The ego is always associated with being separate, and has a function to help us to separate. We separate as we move through the different phases of life. We separate from the womb, the baby as it’s born has to push and be pushed out – quite a painful process for a baby to emerge from the security of the womb. And it separates from the mother as the placenta is cut. This is joyful, natural, necessary, because otherwise both would perish. But it’s painful, as separation always brings pain. But separation is a necessary part of the process of being human. It will bring anxiety, separation anxiety. Children will experience that when they are separated from their parents or their parents go away for an afternoon or for a week, and if they go away for long periods of time, of course the child experiences deep fear of being abandoned, and will have separation anxiety. And that can become a pattern throughout one’s life where there’s always the fear of being left alone, being separated and being abandoned.
( The Brick Wall of the Ego 1 by Laurence Freeman OSB )
