A short commentary by Brian Johnson reflecting on Richard Rohr’s idea of two major life tasks: first build a strong ego/identity (the container), then move beyond it to connect with higher/transpersonal purpose (the content). Johnson highlights the paradox that a strong ego is required to let go of the ego, and cites Joseph Campbell and Ken Wilber to support the view that transcending the personal requires a well-formed personal self. He frames the second-half of life as emptying the ego-container and refilling it with the divine (God) or transpersonal reality.
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Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. Let's spend another moment or three with Franciscan mystic monk Richard Rohr. In Following Upward, he integrates his Catholic faith with ancient myths and modern wisdom. His book is all about the two halves of life or the two tasks of life. Note David Brooks's two mountains are basically just his take on this basic idea. As Richard says, and I quote, there is much evidence on several levels that there are at least two major tasks to human life. The first task is to build a strong container or identity. The second is to find the content that the container was meant to hold. The first task we take for granted as the very purpose of life, which does not mean we do it well. So two tasks. Four. First, we build up a strong identity by playing the normal games of society. Then we move beyond that to connect with our higher purpose and something bigger than ourselves. It's basically moving from an ego level to a soul level. But here's the paradox. As Richard says, I quote again, you ironically need a very strong ego structure to let go of your ego. And I quote again, in fact, far too many have lived very warped and defeated lives because they tried to give up a self that was not there yet. This, Richard says, is an important paradox for most of us. Now, we've talked about this a few times, and I think it's worth coming back to. Richard leans on the wisdom of Joseph Campbell and Ken Wilber. So let's invite them to the party to hear what they have to say on the subject. In Pathways to Bliss, Campbell tells us, I quote, of course, to reach the transpersonal, you have to go through the personal. You have to have both qualities there. Check out those notes for a deeper dive. While in one taste, Ken Wilber tells us, I quote, but ego less does not mean less than personal. It means more than personal. Not personal minus, but personal plus all the normal qualities, plus some transpersonal ones. There is certainly a type of truth to the notion of transcending ego. It doesn't mean destroy the ego, it means plug it into something bigger. Put bluntly, the ego is not an obstruction to spirit, but a radiant manifestation of spirit. Another way to look at it, to paraphrase Nathaniel Brandon, we can't let go of something we never had a firm hold of. Or as Richard tells us, quote, again, you ironically need a very strong ego structure to let go of your ego. So Richard tells us that building this ego container is the primary task of the first half of life. Then we need to empty it in the second half of life and refill it with God. I think the simplest way to think about it is to go back to Desmond Tutu and his brilliant reminder that we're just the light bulbs. Our job is simple. Stay screwed in. We create a strong sense of self, such that the divine light can shine. Rather than delete the small self, it's more like we're plugging it into something bigger than ourselves. So it goes all caps. Like this self little case to self bold, all caps. Let's plug in and do that today.
