Inner Security

A human being is part of the whole, called by us "Universe"; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest-- a kind of delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but the striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security. - Einstein

Inner security is very allusive; all of us want it but it seems to be tough to get. Most of our lives are geared towards building our future and only after our future is secure, do we think about enjoying the present. What is the reason for this insecurity? It is actually quite simple to state: selfishness. When we are serving ourselves, we are reinforcing a certain loneliness in us; it is as if we are encouraging a separation from the rest of the world. Without the concept of "us", the individual "I" soon enough translates into "me against the world." Pleasing oneself becomes of primary importance and when we fail to do so, we feel helpless and alone. It's a trap -- the more selfish we are, the more insecure and lonely we get.

So how can we get out this trap? Like Einstein says, we have stop restricting ourselves to personal desires and affection for those nearest to us. Maybe we should help others even when we don't get anything out of it or sometimes do things that don't please us. Maybe we should try to understand why we unnecessarily isolate ourselves and how our deep rooted desires unconsciously govern our behavior. Meditation serves as a way to know and experience our subtle desires and in time, resolve the conflicts of mental turmoil and insecurity.