Ego
Whether you're trying to be smart, trying to be tough, trying to be beautiful, or trying to get rid of your desires or your ego, we all as humans cling desperately to ego. We can't let go. We cling to our ego like it's a life raft. We can't sink into that dark place where we are in no way worthy. We must be something good or we might as well die. Ego is like quick sand, the more you struggle to get out, the quicker and deeper you sink. The only way out of this hopelessly futile endeavor is to stop trying and just be.
Ego, believe it or not, devoloped out of necessity: without it we'd be like infants or like wild animals without conscience. The ego keeps the id (the part of the psyche that really desires) in check and makes us act in a way which ensures our needs are met in a non problematic way. This is useful, in fact it is vital. However, the ego can become diseased with things which don't work in our favor. It is these diseased parts of the ego we should work to fix.
The ego while necessary in tempering our drive to attain our needs, creates an illusory self which can entrap us, like an insect caught in a spiders web
Instead of worrying about how far we have to go to attain enlightenment or spiritual perfection, we should be the best person we can be now: be happy with the journey, and forget about the destination. Release the weight of trying to be perfect, you can't be! Worrying about it doesn't serve you. It drags you down. Remove the chains that bind you and liberate yourself.
