Fragile Ego

  Synopsis: Ego can take you places (literally), the places where you never expected (or wanted to be) and then make you think, how did you wind up there?

Verse:

Ego –
A very divisive characteristic,
Exists in all human beings,
In varying proportions;
It is a trait common to all of mankind,
But frequently associated with alpha males,
Who it is said,
Tend to possess the attribute
In copious amounts.

Ego is a brilliant double-edged sword;
When sampled in nuggets,
It can be an excellent armor,
Helping one preserve one’s dignity
And uphold one’s honor
If the time comes;
But, it can be the absolute worst thing
If taken more than prescribed,
Bringing about everything
From relationship breakdowns
To triggering the direst of consequences
To enduring of the bleakest of periods,
Or simply,
Losing everything at all.

Curiously enough,
Ego operates in funny ways;
Once in action,
Ego separates you from your own self —
Your body from your spirit,
Reducing you to a rag-tag collection of your parts,
From an infinitely better, organized whole;
Ego is,
Quite frankly,
A strange kind of intoxication,
A different kind of high;
It takes you on an imaginary ride to an ivory tower,
Secluded from everything,
Resistant to all external determinants,
Making you believe —
All the while aggrandizing you –-
That you are special,
And almost perfect,
And that everyone except you is inferior,
Because you are so obviously in a class of your own;
This initial haughtiness fuels erratic behavior,
Like a potent concoction,
Pushing the limits of normal first,
And giving rise to the egotist in you,
Ultimate leading to
Obnoxious and preposterous habits and conduct,
Firmly establishing yourself
As a bona fide narcissist,
Something you never saw yourself becoming.