Saturday, December 23, 2023
Evaluate everything and ask yourself “Why do I do this?” You can obligate yourself to what you must do, or you can obligate yourself to what you want to do. If your doing is unconscious, you’re likely to find yourself in what appears like a prison of “must do.” The ego can be fed by playing the “humble role” and it can hide in the sacrificial “hero role.” Anything that lies outside of your own joy and satisfaction is an obligation. Why serve an obligation?
If you have to serve something, why not serve your joy? It’s all selfish. Even so-called service to others is a back-alley way of serving your ego. The ego says, “Look at me.” The spirit just expresses joy for its own sake. Once, after a talk Gandhi gave, a man came up to him and said how much the speech and his teachings had changed the man’s life. Gandhi replied to him, “I do it for myself.”
I write for myself. I make music for myself. I’m kind for myself. I’m humorous and playful for myself. I’m loving for myself. I say “no,” for myself. I say “yes,” for myself. If you want to give away your possessions, do as it pleases you. If you want to work for another, do as it pleases you. If you do for others, you’ll never be happy. If you do it out of obligation, you’ll be a wretch. Be like Gandhi. Live for yourself. Be yourself. Do it for yourself. If you do it for any other reason, it won’t be honest, and it will become an obligation. But obligations are not obligatory!