The self is a myth, as no person can stand alone, disconnected from the world and all that created them. And it’s only through the awareness of this fundamental truth that we can relinquish the belief and misguided obsession with the self. Self is vulnerable and wanting, yet it remains empty no matter how full. It is nothing but the stuff and beliefs that prop it up. Self has no greater purpose, and so offers no meaningful reward. Although tempting and persuasive, it is thoughtless and destructive, for it lacks the outward expression of care. Self is a shackle to which we become enslaved, draining us of our creativity and humanity. It both corrupts and suppresses, for it thrives on exploitation. Self is a fabrication imposed upon us from birth, a mechanism by which our freedom is denied, our energy sapped, and our intelligence contained. It is a clever, but insidious lie through which our lives are controlled. If the experience that describes life is to endure, we need to recognise that we are everything but ourselves, and cannot lay claim to who we think we are, nor blame and judge others for how we perceive them to be.