Donna Of Tartt. The secret history (№ 448211)

- A quiet insistent voice in our head - why does it torment us so much? he asked and paused. - Maybe it reminds us that we are alive, that we are mortal, that each of us is endowed with a unique soul, which we are so afraid to part with, although it makes us feel more unhappy than all other creatures? Besides, what, if not pain, sharpens our sense of self? It is terrible when a child suddenly realizes that he is a being isolated from the whole world, that no one and nothing suffers when he burned his tongue or skinned his knee, that his pain belongs only to him alone. It is even worse when, with age, you begin to realize that no one, even the closest and beloved person, will ever be able to understand you for real. The ego makes us extremely unhappy, and is that why we are so eager to get rid of it?