“Don’t take your own dear self too seriously.”
   Aphorism from Dr. Abraham Low’s “Recovery International.”

“Blame it on one culprit: self-cherishing.”
    From Point Three, The Seven Points of Mind Training.

“Maybe you’re playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as audience.”
   East of Eden (p. 295)
   John Steinbeck

“I’m the whole catastrophe.”  (As memory serves.)
   Zorba the Greek
   Nikos Kazantzakis