LAST WEEK
KELLER WRITES IN THE FREEDOM OF SELF-FORGETFULNESS:
I THINK THE IMAGE SUGGESTS FOUR THINGS about the natural condition of the ego: that it is empty, painful, busy and fragile...
First there is emptiness at the centre of the human ego. And secondly, it is also painful. A distended and overinflated ego is painful. Have you ever thought about the fact that you do not notice your body until there is something wrong with it? When we are walking around, we are not usually thinking how fantastic our toes are feeling. Or how brilliantly our elbows are working today. We would only think like that if there had previously been something wrong with them. That is because the parts of our body only draw attention to themselves if there is something wrong with them.
The ego often hurts. That is because it has something incredibly wrong with it. Something unbelievably wrong with it. It is always drawing attention to itself---it does so every single day. It is always making us think about how we look and how we are treated. People sometimes say their feelings are hurt. But our feelings can't be hurt! It is the ego that hurts---my sense of self, my identity Our feelings are fine! It is my ego that hurts.
Walking around does not hurt my toes unless there is already wrong with them. My ego would not hurt unless there was something terribly wrong with it. Think about it. It is very hard to get through a whole day without feeling snubbed or ignored or feeling stupid or getting down on ourselves.
That is because there is something wrong with my ego. There is something wrong with my identity. There is something wrong with my sense of self. It is never happy. It is always drawing attention to itself.
So. first of all, it is empty. Secondly, because it is like a bloated stomach that is distended, it is also painful. And thirdly, the ego is incredibly busy---in other words, it is always drawing attention to itself. It is incredibly busy trying to fill the emptiness. And it is incredibly busy doing two things in particular---comparing and boasting. You can see them both in the passage.
Just after we spoke this morning, I turned on Meet the Press....figuring I would not watch it for very long...BUT David Gregory, MTP host, interviewed Romney who did an amazingly good job. The pre-taped interview lasted for more than 30 mins. The first part was on the Romney bus with Ann and Romney and the second half was in a city location outdoors (not sure where). Gregory asked him if he would risk being a one term president to set the economy straight and R answered that "this is not about me” ....it is about the country, getting people back to work and making the country productive again. The unspoken point is that R is not hanging his whole life on being president....he will go on doing what he does if he loses. David Gregory was kind of taken aback. R was also asked if he would reach out to Dems. R responded that he was elected Gov in a Dem state and that he knows how to work with Dems. He also made it clear that his plan would lower taxes for everyone....he would close deductions and loopholes for the wealthy. He was asked if he would scrap Obamacare and R said that his his plan would provide for families who wish to include their children on their plans, etc. i.e. keeping the good parts of Obamacare. I think he did a terrific job of communicating who he is, his deep concern for the country and explaining his strategy re: the economy, health care, his religion and both R's concerns and desires to help others. (my summary really does not do it justice!) I think MTP will be repeated sometime later today.
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