Your “Inner Deplorable.”
Have you ever been asked, “What three people—historical or present—would you invite to your ideal dinner party?” Well, it probably says a lot about my desperate need for a therapist that my top three would be psychologists: Abe Maslow, Viktor Frankl, and Carl Jung.
Jung is rising in my book for all kinds of reasons. I’m not sure anyone has characterized the fundamental shift necessary for a healthy midlife better than he did. His work on the ego, the personal unconscious and collective unconscious is particularly ripe for this strange time in world history. Also, appreciating beauty, I’m fascinated by his Red Book, a leather‐bound folio manuscript crafted between 1915 and 1930.
But, it’s his work on the shadow that might be particularly enlightening during this dark time. In his honor, I share a cup of Jung for your morning:
“Knowing our own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. He who looks outside, dreams; he who looks inside, awakes.”
