Missed Opportunities

“Opportunities not taken turn into threats.”
(CBS AM Radio, small business report, Sept. 20, 09)

It’s a learning process to recognize how our inaction constellates opposition.

Call it a sort of law of the unconscious that operates much like human relationship. If one person goes out of their way to hold a door open for another, and they falter, hesitate, get jammed up with uncertainty, etc…then the one holding the door will not likely waste their time twice. Unconsciously, hesitation seems to surround itself with walls of resistance.

I’m reminded of the song lyric “Hesitation Blues” which asks “tell me how long will I have to wait?” When stuck in this quandary, we fear the answer will be forever.

Mythologically there are examples of nine year exiles with which I find interesting parallels in my life. Certain creative motions that are happening with this blog for instance had their initial rendering a decade ago. But a variety of factors, including uncertainty, limited the flowering of those efforts.

But let’s not forget that hesitation has its place. Clearly it’s rooted in self preservation. The key is to gain the needed caution without becoming arrested.

An example of this happened earlier this summer as I hiked in Yellowstone. Approaching Sheepeater Canyon I came upon four European tourists who where quite besides themselves. In broken English they explained to me that around the next corner of the trail they came upon a grizzly bear. They did their best to convince me that I should leave the area with them, even asking if I had a gun.
Their level of dread was infectious, and for about five minutes I stood with them, considering the options. Finally, I decided to push on, but slowly. In fact a certain hyper-awareness set in. Fear gave way to an understanding that the manner of my approach would prevent either the bear or myself from being suddenly surprised. In fact, I was no longer mindlessly walking along a trail. Instead, I was mindfully relating to my surroundings. Two hundred yards later the trial headed steeply down into the canyon with dramatic views of the river below. I never saw the grizzly. If I gave into my fears, I never would have seen the canyon either.

Opportunities relate to the archetype of initiation and stepping across a threshold has a quality of terror to it, even when grizzlies are not in the picture. One thing is for sure: access to the “Grail Castle” is an opportunity we do not want to miss.

jamenta

Agree. It is easy to assume the ego is all there is, and all that is important are the materialistic/consumerism goals of a culture dominated by self-serving greed. The dynamics of psyche - Jung and others like him insisted did exist, based on their study of dreams, is not considered so significant in today's society and even plenty of mainstream academia.

Values have become ego external oriented, and in US have gone to an extreme: where a human beings value is primarily as a "work unit", and often exploited as a work unit as much as possible by those who can. Productivity in the name of materialism and power is what is driving a major part of US culture now.

The internal world - and view of a possible transcendental aspect to reality - unlike in past human history where organized religions did hold sway considerably, in today's reality - takes second if not third seat to the pursuit of physical, tangible good. A nice house, physical health, good transportation, expensive toys, etc. are far more paramount to most then listening to what their soul may be saying in their dreams - or even a consideration of any purposive reason for the human race being here, and perhaps some of our responsibilities toward the planet and to ourselves as a race.

I think Jung writes in Man and his Symbols the danger of ignoring the internal world that exists, and of which he believed to 1) be prospective and purposive 2) in the end, has more power and more wisdom than the ego - and an ego bound society

Thus we bulldoze our way now to the road of ruin, by not allowing ourselves to broaden our knowledge about ourselves and what we are, and what other choices and possibilities exist - via the insight and attention that can be brought to bear on that "other" world that co-exists with the ego.

ccseed

That about sums it up. But I'm not sure the "progress" unfolding in these days is totally devoid of soul. The trace of soul in these technologies for instance which allow us to communicate is not a conscious fact for many, but I do think each creative emergence relies on soul. That being said, the widespread transition of attitudes redirected from selfishness toward what Jung called "serving the Self" is clearly going to be painful in many ways...

jamenta

Excellent observation and point. Jung (according to his assistant Anielle Jaffe) often admonished "Don't Interfere" and usually took a wait and see attitude, but he also believed in taking action when the time was right for it.

The "Time is Right" is the hard part IMO ... especially if we are experiencing our world in the more symbolic Jungian perspective. Choices significant to the flow of one's life.

ccseed

The crux is allowing for a fortuitous time. Our current collective approach
prefers to bulldozer though all experiences without regards for that subtle
insight.

Fred H Schlegel

"The key is to gain the needed caution without becoming arrested." Like that.

Also, had you turned, then thoughts of a grizzly at your back would have been terrible.