Freedom and Individuation
Yesterday was a very symbolic day for me. I cut the ties with a group of people that I have been a part of for nine years. But a new, more conservative perspective at the group ousted us from the active participation we have had in the past. My husband and I made the decision to break ties with the group.
Yesterday was also our planned Not Back to School Day for our homeschool. We decided to spend some time at the lake and then head for ice cream. (Peanut butter cup ice cream is seriously the best!). As I watched the waves move the water and the gulls fly overhead, I felt a calm that I had not felt in quite some time.
I brought a book with me that I have read off and on for the past few months, depending on when my schedule allows. It's one of those books that one really has to be relaxed to read. I read a few of the experiences the author recorded in her book. I highlighted some quotes that truly brought me to tears. Here are some of them (in no particular order):
"Would it have been easier to be born into a religious tradition that spiritually felt right? Probably. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have had to go through this spirit-seeking process, anyway, to experience, what Jung called individuation, the process of becoming myself - the authentic me rather than the me I think I'm supposed to be" (Leigh Ann Henion, Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer's Search for Wonder in the Natural World, p. 171).
"How many times have I distrusted my visceral knowledge, the wisdom of my experiences?" (p. 121).
"'Whereas in animals fear is a response to a signal,' Berger writes, 'in man, it is endemic.' I'm working on this" (p. 194).
Yesterday, I felt a new release of individuation. I felt a new freedom.
I only wonder how many times we have to disassociate with certain groups in order to be given freedom of thought, in order to be allowed to be even more of our true selves.
Yesterday was also our planned Not Back to School Day for our homeschool. We decided to spend some time at the lake and then head for ice cream. (Peanut butter cup ice cream is seriously the best!). As I watched the waves move the water and the gulls fly overhead, I felt a calm that I had not felt in quite some time.
I brought a book with me that I have read off and on for the past few months, depending on when my schedule allows. It's one of those books that one really has to be relaxed to read. I read a few of the experiences the author recorded in her book. I highlighted some quotes that truly brought me to tears. Here are some of them (in no particular order):
"Would it have been easier to be born into a religious tradition that spiritually felt right? Probably. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have had to go through this spirit-seeking process, anyway, to experience, what Jung called individuation, the process of becoming myself - the authentic me rather than the me I think I'm supposed to be" (Leigh Ann Henion, Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer's Search for Wonder in the Natural World, p. 171).
"How many times have I distrusted my visceral knowledge, the wisdom of my experiences?" (p. 121).
"'Whereas in animals fear is a response to a signal,' Berger writes, 'in man, it is endemic.' I'm working on this" (p. 194).
Yesterday, I felt a new release of individuation. I felt a new freedom.
I only wonder how many times we have to disassociate with certain groups in order to be given freedom of thought, in order to be allowed to be even more of our true selves.
Comments
Post a Comment