It is an extremely rare accomplishment to self-actualise and manifest one’s limit. What is even rare is to transcend them. Maslow made a pyramid of needs and accomplishments, which hosts self-actualisation at the top. There is an old adage, “The summit of a mountain is the base of another”.

The other pyramid or mountain that sits on top of Maslow’s pyramid is that of self-transcendence. This is where ambition turns into vision. Survival instincts turn into altruism. Envy and jealousy turn into empathy and love. Examples of people who seem to have reached this stage include, M.K Gandhi, Princess Diana, Anne Frank, and Albert Einstein. 

They embraced the way the world worked and strived for equanimity and pacifism. However, the summit to Maslow’s mountain is extremely hard. It is possible for all, but it takes enormous pain and torment to reach there. One has to make peace with one’s own shadow. The shadow, as conceptualised by Carl Jung is the hidden unconscious part of human psyche, evading conscious thoughts. Only an act of total disintegration can bring someone face to face with their own shadow. Dąbrowskian theory of positive disintegration helps one understand how every mental breakdown is a chance for growth. It is this growth that slowly, excruciatingly, yet importantly takes one to self-actualisation. 

The journey from self-actualisation to self-transcendence is even tougher. The question then becomes, “you know yourself, do you know your significance in the Universe?” One eventually through their curiosity discovers that life is a precious gift and a fleeting one. This makes one overcome the fear of death and emancipates him/her to spread love and contribute to humans, and all other animals, altruistically.

At the heart of this is Albert Camus’s allegory of Sisyphus. Falling in love with and radically accepting the process of integration and disintegration. Life may be meaningless but the tremendous complexity, beauty and diversity of the world make it the most precious gift of being conscious.