In Western culture, we cling to the individualization of the self, and easily fall into the trap of viewing ourselves as separate and complete entities from the rest of the world, our associates, our friends and families. However, we are not complete without realizing our interconnectedness to these other selves.
Individualism to the extreme becomes disconnected autonomy, an illusion of the self as independent not only from other beings but also the will of Chance/Fate/The Universe/God. Extreme individualism breeds contempt for other beings. When people get in the way of our idealistic vision or disrupt our polluted autonomy, we seek to alter or eradicate them.
As long as we view ourselves as self-contained vehicles for gain of material wealth, our perception of the self as united with all selves is numbed. All beings must coexist, so must all selves. We must give selflessly to be selfless, to be full.
Ego is like a magnet that attracts material. It has no foundation upon which it can realize itself. That is why the richest man or woman on the mountain, surrounded by possessions, even people, is unhappy. She does not know who she is.
That it because her identity is comprised of objects, including people, her attachment to which is simultaneously gratifying and miserable. The process of self-knowledge is one of discovery, experiencing everything as it is, without attachment to the people, places and things that claim to be everything.
Is The Message 