Tearing Down the Mask

“But if the greedy person thinks only of money and possessions, the ambitious one only of fame, one does not think of them as being insane, but only as annoying; generally one has contempt for them. But factually, greediness, ambition, and so forth are forms of insanity, although usually one does not think of them as ‘illness’." (Spinoza, quoted in Eric Fromm's 'Having or Being')

My mom once told me the story of the millionaire mother who wouldn't treat the illness of her son as she considered the medical bill as outrageously high. As the Illness spread, his leg had to be amputated. Clearly, the stinginess of this women was more than just obnoxious. She was simply insane!

In my profession I have met people who are so greedy for fame and attention that they actively undermine everyone who could come anywhere near their status. They would never admit that to themselves and all of their speeches and "objective" actions demonstrate the opposite. Yet, for people who don't want to be fooled by their fancy words and impressive persona, the destructive agenda is plain to see.

They have to be super-man while everyone else has to be inferior and better look up to them. At the same time, they act so smoothly that no-one - besides the unfortunate guy who get caught by the dagger of intrigue and attack - can spot what is truly going on behind the scenes. They act so well because they themselves find no fault in what they do. You can call them obnoxious but they are in fact insane. But then, they are considered the creme de la creme of society. 

Our drives and motives are in conflict with what we say and profess to do. Everyone suffers from that problem to some degree. 

Sometimes it takes extreme cases of ego terror to be shaken to the core. Stirred up, we can awaken to the subconscious movie plot. Never mind a little pain coming your way. Keep digging and keep pulling - one day you shall be free!