A mystic must let go to grow
The longer I walk the path of holy fools, the more convinced I am that the mystic life is one of constant rebellion from the norms of the world. It is a counter-cultural pursuit of weakness, not strength; of poverty, not wealth, obscurity rather than fame; humility, not power.
Everything the world pursues with enticing vigour; a mystic must abandon with equal gusto. If our spirit connected blessed soul is going to grow, comrades, we misfit mystics must learn to fully let go.
That said, experience has taught me that the problem is not so much the lure of champions, but the way my ever-craving ego-self attaches itself to worldly desires. Mahatma Gandhi said: If you want to change the world, change yourself. The mystic life is about root-and-branch inner change. The purpose of outward asceticism or simplicity is inner transformation. It’s an inside job. It is me who needs to change.
Most people – especially men like me – get addicted to power, whether we realise it or not. Nothing is more enticing to the ego than the accumulation and exercise of power. Mercifully, most of us don’t get to manifest power on a grand scale. Among folks who do, few indeed are those who don’t get completely swept up by the thrill of the game and the endless desire of the ego for more of the same.
Clearly, when power games are in full swing at this macro level, it rarely ends well for the rest of us. But you don’t need to be a bullyboy mob boss posing as a president for the wrecking ball of unrestrained power to do its worst. It takes control of the show with equal vigour in our ordinary everyday lives as well.
Of course, as spiritual people having a human experience, being caught in the snare of our power-hungry ego is not the sum-total of who we really are. Spiritual people—that means all people—are born of the spirit, and the living spirit dwells within us.
Native Americans have an ancient wisdom story about an internal battle between two wolves—one negative, representing the ego self (self-centeredness, fear, greed, pride, etc) and the other positive (love, peace, kindness). The ancient wisdom is that the wolf you feed is the one that wins.
To become our true spiritual selves, we must starve the ego within us of power. Give in to win; let go to grow. Alain de Botton says: The best men are those who have been broken by life and pulled through… because they’ve been forced by circumstances to drop the illusion of strength and power.
For many of us, eventually the power that our ego craves ends up breaking us internally. It is, after all, acting against our true spiritual nature. Although it certainly doesn’t feel like it, this brokenness is a spiritual sweet spot, a catalyst from which we can begin to fully change.
The misfit mystic life gets lived on the borders of surprise, comrades. Powerlessness is key; give in to win, let go and grow.
— Cormac Stagg, author of The Quest for a Humble Heart