Perhaps, we can call on the self-wisdom that is contained in what Jungians call our Shadow. Van Eenwyk (1997, p. 33) suggests, “all that which by nature we might be but aren’t, due to the demands of our surroundings, comprises the shadow.” Do we allow alternative perspectives regarding self and alternative anticipations to enter our consciousness – often arising from our shadow function? Once again, it is a matter of discernment. Our shadow can be a mischief-maker simply messing with our head and heart. Much as Flip Wilson’s “devil made him do it,” we can easily make excuses for our aberrant behavior by pointing to our “undeveloped” “anti-social” shadow function—the function that also shows us what we “might be but aren’t”.
Seeking the Future
As I have noted, the future is envisioned not only by creating something new (emanating from the nothingness of an absent future), but also by identifying, appreciating, and incorporating the vague presence of a good idea about the future which is already present in our personal and collective mind and heart.
Teddy Bears: those psychotherapists associated with the object relations school of psychoanalysis write about the Transitional Objects that accompany a child’s movement into a new, unknown stage of development. It is important to bring along that teddy bear or piece of blanket from your early childhood when you move into late childhood. Similarly, as adults, we bring along a favorite picture or paperweight from our old desk when moving on to a new job.
William Bridges (1980; 2001) similarly writes about retaining something of our old job/life when transitioning to a new job/life. While we may be glad to leave that old situation, it is important that we not leave it totally behind. We must honor what was good in this situation before moving on to what is new. And, as the object relations analysts would suggest, bring along some relic from the old situation into the new one. The awe-full experience of nothingness, which is contained in the unknown of the new situation, can be mediated by grasping onto your good memories of the past and the adult version of a transitional object that we have carried with us from this recent past. An adult edition of our childhood teddy bear is not such a bad idea.
Roses: we can also find support and guidance in our transition from the old to the new by considering the elements of our future contained in our present situation. As in the song, “The Rose” composed by Amanda McBroom and sung by Bette Midler, there is a beautiful vision, strategy, or source of support lingering in the background of our current life or existing in our unconscious (perhaps associated with our ideational train). We see nothing of our Rose during the winter; yet our Rose is there gaining strength (nutrients) so that it might burst from the ground and bloom – displaying something that is remarkable, beautiful—even awe-some. We are likely to find evidence of our soon-to-bloom Rose—or cluster of roses—in our nighttime and daytime dreams (Barrett, 2001), in our fanciful wanders during a dull meeting, in the way we become enthralled with a specific television program or theatrical performance, and/or in the what we know “is not the problem” or “is not the solution” (Schutz, 1994).
Seeds: during a period of transition to some future state, we are inevitably flooded with ideas from our own mind and from many other people. I borrow from my colleague, Suzi Pomerantz, who often turns to the snow globe when describing the situation in which we find ourselves in the mid-21st century. When we tip the globe, the snow flitters about and we are often unable to see or think clearly. This need not be a negative condition.
