When a dog is stray, free in the streets or somewhere in a village/countryside, it is able to survive without being attached to a domestic way of life or/and to a person. It’s our way of living, our mentality, and our emotianality that make dogs more dependent. We become also attached to them, in a way. Because we need it, too. We also pass on to them “illnesses” that are rare to a stray dog(cancer, etc.). But, at the same time, we connect with them meaningfully. Dogs (animals generally) have the great, pure, wise instinct of nature. They feel, they catch the feelings of others, too.
So, when we deal with our ego, and we’re not attached to it, the dog also can be independent even while living with us, and this way, we keep the deep connection, being together as a team and also each of us keep our individuality.
When we widen ourselves, the ego doesn’t die, ‘cause the purpose isn’t that. It is just seen within a wider context, thus, it’s not so strong anymore, it’s not the leader anymore, and we can keep its “good” part (which helps climbing). But, when the narrow perception sees it as all that we are, it leads. And instead of giving the tendency to “walk”, it makes us walk over others and over ourselves.
A “healthy degree” of narcissism, for example, is necessary for the person to be able to understand his/her individuality and potential/skills etc. The problems start when the narcissism goes beyond and wants to take more space that what belongs to it.
Nothing has to die. The two poles, or the two sides of the coin are needed. We just need the golden ration. And the golden ratio isn’t equality. It is an analogy.
The dog “Ego” was able to be seen by Nietzsche because he went beyond that. He was expanded.
Of course, many people say things like that. It’s easy, if you read “self-help” stuff here and there. But it’s the actions and the reactions of a person that shows if he/she really has understood these things, or at least, part of these.
Sometimes not- connecting isn’t independence. It could be a fear to connect, it could be “I don’t want to share”, etc. The same behaviour manifested by different persons, can have totally different motive/cause in each of them.
Please, don’t take my reference to dogs as antipathy for cats. Cats are also lovely.
: )
