Are You The Center Of The Universe?

Blog #6

Are You the Center of the Universe?

The answer to this question is quite obvious. Of course you are the center of the universe! Here is the situation: you are the center of your universe just as I am the center of mine. The problem is that there are around seven billion centers of their own universes on this planet. The real question is what does this mean and what are we to do about it?

Your little universe is infinitely more important than any of those other six billion, nine hundred ninety nine million, nine hundred ninety nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety little universes. How is this going to work when they all feel the same way as you and I do?

This illustrates how our perceived separation and isolation from the rest of humanity creates an absurd mindset in which we all place our individual concerns above the collective whole.

It all comes down to this. There is a game that is being played here by most of us. Since we are the center of the universe we might try to grab everything that we think we need in order to prove that we are on top. It is called, my way verses your way. In our minds we are always justified in this mode of thinking. And since I am the real supreme center, even though you think you are - but you are not, we have to establish who is going to remain on the throne. Let's dance!

The usual and customary way to resolve this dispute is to compete with each other to see who can get their way as the supreme center of the universe. Whoever gets their way wins and can keep their position on top of the totem pole. Hip, hip, hurrah, I win and you lose! The loser has to regroup and try again later to recapture the title. And that's the way you play that game. There usually is no other alternative to this scenario.

Of course I am being facetious here. But not really. This win-lose way of dealing with others is the most common way we interact and it is the way we fail at our relationships, get divorced, alienate members from the family, lose friends, quit our jobs, lose our self esteem, become depressed, get anxiety, etc... Who is not affected by this scenario? This is the real source of our conflicts. It's as simple as that.

Even when we are not in conflict, our abilities to be in true relationship with others is severely compromised by our self centeredness. I don't say that with judgmental condemnation, only to reveal this fundamental human condition. We have some serious inbred flaws that absolutely prevent us from overcoming our separateness. We remain trapped in our isolation as this miniscule point of consciousness that refuses to let go of a hierarchal delusion with our self on the apex of importance.

“Where the world comes in my way - and it comes in my way

everywhere - I consume it to quiet the hunger of my egoism.

For me you are nothing but - my food, even as I too am fed upon

and turned to use by you. We have only one relation to each

other, that of usableness, of utility, of use. "

-Max Stirner, The Ego and Its Own

I have to be perfectly honest when I say that I have yet to break out of my own egoism for even a millisecond. I try to not be selfish and give my best to others. In the end my choices always are made from what feels right for me. I will feel bad if I don't try to be the best person I can be, but it still is all about me and how things make me feel.

So what is the lesson here? I guess my point is that we all are the center of our universe whether we want to admit it or not. I think that's ok. I believe that we are all just a very small point of consciousness with a purpose of experiencing life through this small frame of reference. Even though we are a part of a collective whole, we feel totally separate from others by our senses.

The best we can do is to be the best we can and work towards a goal of not being self centered in a way that takes advantage of others. The best we can do is to become self centered in a way that we help others and feel good about it. The best we can do is to see ourself as a part of a collective whole.

We just need to realize that by being self centered in a way that hurts or takes advantage of others, we are hurting our self. The joy and happiness that we are seeking in life can only happen when we are giving to others because in reality we are giving to ourselves.

"Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” ― Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery