Never mind a little dirt and a little ego

If you need Me, call Me,

no matter where you are, no matter how far.

Just call My Name, I'll be there in a hurry.

On that you can depend and never worry.

I know you must follow the sun, wherever it leads.

But remember, if you ever fall short of your desires,

life holds for you one guarantee, you always have Me.

(Diana Ross, Ain't no Mountain High Enough; my edits)

I remember a story from East Germany just after the wall came down. The people in East Germany didn't really suffer much from allergies in the Communist days, but once all these polluting plants had been shut off, allergies in East Germany caught up pretty quickly with the Western German levels. Why was that? Our body has been build for a little dirt and disease; it gives our body something to do. Just as the warrior needs a battle, and the ego something to fight for, we are built to be on the move and to be exposed to a little dirt and a few germs to function. Without germs, the idle immune system starts attacking itself, and without an earthly mission, our mind soon becomes the devil's workshop.

We spiritual folks spend so much time beating up on the ego, yet we somehow forget that our ego is there for a reason. Fantasizing how spiritual life would be without it is as useful as wishing away all germs and the pollution. We are on a journey to somewhere, driven by our soul longings and our nature. But while we are at it, we can be mindful of our driving force, our longings and the divine Spirit all at the same time. Just as with the immune system analogy, our ego needs to be entertained, so embrace life to keep the fellow happy.

The ego seeks opportunity, life gives us an opportunity to serve others.

The ego seeks outwards, God provides us with a journey Home.

The ego is drawn to lust; God wraps Herself around somebody who will heal us.

The ego loves gold, life sends us diamonds if it is meaningful to us.

We are healthy even though our immune system battles scary invaders all the time. Our body separates the nutrients from the food to provide us with energy while it throws out all the rest. Life presents us with this moment to discover the divine in our mission, in our thoughts, and in our feelings. We don't need to seek God, we can just look up and find Her standing next to us. Never mind a little dirt and a little ego as long as we travel the Way.