Greetings Readers!
Here is the next volume of our series โ Letters to a Young Seeker (Catch up on previous volumes: Donโt Forget to Live, Break Bread with the Dead, Live an Examined Life, Carry the Fire, The Art of Optimism, Think Like a Mortal, Trust Thyself, The Art of Being, and Freedom and Responsibility).
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Dear Fellow Traveler,
Life is paradoxical. In many ways, our seeking (for wisdom, God, and so on) often leads back to ourselves. The project is not necessarily self-improvement; it is one of self-discovery and acceptance. The nineteenth-century psychoanalyst Carl Jung called the notion of becoming who we are the privilege of a lifetime. However, this is no simple task, according to Jung.
A parable about a conversation between a journalist and a monk highlights this point: The journalist asks, โWhat is wrong with the world?โ The Monk responds by asking, โWho are you?โ
The journalist answers, โIโm a journalist.โ The monk says, โNo, that is your profession; who are you?โ The journalist responds, โIโm John Smith, from America.โ The Monk says quickly, โNo, that is your name and where youโre from โ who are you?โ
The journalist becomes a little confused and answers, โIโm a human being.โ The monk pauses and responds calmly, โNo, that is your species. The problem with the world is that we donโt know who we are.โ
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