I was further contemplating that the Self, itself, represents a sort of energetic structure that makes action more efficient. It is a sort of railroad tracks, which guide you efficiently from one Point A to another Point B. It prevents you from getting lost, distracted, bewildered, ineffectual.
One common heuristic we use is asking ourselves if person so and so–and it may be us–is confronted with such and such a situation, how will they deal with it? To the extent personality means anything, the answer is in our often correct guesses, when the actual test is done.
We speak of character. When X happens, someone with character does Y, and someone without it does Z.
Socially, it is important to know what to expect of one another. In this respect, the formation of a personal self, and a larger social sense of context and social self, is vitally important.
But spiritually, it may be that nothing really needs to be done. Our lives are necessarily torn between these two realities. As Lao Tzu put it, in the first stanza, “Ever desireless, one sees the Mystery; ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.”
We live in a deep ocean, which perhaps no manifest being in the universe truly understands. But we also have bills to pay, and friendships to tend.
It is important, I think, to think about these things. But not too much. There is no equation sufficient to this purpose, no words, and no nameable path. This does not mean there is not a Way for each of us.
Words are often wasted. But not all words, with respect to all people.