SELF-ESTEEM, n. Self-idolization, self-deification, self-worship. Exaltation of the ‘sacred I’ in disregard, nay defiance, of the fact that We are clay, from which We are created and to which We shall return, having contributed to it the stench of our decay.
The heathen proclaim to you that the worth of those who perform well at tasks they enjoy, for which they have a ‘passion’, is beyond the count of the stars in the heavens.
But I proclaim to you that the worth of such persons is as empty as the vast spaces between the stars. For who would not do as they like, even if it destroy all around them? I say instead that those who may have worth perform well at tasks that society welcomes but they themselves loathe and despise – and then only if they conceal their loathing from all, including themselves, at all times.
– Zaraparrytha