Two weeks ago I posted the blog Easing Grace Out as a definition and exploration of E.G.O., focusing on the flip side of the classic egoist, the side of ourselves that has a tendency to play it small in life. To take it a step further, I’m seeing that the roles of “I’m so great, look at me” and the “Lil’ ol’ me” playing it small are two sides of the same coin.

It may be hard at first pass to see it this way, as these two roles seem to be so opposite in nature. What’s more, we tend to find the “I’m so great, look at me” types to be annoying and obtuse, while we tend to see the “Lil’ ol’ me” types to be sweet and enduring. So please forgive the following suggestion as it may seem outlandish.

Playing it small is as much a means of protecting ourselves from the judgment of others as building our self concept into something that suggests that we’re better than or above others, and it is also equally as dishonest, because instead of living our authentic selves we’re merely hiding from the world.

When I have the opportunity to gain glimpses of the authentic self of others, small almost imperceptible rays of light that illuminates the magnificent, individualistic, creative, and unique person in front of me, and then almost in the same breath to seem to avoid ownership of their magnificence…I’m left feeling cheated.

We are taught in some ways that to play the role of “I’m so great, look at me” egoist is so not right that we many times strive to over compensate by making sure that we don’t appear too large. Which is why I’m seeing this dilemma as two sides of the same coin because anytime we “play” a role (of any kind), that isn’t truly authentic, it’s a form of E.G.O. It’s E.G.O. because it’s not real, it’s what we think of ourselves to be and what we wish to project to the world.

So…if we’re not better than, and if we’re also not less than, then what are we?

We are unique. We are creative expressions. We are magnificent. We are human. We are essence. We are whole within ourselves. We are complete. Most of all we are who we feel deeply within, that quiet prodding voice that illuminates the road to happiness through an expression of what we are naturally compelled to be.