Many years ago, in my early twenties, I was arrogant, self-centred, and deeply unhappy. Not a day went by without anxiety clouding my mind. I honestly thought the world was the problem. But it wasn’t until I went to India to study the ancient philosophy of Vedanta that I realised the real culprit was me and my ego.
I also realised I wasn’t alone. Almost everyone falls into the ego trap. The ego is the “I am” in us — “I am this,” “I am that,” “I am so important,” or even, “I am nothing.”
Ego steals our happiness by separating us from who we truly are, convincing us that we are merely a limited personality bound by the body, mind, and intellect. But we are so much more than the story we tell ourselves.
Imagine Timothée Chalamet as a beggar in a film. He dives deeply into character and begins to suffer as the beggar. When it rains, he curses the heavens. When a passerby ignores him, he genuinely feels wounded. He spends years defending his little corner of the street, hoarding scraps of food, and crying out, “This is my miserable life! This is who I am!”
Then, the director calls, “Cut!”
In that single moment, the beggar dissolves. Timothée instantly steps out of character and returns to himself. He knows he isn’t a beggar; he was just playing a role. He never lost his wealth, his home, or his status — and crucially, even while deep in character, he never once felt separate from his real self.
Similarly, we are not separate from our true Self. It is ever present. We are all like actors playing our roles. The only difference is that we have become lost in the script — as a mother, partner, daughter or son. We have identified so deeply with the characters we play that we’ve forgotten our true selves.
