“We do not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
Carl Jung
My reply to Jung’s statement is one of affirmation. I too believe, after these years of living the 12 Steps of recovery and sharing with members of our fellowship, alone and in meetings, that consciousness is the pathway to our “who I am” identity.
In Step Eleven we say that we
“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry it out.”
Let me also remind that those of us who have journeyed out of the darkness of depression, that we come out of this darkness with a new energy, a new resolve to live our lives with more circumspect and freedom. And paradoxically we come out with a resolve, almost a militancy of spirit, to bring others along with us.
I have tried over the years to find one’s way out of the gloom and the doom, and that includes my own journey today. It made me strong. I was given a gift, call it recovery. You and I who are on this amazing journey, have been blessed by giving our “here I am ” response. We are sent out. Our love and compassion for those “still suffering” is contagious. From the telling of “how it was” is now the “how it is.” It is good.
Jung got it right!
(c) Hugh S.