Life:

Carl Jung:

“People do not realize just how much they are putting at risk when they don’t accept what Life presents them with, the questions and tasks that Life sets them. When they resolve to spare themselves the pain and suffering, they owe to their nature. In so doing, they refuse to pay Life’s dues and for this very reason, Life then often leads them astray. If we don’t accept our own destiny, a different kind of suffering takes its place: a neurosis develops, and I believe that that Life which we have to live is not as bad as a neurosis. If I have to suffer, then let it be from my reality. A neurosis is a much greater curse! In general, a neurosis is a replacement for an evasion, an unconscious desire to cheat Life, to avoid something. One cannot do more than Live what one really is. And we are all made up of opposites and conflicting tendencies. After much reflection, I have come to the conclusion that it is better to Live what one really is and accept the difficulties that arise as a result—because avoidance is much worse. Today I can say: I have been true to myself I have done what I could to the best of my knowledge and conscience. Whether it was right or not, I cannot say. Suffering was inevitable in any case. But I want to suffer for those things which really belong to me. A decisive factor for me in choosing this path was the knowledge that if I did not respond fully to my Life’s purpose and challenges, then they would be inherited by my children, who would have to bear the burden of my unlived Life in addition to their own difficulties. I am aware of what a heavy burden was passed on to me by my parents. Such a burden cannot simply be shaken off. You find yourself weighed down with an inheritance that you have to accept and carry around, like a snail carrying its house on its back. Being ‘smart’ and behaving reasonably are not enough to get you through Life. You may well spare yourself some trouble, but you cut yourself off from your own Life in the process. I have seen the fate of those who have not Lived their own Lives, and it is simply horrible. People who Live out their destiny and fulfill it to the best of their knowledge and abilities have no reason for regret. In a way, Voltaire was right when he said one only has to regret surtout ce que l’on na pas fait (‘especially what we did not do’). It is of immense importance that we as humans accept the debts incumbent on us. In old age it is not the wonderful things that we perhaps missed out on seeing or experiencing that we will regret, but rather the moments when we let Life pass us by.”