Through a Jungian Lens

Well, I got this photo just in the nick of time.  It seems the sun will become a memory for the next week as we enjoy clouds and scattered attempts at rain here on the Canadian prairies.  This is a Golden Elder bush that borders my driveway – well a detail of the bush to be more exact.  I was hoping to catch the sunlight on the leaflets that had just emerged.  It wasn’t until I had downloaded the photos that I noticed that this group of leaflets surrounded a head of what I assume will be the “flower” of this bush.

The whole takes on a different look as I see a head that is dressed in red hair and is bowed in humility, or as if it is bowed in prayer towards the sun that has breathed life into the dormant branches.  It is as if the plant knows that its consciousness has its source in the sun.

I guess that this image is not much different than what happens to me each time I emerge from periods of dormancy back into periods of consciousness.  Being awake doesn’t really mean being conscious.  Most of the time in past years, being awake was simply being an organism that moved through life unconsciously interacting with others and the environment on instinct.  Awareness was something that was pushed into the shadows as it only interfered with being in community, being engaged in career.

But now that midlife has knocked me about in order to get my attention, awareness is making small appearances and I am humbled.  I finally see sunlight for what it is.