As mentioned earlier, lacking a permanent Ego at the center of our being and transitory in our nature, we long to find and to cling to something substantial in the ceaseless flow of change. We therefore project reality onto an illusory Ego for the purpose of gratification. Possession is used as a means of ego-gratification to fill this void. The use of people as objects to be manipulated for our needs is another way in which we attempt to solidify ourselves. But it is like building a house on sand. There is nothing substantial there. The grains fall apart and dissolve, and the house crumbles into dust. We still feel inadequate or unsatisfied, no matter what we get, because our ego-desires (tanha) are by nature insatiable.