Namaste!
I am going through a very oriental phase, from daily meditation to decorating my lodgings I am inspired by everything and anything oriental. The indian inspiration is also influencing my craft and the latest two finished projects show case my love for all things oriental beautifully, if I may say so myself (and I may). But the truth is I say it way too often to convince myself of my own worth, thus fueling my ego and feeding it, but never satisfying it completely.
As happy as I should be in all the beautiful things my hands are capable of producing, these things or any other thing should not be my source of self value. Here is a nugget of wisdom from an excellent site Calmdownmind.com:
The Ego can feel very worthy in a moment and feel terribly unworthy the next moment. You can notice the Ego constantly trying to feel valuable. Neediness stems from the feeling of lack inherent in all Egos. In truth, the Ego is empty; it has no reality except in ideas. Something so “unreal” is bound to feel insecure of its identity. Remember that “Ego” is a false self, it’s not who you are at all. But you can’t know who you are unless you let the Ego dissolve completely.
Stop fuelling the Ego structure present in you. Let it die, let it dissolve completely. You will know what true joy, love and peace, really mean when the Ego structure dissolves completely. The Ego will always try to sustain itself, and keep itself in the center of your existence, unless you see through it and stop fuelling it with your attention. Freedom from Ego is freedom from feelings of unworthiness, and this opens up the floodgates of abundance in every from to rush into your life.
So shut up, Ego. These slippers may be awesome but even if they weren't I would still be awesome myself!