TEACH A CAT TO BARK???

That silly ego of mine.....

What would you think if I told you that I’m beginning to smile and giggle when ego tries to intervene with judgment and limiting thought? Something has happened to loosen and lighten my hold on what ‘needs to happen’. So when ego starts up with ‘should’ and ‘have to’ and ‘got to’ and expectations and disappointments, I instantly know that, in the wry words of Bryon Katie, ego is ‘trying to teach a cat to bark.’

Now, picture it…trying to teach a cat to bark! Fat chance, right? Well, that’s what ego attempts whenever it pits itself again reality. The resistance that is created is all about trying to make reality different from what it is. And that is what causes your suffering…and mine…and everyone’s.

But you say, what am I supposed to do, just cave in to every reality? Well, consider for the moment that if what you want is to be happy and peaceful, then yes, giving in to reality is what is being asked of you. That’s not as wimpy as it sounds. In fact, it is the bravest act in the world to give up trying to control.

Does it mean you are powerless? Only over that which you have no power to change. Paradox? Not really. You have power over yourself, your reactions and responses, and your thoughts and feelings, and over what you ultimately manifest out of those thoughts and feelings. Doesn’t feel like you have that power? I get that. I really do. We are often so immersed in trying to change things outside of ourselves that we completely ignore the very real and huge power that we have to change things FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

The reason I can laugh at ego as just as silly as my two year old grandson when he pretends that he’s going to get into the boat that the two-inch tall Curious George figure belongs in, is that my grandson giggles like crazy and I with him, at how SILLY it is to imagine that we can ignore reality. My little guy knows that it’s pretend and that’s what makes it so FUNNY.

So see if you can approach ego in the same way…as a beloved child who is pretending to challenge reality…making himself fit into Curious Georges’s teensy-tiny boat, or trying to teach his kittycat to bark when he knows full well that he only meows, or demanding that anything be other than what it is.

Fear is what drives us to take ego seriously. Fear that we won’t be safe, secure, needs won’t be met unless we get to control/change reality. And of course, we can’t and so we suffer because of what we IMAGINE might happen if we can’t change reality.

Next time ego challenges reality, see if you can find the ‘silly’ in it. See if you can find the fear that drives your ego to try to control things. See if you might find some compassion for that fearful part of your Shadow…precious ego. And know that every intervention by ego is an opportunity for enlightenment for you! What a gift!

Appreciate ego and see what happens. And know that you are safe and secure and loved beyond imagining in every single moment. I have always had a very silly side to me—ask anyone close to me-- and I love that it’s helping me now to maintain my peace and my JOY!


Blessings!
Jan Masters
The Everyday Joy Coach
http://www.everydayjoy.com/