God incites us to love others –
Whenever we can take attention away from ourselves –
Even for a moment.

In God’s “school,” there are various lessons to learn –
Lessons of the senses, lessons of the spirit,
And lessons taught by the other people in our lives.

Unfortunately, as soon as any of these confronts us
We want them to go away –
Because we view them as a distraction from our true love –
The “ego-self.”

The problem with ego, however,
Is that it’s empty – without true reality –
Like a balloon with clusters of mental images printed on the outside
That’s been inflated inside our heads
So there’s little room for anything else –
Also, egos are highly addictive
So any threatened de-flation
Will instantly be met with a frantic search for something – anything –
To re-inflate it.

We equate our ego’s destruction with extinction –
Something even more painful and final than physical death –
In spite of this, however, we carry around a strong desire for a spiritual “explosion” –
Like a pack on our back –
But have been waiting to open it – only after we die.

All the gifts we have ever desired are already inside us –
But, unfortunately, instead of opening them while still alive,
And enjoying them,
We’ve been waiting for the time when we no longer have hands, eyes, or heart –
That is, we’ve decided to wait until it’s too late –

And that’s why the destiny of humanity –
Up to this point –
Has mostly been tragedy.