The attainment of wholeness requires one to stake one’s whole being. Nothing less will do; There can be no easier conditions, no substitutes, no compromises. – Carl Jung
Life asks a lot from us and forces us to make some hard choices. We do our best choosing what’s right for us at any given time and move forward from there. We continue to evolve and grow, we change, are carried along, but inevitably we leave behind some aspects of ourselves we’re going to need later. These are the parts of ourselves whose importance we may not fully recognize at the time, like our fears, jealousy, or cynicism. Inevitably life circles around asking us to take another look. Reclaiming what we so casually left behind becomes the catalyst for some of our biggest transformations. We finally come to recognize that we desperately need the insight offered by what was so carelessly discarded, and what we thought was trash turns out to be our greatest treasure.
Reclaiming our inner gifts abandoned long ago is what Jung would call shadow work because these things don’t often look like gifts at all. Instead they look like shortcomings, strange proclivities, or unacceptable behaviors. In order to become whole we need to accept all the parts of ourselves and this includes the things we’ve pushed down to the bottom hoping never to see again. The truth is it’s often the most essential pieces of ourselves that we’ve disguised as garbage and left behind, they are the things we’re afraid to acknowledge about ourselves or completely own. These are the pieces sacrificed in order to fit in, not make waves, or blend with societal norms. But our difficult gifts end up telling us more about what we’re made of than the so-called acceptable pieces of ourselves ever could.
One day an awakening inevitably comes and what was once overlooked or discarded needs a second chance. It needs an open and non-judgmental look through the eyes of compassion for the places where we falter and fall flat. Digging deeper to reclaim the difficult pieces and parts that may be darker and more complicated is how we come into wholeness. To live in wholeness means reclaiming everything we are and seeing both the “good” and the “bad” as equally important and necessary.
This is the hard work of coming into our own and it requires courage and unflinching honesty. We have to face the messy truth of who we are and say no matter what, we are enough. Everything about us counts, even the sharp edges and murky depths. As it turns out it’s the things that frighten or disappoint us the most that have the power to recreate us. We are not now, and never will be, perfect but the less than lovely parts of who we are have a story to tell too, and often they carry the the medicine that heals our deepest wounding.
Wholeness only comes when we are able to see everything we are and own it.
What have you left behind?
kb
