How To Lose 5 kg Ego In A month

Advice of a donkey helped me to reduce my swollen ego.

I am a great lover of the donkey, who is as innocent as a lamb. If you read William Blake’s poetry, you will notice that the poet always shows great respect for the lamb.

However, my problem is that it is not possible to keep a donkey in a big city. Therefore, I keep him far away from my house in the countryside in a rented hut with his cousin siblings.

When I have time, I go to the countryside to meet him. I also spend a lot of time with him. His name is Tiger. I bought him from his father’s ex-boss and gave him a wild name to strengthen him at his young age and overcome the legacy of donkey-ness.

Sometimes a name does not sound very meaningful, my uncle’s name is Sher- Khan (Sher means lion, Khan is a last name, you can also call him The Lion Khan). He is scared of dogs.

The meaning of my name is a garden, I will tell you that I have neither leaves nor flowers on my body. Apart from leaves and flowers, I possess everything that a human being should possess.

My loved ones started talking about me becoming egocentric. My four-year-old daughter asked me about the meaning of ego.

Last Sunday I visited my donkey and spent a lot of time with him.

Below are the excerpts from conversations between my donkey and me:

Me: Tiger, you look so calm today.

Donkey: I am always calm. You brought cookies for me once again. Last time I asked you to bring me avocado, pomegranate and strawberries.

Me: Listen Tiger, I have a serious problem, I have not found anyone to tell me anything except you. Last time you showed me how to keep patience, and believe me, it worked like a miracle. Now I am able to keep patience, just as a tree bears stones and gives sweet fruits in return. Now I have become an egocentric person. Shed some lights of your wisdom to deal with my ego.

Donkey: See, you should keep your ego, but you must lose 5 kilograms and because you humans cannot live without ego. As an animal, I got rid of my ego so I would be happy when my cousin told me he could lift twice the weight than me. I smiled and said he was better than me, but I carry most of his weight on my back. Do not try to be a winner, be the reason if someone wins.

Me. Pardon me. I did not understand about the winners.

Donkey: It’s simple: be a giver, not a taker. The more you give, the weaker your ego becomes, for example, if you bring me a cookie and do not expect me to say thank you or be more obedient to you. If you have any expectation from me and I break your expectation, it will hurt your ego.

Me: I do not get that, I need to listen to that more carefully.

Donkey: Okay. You see, I am a donkey, an animal, and you are superior to me. You are my owner, but above all you are a human being, but you consult with me because your ego does not prevent you from sharing your difficulties with me, even though I am a donkey.

Me: Now it is clear but how should I measure my ego to lose 5 kg? As your master, I have to learn from you.

Donkey: Excuse me, what did you mean by ‘master’? There is only one Master Who is your creator and my creator and the creator of the whole world.

Me: Sorry, noted.

Donkey: Read some books and try to learn how to get rid of your ego, try to act normally after being hurt by peers, spouse, siblings, children and so on. Try to control your brain by talking to your heart, learn to expect less, listen more than talk, keep your hardships to yourself, help others to be happy, try to be the reason for others happiness and very importantly, try to remember that we are only the guests in a guest house, one day we will all have to depart the guest house forever and never come back, your ego will burst like a balloon.

Me: I feel good and gratified. Let me put all your wise words into my life to reduce my ego.

Thank you for reading.

Riaz.

January-2022