Through a Jungian Lens

A light and a tree at the end of the tunnel

As I enter the compound in which I have rented a condo here in Thailand, I must walk down a long hallway to reach this opening where a set of stairs will take me to the third floor condo I call home for another three weeks. Today is the seventh day here in Thailand. Most of those days have been filled with cloud cover, a weather pattern that is conducive for my spending time at the keyboard writing what needs to be written. When the sun does poke out, I make my way to the pool side to lay in the sun while listening to music, as the seaside beach is crowded with lounge chairs and umbrellas all the way to the water’s edge. Walking along the beach is more about dodging traffic than letting surf and sand soothe the soul. With the beach basically uninteresting in terms of meditative and holistic presence, the condo pool is a better choice, especially as there are few people using the pool or the perimeter around the pool.

Now, back to the image which more about my process than it is about making a record of another place visited. I imagine that I am in the shadow world and that held up before me is the destination, a place called life which is symbolised by the tree standing in both shade and sunshine. The light falling on the tree is the light of consciousness, awareness. It is as though I have dared to swallow the forbidden fruit from the tree of consciousness and have been tossed into the depths of darkness in order to make my way back into the light. This journey toward light is my heroic quest, different but yet the same as Odysseus’ quest. It is the universal human quest of the everyman, Adam and everywoman, Eve as they journey back to their Garden of Eden to a reunion with the wholeness and source of life.

The path forward may look straight but there are so many doors not seen, many forks in the road that seem to jump out and demand attention. Life is filled with these forks in the road, all of these doors waiting to be taken, must be taken if one is to arrive conscious. As I wrote these last words I was reminded of a song called God Bless the Broken Road, a song sung by Rascal Flatts. And with that, I leave you for today. Check out the song and see what I mean.