Writer Between Worlds

“All too often we love ourselves on the basis of a story of our own specialness or uniqueness. We could call this “the Facebook version of love”, in which the word simply means “like a lot” and/or “strongly approve of”. The great significance our culture places on individual difference is spiritually problematic because on the spiritual path we’re seeking to realize that which is universal within us and unites us to all other beings. Difference is that which divides us from others, reinforcing the self-image machine we call ego. Moreover, this emphasis on difference points us away from the more basic truths of our existence – because, in reality, what we share in common is far more fundamental than what makes us unique. (…) Therefore, the cultural emphasis on difference and uniqueness focuses attention on the superficial more than the fundamental, and inflates the significance of the former at the expense of the latter. This need to feel special is even more insidious than we realize: it has contributed to social and cultural divisiveness because it causes us to focus on our subgroup identity more than the needs of the wider society that we are a part of and that we depend on.”

Christopher D. Wallis – Near Enemies of the Truth: Avoid the Pitfalls pf the Spiritual Life and Become Radically Free