Proud of myself?

It's a line I added to my morning note:

Proud? Stop everything.

It's good to remember that the ego doesn't only show up in negative emotions. And pride is often a lie.

"I did that."

But I didn't choose the body that could, or the intelligence that knew, or the privileged position that allowed it, or all the circumstances that made it possible.

It isn't about feeling ashamed either, not at all.

It's about realizing that we're part of a whole that is expressing itself, and that we're one of its notes. Which isn't diminishing, or sad.

In the rare moments when I'm aware of it, I'm freed from a weight I forget the rest of the time, and suddenly I feel truly present.