I’m sure there must be people out there who don’t sit for self-serving reasons. Not to become peaceful, to feel more spiritual, to learn something, to attain Nirvana or just to become better in some way. Only just because.

And then there are the rest of us. Sure, we’ve heard that the ultimate “end result,” if you will, is to lose your ego — i.e., yourself. Yet still we plug along diligently, either secretly or unconsciously convinced that there is something for me to be gotten out of it, and I’m going get it, dammit!

Sure, we’ve heard those immortalized phrases from sages old and new. Phrases like “You’re already there” and “There’s nothing to get.” And we love how they sound and even like to quote them.

But deep down, we don’t really believe them, do we? We know we’re headed somewhere, we’ll get there eventually and when we do we’ll win the ultimate prize. Just gotta keep going, try a little harder, push a little further. Just around the next bend.

How often do you stop to ask yourself just how all your efforts stand a chance of landing you in “no-self,” when all of your actions are busy getting more for yourself. Even if you’re busy pursing the most lofty and spiritual of things for yourself, it’s still all about me and what I can get out of it.

All the while, the sages chant, “You are the only thing standing in the way.”

The Burden

Have you felt it?
Do you feel it even now?

The push,
The drive,
The burden,
The torment,

Of seeking Self –
Though you “know” – you’ve heard the masters say, “No you can ever find it.”
Of seeking Self –
Though you “know” – you’ve heard the masters say, “Desire is all that stands in the way.”
Of seeking Self –
Though you “know” – you’ve heard the masters say, “You. Are. It. Yes, even now.”