"In a letter written back in 1819, the British poet John Keats refers to the world not as a vale of tears, but as "the vale of soulmaking." He says, "Do you not see how necessary a World of Pains and Troubles is to school an intelligence and make it a Soul? A Place where the heart must feel and suffer in a thousand diverse ways!"
i am so struck by how similar this is to Jung's concept of the Soul's path toward individuation by facing and incorporating its 'shadow side.' we all have a shadow side...and it is a sacred duty toward adulthood to hold no illusions about that reality within us...and in facing the darker places within us, we are inevitably opened up to pain and grief...how interesting that, especially in this culture, we are conditioned to think that pain and suffering are a result of something having gone wrong in our journey...of having, perhaps, taken a wrong turn...but the reality is...pain and suffering are universal...and a wholehearted acceptance of this truth is so often the key that can unlock and open our heart to a more encompassing love and compassion than we could ever imagine. As the writer Ram Dass expressed when discussing the spiritual lessons found in suffering a stroke:
"Greater suffering elicits higher consciousness."
and so it is, wisdom and maturity is found in not shutting down, but opening ever wider your heart.
1 comment:
Nice to hear the Cat Stephens. I'm wondering. I know about Brian Andreas because I live in the East Bay and went to his house 15 years ago and bought a copy of Mostly True. How do you know about him? Well, only if you want to tell.
Post a Comment