovered how guilty I am of a lot of egotistical things that I wasn’t even aware of. Also, I think back about all the confrontations I had with people and it’s usually because it was a battle of who was right or wrong. I still overanalyze situations and a lot of mental talk goes inside my head. Now I tell myself that when those things happen, it’s not me talking - it’s my EGO. When I am aware of the talk going on inside my head, I have to stop and be aware that basically it’s all in my head and I’m just personalizing it too much….more like making it seem like a personal attack on myself. Eckhart also suggests three things….non-judgment, non-attachment and the impermanence of things (meaning ‘this too shall pass’). He emphasizes just being still amidst the chaos. When you are still you become aware of what is going on and you then take on a new perspective about the situation which then helps you not to personalize things. To practice being still, he suggests to be aware of your breathing…and boy, how that does wonders. But in reality, it is very hard to just be still and acknowledge just BEING without reacting.
Even writing this blog might seem to be egotistical to some people but I write it anyway because maybe you might be going through the same struggles…so who knows, you might want to pick up a copy of the book and help yourself.
You know that I’m not just advertising the book but because something happened to me again that I want to share with all of you. Yesterday, at work, there was a young woman sitting in our waiting area. I thought she was waiting for one of the writers so I just went pass her and went to the copy machine to make some copies. As I was going back to my office, I still saw the woman in the waiting room and I noticed that she was still sitting in one of our arm chairs but looking like she was getting comfy. She had her slippers off her feet and just writing on her desk pad like she was in her own room. I approached her and in a calm voice asked if she was waiting for someone in particular from our office. She said "no". So, I asked her if she was a student and was she studying. She then said "yes". I then said that I was sorry but the place where she’s studying at is our office waiting room and suggested that there are designated areas in the university where she can study, like the library. She then asked me "Where did you guys move the furniture where students can study at?" I told her that I wasn’t aware of such a place on the floor we were at. So I told her again that I was sorry but our office is an administrative office and that she needs to go study at the library. Then all of a sudden I saw the most inflated EGO go off in my face. She tells me that she is a Master’s student and she knows for a fact where the study areas are and that I don’t have to reiterate to her where she needed to go. She couldn’t find a peaceful area so that’s why she decided to come in to our waiting room. Notice, I told her not to leave but giving her that option to save her face so that she can leave on her own…but no….here’s the best part…she then asked for my name…so I gave it to her and she writes it down on her pad…I even told her that I am the office manager. She then asked who my supervisor was so that she can talk to her. So I said I was going to get my supervisor now so she can talk to her at that moment. I went to my supervisor’s office and quickly told her the scenario. My supervisor came out and asked the woman what she can do for her. Then the woman looks at me and tells me all she was asking for was my supervisor’s name…so I gave it to her and she writes it on her pad. She then told my supervisor that she doesn’t have time to chat right now because she had a class to attend to but she will be contacting her the following day. She then leaves the office. My supervisor told me not to worry because she knows I did nothing wrong and if the woman contacts her that all she could say is that she is sorry that she felt that way about the situation….not admitting to wrongdoing (because it is not our problem about how she feels).
The thing I want to impart from my experience yesterday was that amidst the chaos that went on infront of my face, I remembered to breathe and even when I was getting angry I felt my heartbeat race and I just told myself that this person was just trying to save her dignity (EGO) because she knows she was at the wrong and it was too bad I had to point it out to her. I didn’t race my voice or anything, I just kept calm and stood my ground. It was so hard to do but thank God He helped me keep my cool.
Update: Bitch didn’t even call the next day.
