The Pride of Life

Everyone deals with pride, either because of their successes, because of their failures, or both. We all tend to view the world with ourselves at its center, it is the great delusion of humanity to believe that we are important. That, in and of ourselves, we matter. I have been considering lately the possibility that all value is extrinsic by nature, I may have mentioned this before. Regardless, we have no value in and of ourselves, what value we do have we hold simply because it is the will of God. Men and woman are given value because God finds value in us...as opposed to God finding value in us because we are intrinsicly valuable. I know, it seems a fine distinction, and yet of such importance. If we understand that we are valuable not because of us, but because of God then suddenly the kosmos is so much bigger, and our place in it so much smaller. The following poem was actually written to my pride, in a moment of anger and frustration at myself, please read it as such.

A nightmare settles behind my eyes
Its vicious requirements drain my life
Drawing upon my thought and breath
'Til there is none remaining within me
My dastardly heart has wrought betrayal
Its wanton desires lend power to the dream
A reality not present but for
This wrenching, pleading, obsequious need
That pulls upon the hems of my sanity
Cleverly disguised as righteous desire
It worms its way into my every action
Passing itself as love, as charity
As my own unabridged holiness
This delusion clouds my perceptions
Corrupts my actions and seeks only
The elevation of self, but at what expense?
And yet I see it not, for its subtlety
Now I name this beast which lives within my breast
This tired affront, I name thee pride.