# The silent, invisible enemy... ![killing me softly.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRHF361Hgk6Xp6dj17wALQxghmUVKzwJP4rXNyoGp4Q9P/killing%20me%20softly.png)
> ## "Is that YOU or your EGO?"
Rarely do I take a picture and not even notice what I have captured! In this case, it happened. I was out, trying to find an elusive red pretty bird on my list of photogenic subjects ( I mean a real bird. Not a bird in red dress like the 'Woman in Red'.. LOL). The bird showed up for about 20 seconds and before I could take a decent enough photograph, it took off and was gone. I waited around patiently for 30 minutes or more but the bird had apparently decided to suddenly turn photo shy. Frustrated, I started walking back and on the trail, just at the outskirts of my hometown, saw this shiny green bug with pretty dots. Oh wow- That guy looks nice, said I and took a couple of shots. I forgot all about it till today. I am traveling and was actually trying to get rid of some unwanted pictures from my hard disk because I need to get some space free for some data that I will have to store after the meeting tomorrow. I was zipping through pictures and was about to hit 'Delete' on this one. But wait - A closer look and I saw that my green happy bug was actually getting murdered. Getting killed by a silent and almost invisible enemy! A spider actually was killing it. This is one of the most unexpected pictures caught on my Nikon P900 last month. Note how well the spider is camouflaged...

https://steemitimages.com/DQmXAA3o1jtnJLSxzMyAahhxWzTEL4Cmpy75wvkYKdrbU5B/DSCN7749_1024x768.jpg

I looked at that pair of hapless victim plus silent killer and suddenly likened the bug to myself... I am a happy and bright person. Just like the bright bug. I think I go about my business - without interference with others. However, I have not realized, as I traipsed through life, flitting from branch to branch that a silent killer lurked right there with me. The killer is my ego. It is right there - in plain sight. I KNOW it is there. However, I allow it to slowly affect me and make me into a hollow shell. Now - why does that happen? It happens because my ego is well camouflaged. It camouflages itself in many ways. Some of them are: ## Ego disguised as pride How often have I not said sorry for simple mistakes because I feel that it is 'beneath me' to do so. How often have I hurt loved ones by doing so! Sometimes, it is not worth fighting over trivial things. I should easily be able to defer to my elders and let go of things or forgive my younger family members. Unfortunately, I do not do this because of my ego. I blow things out of proportion by mistakenly thinking my 'Pride' is getting hurt. My pride should not be so fragile. ## Ego disguised as righteous anger Sometimes, I mix up some issues that anger me by constructing logic that makes things seem that I am correct in being angry. It could just be that my ego prevents me from seeing the full picture. My ego prevents me from putting myself in others' shoes. ## Ego disguised as Need for dominance and killing instinct Sometimes, I am unwilling to accept that others could be better at a few things than I am. No one is born equal but my need to 'Win' makes me want to dominate everything that I attempt. It is actually my ego that is driving me but I mistake it for my need for 'killing instinct'
### If I know this much about ego and I can preach about it then why have I not done anything about it? That too is because my ego disguises itself as 'MY personality' I have this death-wish and I am what I am. I am the happy green bug and why should I change.... There - more ego- you see?
I am perhaps a lost cause now but you may be able to recognize the signs and keep your ego under control.
## In Conclusion: ## One day - the silent killer, ego will get us all and all that will be left is a happy empty green pretty shell... Just an 'image' of our former self!
### Steemians, please comment freely to share your experiences, knowledge and views about ego. Thanks.

[![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcN8QG3D9k6Gxr1m5nMy7ooLSnE46W3TBRkjodPWagYbG/image.png)](https://steemit.com/@vm2904) Note: All images except for the wildlife photos and the title image created by me are from [pixabay.com](https://pixabay.com/). Image credit has been specifically mentioned for images not falling under these two categories. ![vm2904gif.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQfSDWyDQRHN28N2cAJe9guHQpkG2DbPfSavt56jywdJM/vm2904gif.gif) Gif crafted by the Legendary @stellabelle for me based on my Lion Avatar