I believe there’s a way to separate our desire to improve ourselves from the toxic desire to acquire for our egos; whether that acquisition be for wealth, health, or other positive experiences.

In my experience, when not in our clearest states of mind, which is most of the time, our thoughts of ourselves are manifested with regard to what we can gain from the world around us.

This is the idea that I am (and therefore my value is equal to) the amazing experiences I have, the money I make, the people I fuck etc.

The drive to improve oneself then becomes rooted in an egotistical desire to experience the best experiences, make the most money, and fuck the most beautiful people which is essentially glorified gluttony.

These desires are unsustainable and are therefore inherently harmful. If you define yourself by the goodies you get in life then you are never going to be satisfied. That deep lack of satisfaction not only drills a hole into one’s wellbeing but into the wellbeing of those who’s lives one’s actions impact as well.

This desire for the most or the best or the sexiest is toxic, but we still all want to reach our full potential. If we decide to forfeit our egotistical desires for the sake of our own wellbeing then, for most of us, the greatest reasons for improving ourselves is lost.

Why be better if I shouldn’t want to reap the benefits so badly?

My solution to that conundrum is what I believe to be the healthiest most positive idea that we can healthily pursue the course of self improvement by redefining our true selves as the fundamental physical force of this universe and therefore seeing that our fabricated identities are literally works of art that can be enjoyed and appreciated by not only you but everyone you interact with.

We are our own masterpieces in a sense. If we think of our superficial identities as works of art then we can more genuinely decide how we want ourselves and others to enjoy what we create (in ourselves).

We are then free to see the inherent beauty in ourselves and our selfish drive becomes genuinely transcendent.

How are others going to enjoy me and what I have to offer? How am I? Would you add a Mcdonalds Cheeseburger to your masterpiece? A cigarette? Some may say no way and others may say absolutely. Both and all answers are correct because these questions prove that our value is fundamental and cannot be quantified by the acquisition of our superficial desires.

All art as expressions of our fundamental feeling hold inherent value. We are just the same. Our identities are creations that express the fundamental truth of our direct experience just like any other masterpiece.

If we accept that truth then we may get to enjoy the fruits of our labor as the vast complexity of the sea of individuals that is humankind. :)