Secrets of the Self – how I became a warrior by Alysse Aallyn

2. Ego

From the very beginning I didn’t like doing the same thing as other people. What was the point of that? If someone ordered the same food as me, I changed my order. I was surprised that people would want to do the same thing at the same time. As I grew older, enthusiasm was ruthlessly damped down and my possibilities seemed to harden. Who other people thought you were was “ego”. And they wanted you to stay in that place. Much as I wanted to be admired, maybe even cherished, I could see this categorizing was limiting. A very bad thing. But how to get out of it seemed a conundrum. How can you view the situation you’re in from a point of view you don’t actually have? Lucky for us, there’s imagination! If we are really lucky, imagination crystallizes into Art.

I discovered we don’t have to settle for Ego, for making ourselves distinct from other people. Artists are shape-shifters – they all the best lines, all the brightest colors, giving themselves the best possibilities.

When the “multiverse” became popular, I wasn’t surprised. I was used to living several lives at once.

Being Wrong

Warriors don’t “settle.”

We never “stay put”.

Warrior Essence is

Exploring new territory.

Territory that scares you

Features you don’t recognize

Sparks uncomfortable feelings.

I learned to like this.

Roving continents alone

Doing everything

Wrong.