Ego and True Self

Is it possible to get rid of our "ego"? Many thinkers believe that it's the ego that causes all our pain and suffering. As the ego is the sense of self-esteem and self-importance, when something (somebody's words or a situation) inflicts a blow that hurts such deep sense of who we believe we are, it would be wonderful to be able to eliminate it once and for all, and live happily ever after. I don't believe that getting rid of this main "feature" of our being is actually possible because the "ego" is also what makes us able to relate to, communicate with others and perform the duties pertinent to our jobs and responsibilities as human beings. But I made a discovery. It is possible to divide the "ego" from your true self. What I mean  is that, if someone hurt your feelings by saying something unpleasant to you, you can become aware of the fact that your feelings were hurt and that you did not appreciate what was said to you but, at the same time, you are also able to realize that the deepest part of yourself, your "true" self, remained totally untouched. It is a good feeling... You can discriminate between what is really important and what is not, between what others say about you / do to you, and what "YOU" really are. Criticism or unkindness are usually dictated by ignorance. If everyone could put themselves in their fellow human beings' shoes, they would never behave in a way that might cause distress or uneasiness in another. Awareness, or lack of it, is once again the key to better relationships and to a higher sense of your real worth, independently from any outside judgment.