I have been lost.

I have also been found.

I have asked myself on occasion: what is my ego?

While I may not have a clear answer on this question—it would appear that this analogy seems to do a better job of displaying my feelings on the idea of an ego. Excess Ego.

I imagine a teeter totter.

On one side there is pride and ego—and on the other side, there is selflessness and charity.

Perhaps the ego protects us to some small degree—our fortitude—our resolve... it is a boundary that we occasionally draw in the sand to protect us from being taken advantage of by others. If it were to have a purpose... perhaps that is what it is there for.

Additionally, perhaps we find a firm foundation in the balancing of this teeter-totter.

What I can say, is that my ego, my vanity, my self-worth... it can make me ugly.

There is a line in a song that I admire; I feel it displays this notion beautifully.

"Vanity is a tiger that you raise from a cub, that'll one day, split your face."

Wild. No matter the amount of effort to tame or domesticate—it is still wild.

Verse 24 | Tao Te Ching | Avoiding Voids

Dale Translation

Standing on tiptoe will only make you tipsy,

Walking with long strides will not allow a long walk

Shining the light of yourself will never enlighten you

Being self-righteous precludes you from being right

Boasting about yourself will never boost your eminence

Parading yourself parodies leadership

Tao Consciousness avoids

the cultivation of all these ego-bloated voids

Verse 24 |Tao Te Ching

Mitchell Translation

He who stands on tiptoe

doesn't stand firm

He who rushes ahead

doesn't go far

He who tries to shine

dims his own light

He who defines himself

can't know who he really is

He who has power over others

can't empower himself

He who clings to his work

will create nothing that endures

If you want to accord with the Tao

just do your job, and then let go.

Verse 24 |Tao Te Ching

Ames and Hall Translation

Blowhards have no standing

The self-promoting are not distinguished

Show-offs do not shine

Braggarts have nothing to show

The self-important are here and gone

As these attitudes pertain to way-making (Dao)

They are called indulgences and unseemliness

Such excess is so generally despised

That even those who want things

Cannot abide it.

Verse 24 |Tao Te Ching

Dyer Translation

If you stand on tiptoe, you cannot stand firmly.

If you take long steps, you cannot walk far.

Showing off does not reveal enlightenment.

Boasting will not produce accomplishment.

He who is self-righteous is not respected.

He who brags will not endure.

All these ways of acting are odious, distasteful.

They are superfluous excesses.

They are like a pain in the stomach,

a tumor in the body.

When walking the path of the Tao,

this is the very stuff that must be

uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.

Verse 24 |Tao Te Ching

Walker Translation

A man who tiptoes can't stand

A man who straddles can't walk

A man who shows off can't shine

A man who justifies his actions isn't respected

A man who boasts of his achievements has no merit

A man who brags will not endure

To a person of Tao, these things are

excess food and superfluous behavior

Because nothing good can come of them

he doesn't indulge in them

Verse 24 |Tao Te Ching

Scott Translation

If you are up on tiptoes, you will not stand with confidence

If you move along straddling a road, you will be unable to put one foot in front of the other

If you make yourself seen, you will not be illustrious

If you consider yourself right, you will not be taken as a model

If you denigrate others, you will get no credit

If you consider yourself the grip of a spear, you will never become a staff of support

Those who abide in the way

call such things

"leftover food" or "warts of your behavior"

Thus, those who possess the way will be found elsewhere

Wayne Dyer, in his book, "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life" offers these thoughts on Verse 24.

Living Without Excess

In this verse, Lao-tzu advises that the path of the Tao needs to be cleared of any weeds of excessive personal importance. After all, accomplishments derive from the all-creating Source that Lao-tzu calls “the Tao.” Everything that you see, touch, or own is a gift from the Tao; thus, it is your duty to suspend your ego and seek an attitude of gratitude and generosity for the Tao’s creativity. In this way, you walk the path of the Tao by becoming like it is, which is always existing in a state of unlimited giving. It is to this state that the 24th verse of the Tao Te Ching urges you to return.

Notice how the natural flow of the Tao operates: It asks nothing of you as it provides you and everyone else with unlimited supplies of food, air, water, sunshine, land, and beauty. It is always creating for the benefit of all, and it has no need for prideful boasting or demanding something in return.

This poem by Hafiz bears repeating here to illustrate this point:

Even

After

All this time

The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe

Me.”

Look

What happens

With a love like that,

It lights the

Whole

Sky.

The sun symbolizes the Tao at work: It offers its warmth, light, and life-giving energy to all, illuminating the globe without any demand for recognition. Imagine if the sun needed attention and demanded accolades for its efforts—it would shine only where it felt most appreciated or when it received payment for that life-giving energy! Soon the world would be partially shut off from the sun’s magnificence, and ultimately the entire planet would be covered in darkness as wars erupted over ways of appeasing the “sun god.” It’s easy to see why Lao-tzu refers to such inclinations to be boastful and self-righteous as “odious” and akin to “a tumor in the body.”

Walk the path of the Tao by being a giver rather than a taker, providing for others and asking nothing in return. Then view your desires to brag and seek approval as weeds appearing on your journey. Seeing yourself as important and special because of your artistic talent, for instance, is walking the path of ego. Walking the path of the Tao means that you express appreciation for the hands that allow you to create a sculpture.

This is how Lao-tzu advises you to walk the path of the Tao, free of your ego-driven desires to be recognized for all of your efforts and accomplishments:

Change your life by consciously choosing to be in a state of gratitude.

The journey of your life will change when you emphasize gratitude for all that you are, all that you accomplish, and all that you receive. Practice silently repeating I thank You throughout your waking hours, and as you fall asleep and awaken. It really doesn’t matter whether you’re thanking God, Spirit, Allah, the Tao, Krishna, Buddha, the Source, or self, because all those names represent the great wisdom traditions. Give thanks for the sunshine, the rain, and your body, including all of its components. Have a brain-, heart-, liver, and even a toenail-appreciation day! Your practice of gratitude helps 24th Verse you focus on the real Source of everything, as well as notice when you’re letting ego dominate. Make this a silent daily practice: Give thanks for the bed, the sheets, the pillows, and the room you sleep in at night; and in the morning, say I thank You for what lies ahead. Then begin the beautiful day doing something kind for another human being someplace on the planet.

Change your life by examining your urge to boast and be self-righteous.

When you’re about to brag to others about your credentials or accomplishments, momentarily sense the urge and recall Lao-tzu’s advice that “this is the very stuff that must be uprooted, thrown out, and left behind.” On the Tao path, inner approval is healthy and pure, while self-righteous boasting is simply superfluous. When you notice your gloating habit, you can choose to get back on the Tao path by remembering this 24th verse of the Tao Te Ching. Pomposity and self-inflating comments can then be seen as weeds you really have no need for. By returning to radical humility and seeing the greatness within everyone, you’ve then cleared your life of excessive self-importance . . . and this is the way of the Tao.