Standing Alone...

Soul and aloneness are as a dolphin swimming in deep ocean waters. Discovering soul,  we experience an enhanced sense of connection with others and a remarkably cohesive sense of self. Yet, there remains an essential aloneness. It is not loneliness, which often betrays disconnection from self and intimate others; rather, it is a sense of inner wholeness, completion within oneself. 

C.G. Jung wrote, "I had to understand that I was unable to make the people see what I am after. I am practically alone.  There are a few who understand this and that, but almost nobody sees the whole....I have failed in my foremost task: to open people’s eyes to the fact that man has a soul and there is a buried treasure in the field and that our religion and philosophy are in a lamentable state."  (Psychological Perspectives 6/1 (Spring 1975), p. 14). 

Jung, for me, has been both an inspiration and a cautionary tale. His words intone a desperation to "open people's eyes." My first depth psychotherapist, an east Indian trained at Zurich during Jung's tenure, often related that Jung struck him as "such a mixed bag." He fashioned himself an avatar of consciousness, surrounding himself with followers, in this  a certain sadness borne of an unrelenting desire to be noted,  understood, and perhaps to not have to bear the tension of standing so alone . 

A patient remarked, "I'm the odd man out in my family. I need to leave it that way, because when I press it and try to get through then I lose my peace. I become unhappy." 

There is wisdom in standing alone, and letting things be. We needn't try and get through to others. However, it requires bearing the tension of desiring understanding yet maintaining the willingness to rest content with soul, the treasure once buried now unearthed .