After a long while of struggling with it, I've come to grips with the fact that I, like every other person on the planet, have an ego. And although I have often struggled for its dissolution in order for a higher Self to emerge, some even say that I have a rather big ego. Yet I've come to realize that I can either spend the rest of my life wrestling with the inevitable or I can just embrace who I am, have a little fun doing it, and hopefully help some other people realize that our egos aren't really who we are, but an accoutrement that we get to play with.

A few years ago, I saw this movie called "The Tao of Steve." The premise of the film was that Steve is the coolest name around. And although I didn't necessarily feel very cool at the time, I liked the idea of it.

The three main principles of the Tao of Steve are to 1) be desireless, 2) be excellent, and 3) be gone. I've done, and continue to do, the best I can to live up to the first two principles, and just allow the last one to be a by-product of time and space for the witnesses to my Steve-ness.  Suffice it to say, this affords me the blessed opportunity to actually enjoy who I am and to live an interesting, if not extraordinary life.

If you want to find out more about my journey toward enjoying my self in the search toward understanding my Self, come on out to the Blue Owl in Sarasota tomorrow night (12/9/11) at 9 for "The Rucksack Cabaret." Or go to Amazon and pick up a copy of "The Rucksack Letters" or "How to Survive an Estralarian Mind Meld."' They make great stocking stuffers.