Journey
Toward Wholeness
“In our
full potential we are not separated I's. Each individual is also part
of a group, and each group is a unity with its own mysteries and its
own journey toward wholeness.”
Arthur
Coleman, Jungian Analyst
To carry this idea
further, we are also part of a community, a region, a nation, and a
continent. Each of these has its own identity. As a Southerner, I can
say quite conclusively that I am perceived as being different from a
West Coast or New England native. Today the Brits have exited the
European Union, feeling, as they do, that they are first and foremost
British and desire autonomy in their decision-making. Being British
is a “entity” even though Britain itself is composed of people
from many different ethnic backgrounds.
The group with which we
identify has great impact on our way of thinking and being in the
world. I, for instance, am a liberal and have chosen to live in a
very blue section of a very red state. I feel I would not “fit”
into many other parts of this city and state. I belong to a
progressive church, truly a rarity in Alabama, because that is where
I am comfortable. My friends are also liberal and progressive. We
have many conversations based on our ideals in the areas of human
rights, social equality and politics. When we go away from such
conversations, we all feel good knowing that we belong to a
like-minded group.
There is only one problem
with all this belonging. It has a tendency to become exclusive. It
works to block challenges to its identity. It sometimes refuses to
hear the opposing voice as legitimate. It's self-interest becomes all
consuming. With enough steam built up, it can decide that those who
think and live differently are simply wrong and without merit. The
extreme of this ideology is that those who are different don't
deserve a seat at the table of life.
Even though we love our
individual identities, even though we function best when we are among
like-minded friends, we must be able to make a crack in the wall
between us and find common ground. We must find a way to bring all
our various identities into one world, one people, one shared earth.
We are, after all, one human race, created in the image of God, on a
common journey toward wholeness.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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