“In studying the history of the human mind one is impressed again and again by the fact that the growth of the mind is the widening of the range of consciousness and that each step forward has been a most painful and laborious achievement.”
~ C.G. Jung, Contributions to Analytical Psychology, p. 340
We long to transform, but often without delay, cost, or pain.
But authentic development rarely feels like transformation. It feels like monotony. Like doing the inner work when no one sees, enduring the friction of old habits, showing up again and again to the same challange.
It’s the slow accumulation of being. A distillation. An inch gained. A moment endured. A daily effort repeated with no promise of reward.
To expect ourselves to grow fast is to misunderstand the nature of inner work. To demand transformation without frustration, suffering, the temporary collapse of the known – is to remain in the fantasy of the child. The child demands magic. The adult cultivates faith.
Nothing truly valuable emerges without passage through difficulty. To change, we must be changed. We must be shaped by time and refined through resistance. This is how character forms.
Be patient, Soul.
Be consistent.
Stay close to your path,
to the step you can take today.
Look with empathic eyes on who you were and are,
and bring fierce love to who you are becoming.
Let the long-term view be your compass,
the measure of a life lived in fidelity
to the truth of your becoming.
The path is made of increments.
The destination is forged in delay.
And every real transformation
Is both the fruit and the seed.
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