Deriving self-worth by comparing ourselves with others is one of our most destructive habits. It may even be described as a form of self-inflicted violence since it weakens us by de-centering our existence in the sense that it shifts the center of power to decide the meaning of our lives to the outside. We let others decide what our happiness is instead of deciding for ourselves. With the power of self-determination lost to external authority, we are neither free nor independent. Since we live in a competitive society where this sort of comparison is encouraged and often unavoidable, it is a difficult habit to break, but to do so is crucial to our genuine fulfillment and freedom. [From Shin Yatomi's 'Buddhism in a New Light' p. 30]
michele's thoughts:
every time that i read this i think about how often i do this without even realizing it at the moment. 'self-inflicted violence' ..... 'crucial to our genuine fulfillment and freedom.' DEEP!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment