Merriam-Webster dictionary describes ego as:
Definition of ego
1: the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world
2a: EGOTISM sense 2
3: the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality
Wow! We are complicated, aren’t we. I am thankful I have an ego.
Myself contrasted with another self or the world. To me, that means we should have a healthy separation from all people and from the world. It is a defined boundary to keep us safe.
Our own ego separates us and makes us who we are. I am Jodie.
I am not my mother, though I came through her. I am not my father, though he gave me life.
I am Jodie.
How many times I have missed this distinction in life. I know I have because I tend to people please, as I was forcefully taught as a child. I tend to focus on those around me, when my focus should start first with myself.
Ya know what’s weird?
When I look at myself, the world feels in order. I have control of myself. I have order.
This is what God means when he tells me, “U C U.”
Abusers want us to focus on them. That way our egos are underdeveloped and easier to manipulate and control. We wrongly believe that if we watch our abusers, that will keep us safe.
By returning my focus to myself and the boundaries that live within me, I find my peace returns. Oh, I can certainly bring chaos and destruction to myself — but I am now making those choices.
U C U — it is how God designed us.