Through a Jungian Lens

Playing shy with grandparents

I have returned to Canada with the first stop at my son’s home where I became reacquainted with my youngest grandchild, a boy who is a year and a half old.  When I left Canada ten months ago, we left as friends.  Now, I am a stranger, an older male somehow in his home.  The tear of his face is a tear of fear, a fear of the unknown stranger.  And the first reaction to that fear is to take comfort in the mother or the father.  After a few hours of quiet presence, we have become friends again and that is good.  Unfortunately, however, the little guy has a cough and cold so the fun was muted from time to time.

While travelling, taking photos, writing and doings some teaching, sometimes it is easy to forget the connections that tie us back to a particular place and time.  The journey of individuation is one that requires us to constantly remember that we are also part of a whole and not totally separate beings.   The idea is differentiation, not dissociation.  And this is a lesson I constantly relearn from my children and grandchildren