We are small, but we cannot be children. We are grown up, but we cannot be adults. We have children, but we cannot be parents.
We each have a gender, but we know neither woman nor man. We hold titles like student, teacher, and doctor, but we are unable to learn, teach, or heal. We have friends, yet we cannot fraternize. We use words, but we still cannot communicate.
We do not want to be limited, so we try to be everything, but we become nothing. We then find a measure of asylum in assumptions. We modestly use beautiful, seemingly correct words in a masquerade of humbleness. We imagine that if we turn our heads away, the problems will disappear. We assume that if we wish for good things, the world will become a good place. We suppose that if we shelter in belief, everything will follow the right track. We believe we can obtain without making an effort, because if the opportunities are given to us, we can succeed. We think that if we are understood, we will be admired, and if justice existed, we would be happy. We suppose that money will bring us safety. We think that if we complain, we will attract attention. Before long, we live in delusions.
What we should do is eliminate the delusions and notice the ego. Overcoming the ego is only possible once you notice it. It’s like learning to drive before becoming a race driver, learning how to read before becoming an author, being a student before teaching others, and being a child before becoming an adult. To overcome the ego, it is therefore first necessary to notice it. The ego is intrinsic to each of us, and without learning its intrinsic state, it is impossible to overcome it.
Sometimes, people with the skills of a rally driver become cooks, people with the talent of a dancer become bank tellers, and people with a natural propensity for healing become engineers. Such people feel unhappy, and they cannot excel in whatever they do, and they cannot express themselves. Likewise, we cannot realize ourselves without realizing our egos. It is very difficult to overcome yourself if you cannot realize your ego.
For this reason, put the assumptions to one side and get to know your ego. Understand it. You’ll soon see there is no other way to overcome it.

Cem Şen