When we get upset, all the focus is on our circumstances. Something happened and we don’t like it. Unfortunately, we are so focused on what happened outside of us, we don’t notice what is happening inside of us. We can’t see that we are full of negative emotion.

This emotion takes over. It destroys our ability to see clearly and forces destructive behavior. Instead of making decisions and taking action based on facts, our actions are determined by emotion. This destroys our inner peace, our effectiveness, and our happiness. Fortunately, it is possible to release this emotion.

The COVID-19 virus is growing and the economy is collapsing. Many of us are losing our jobs and the world is turning upside down. We have to make important decisions and we need to take action. Unfortunately, we don’t know what to do. In this state of uncertainty, we become full of fear and upset.

This inner turmoil makes us very ineffective. It destroys our ability to see clearly and keeps us from seeing what needs to be done. We feel threatened and get tunnel vision. We become negative and tend to act destructively. Sometimes we freeze and can’t do anything. A prolonged state of upset weakens our immune system and produces tremendous suffering.

My wife and I have a cat and that cat won’t bark. I can yell at the cat and plead with the cat, but no matter what I do, the cat still won’t bark. That’s the truth. If I am at peace with this truth, I will see my situation clearly and can see what needs to be done. If I want to hear barking, I can get a dog.

If I am fighting the truth, the opposite happens. All my focus will be on the cat. I will be convinced that the cat is the problem, but the cat is not the problem. The cat is just the cat. The problem is my fighting the truth.

There are two realms of life. You can live in the light or the darkness. When you are in the light, the circumstances of life have no power. You are full of love and life works incredibly. When you are in the darkness, the circumstances of life have total power. You lose who you are and life becomes a struggle.

When you are in the darkness, the experience of love is irrelevant. Nothing matters except our circumstances. The focus is on making life be a certain way. We fight, resist, hang on and withdraw. This is the realm of fear, upset and suffering.

Someone recently asked me how I would define ego. It was an interesting question. Here is what I said:

The ego is a false sense of identity fueled by a childhood hurt. It starts as a biological need to protect ourselves from physical threats. Then we experience painful losses of love. This takes the ego to a whole new level.

As little children, we can’t help but create the belief that we are unlovable, not good enough, or some other form of feeling not okay. It’s never the truth, but in the eyes of a little child, it becomes our truth. We then spend the rest of our lives running from this suppressed emotion.