Tao Te Ching 22 (Teaching 2)

Because the Master doesn’t display himself, people can see his light.
Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words.
Because he doesn’t know who he is, people recognize themselves in him.
Because he has no goal in life, everything he does succeeds.
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The self that we’re inclined to display is a densely constructed ego that blocks the natural light that resides in each of us. It also prevents the absorption of light from outside our sense of self. Removing that filter is the meaning of enlightenment.

In doing so, we in effect lose the sense of self – we don’t know who we are, so to speak. With that filter removed, others can see themselves in us because they’re seeing through to the unifying commonality that underlies us all. We’re not just more alike than we are different; we’re all alike but just pretending to be different, because that’s what the ego requires us to do.

The need to prove ourselves right, or the need to prove anything for that matter, arises in the context of our ego. Once that obscuration is removed then, and only then, can someone else trust us. Only then can someone else trust that we’re acting other than in our best interest. Once we stop trying to prove this or that, then others can rely on the love and compassion we profess.

It’s hard for most westerners to picture a life that isn’t based on moving from one goal to another. We define success through the fulfillment of our goals and expectations. Of course, that’s simultaneously how we define failure and dissatisfaction. Having goals per se isn’t really the problem; it’s the ego-based attachment to them and the attendant self-judgment that creates the suffering.

Letting go of our ever-shifting expectations moves us away from the ever-present dissatisfaction that comes from a life build on sand.