Pride

Although pride is destructive, deceitful, and creates confusion and irritation in all who engage with it, pride has been present since the dawn of time. With good reason, pride (also known as shame) is often conceptualized in terms of its destructive and secretive nature; pride has been the destroyer of many great individuals, families, civilizations, religions, ideologies, traditions and so forth. Pride is the great violator of the sanctity of self and relationships, including marriages, families, friendships, business partnerships, and all other unions where two or more people connect with one another on any level. Pride always has and always will present itself whenever people gather for a common goal or a common good. Pride is seductive on many, many levels: it seduces my senses, my body, my mind, my emotions, my perceptions, my expectations, my sense of responsibility, my willingness and so forth.