What if the purpose of this earthly incarnation was to learn the distinction between surviving and being? Or what if it was necessary to understand that distinction to be fully able to experience the joy of living? Or what if…? Regardless of the questions, it seems essential to be clear about the nature of surviving.
Surviving: when we are confronted with danger, or when we think something threatens us, we need to protect ourselves. Think of being in front of a predator, lion, tiger, crocodile… We must look for a means to survive, (meaning not to die) either by hiding, running or attacking. The need to protect ourselves is essential. Our energy and our vitality will be used to defeat the threat we are confronting. Most of us do not face physical dangers on a daily basis, but we act as if we were. Our reactions are as automatic and arbitrary as if we were in front of a predator but, again, these are reactions to a perceived danger, not a real one.
For human beings, most of what happens in life is a threat, and to protect ourselves, we form a defensive armor-clad virtual cage around ourselves. That cage is called the ego. The question is then what do we perceive as dangerous and what is the ego?