Daimons
“Why do
we focus so intensely on our problems? What draws us to them? Why are
they so attractive? They have the magnet power of love: somehow we
desire our problems; we are in love with them as much as we want to
get rid of them...Problems sustain us...maybe that's why they don't
go away. What would life be without them? Completely tranquilized and
loveless...There is a secret love hiding in each problem.”
James
Hillman (A Blue Fire)
Jungian Analyst James
Hillman wrote a lot about what he called our “personal daimons.”
They are agents of change and they are restless, artless, crude
mythical beings who are always pushing the envelope for new ways of
expression and experience. They are not above making us sick,
depressed or completely crazy if we don't listen to their message and
act. They don't care for the luxury of an easy life, so they stir
things up when we get too comfortable. They cause concern and worry;
they manufacture doubt, anxiety and resentment, often for intangible,
imaginary offenses. In short, they are happier when we are focused on
problems, whether those problems truly exist or not, because that is
more likely to push us toward action.
Our personal daimons may
be excruciatingly annoying and subversive, but they make our lives
more interesting. They draw us into life's intensity, and even though
we may use their energy to do destructive things to ourselves and
others, there is often a rich result. They make us think, they make
us assess ourselves, they push us toward our destinies, even if that
means a little—or a lot—of suffering along the way.
Intellectually, we hate them, but down deep, we know we need their
energy.
There are tribal/national
daimons as well. From time to time, they explode on the scene and
create giant havoc. When we have become half-blind and almost
brain-dead from sleepwalking through our time here on earth, the
national/tribal daimons will blow the whole thing up, take us by the
throat and shake us awake. They will throw spit-balls in our face,
and slap us with cold cloths until we open our eyes and see where we
are—where all our mind-blindness has gotten us. Suddenly, we have
problems to deal with that have been simmering on a back burner for
decades without our notice, and now they're boiling over and filling
up the room. We come up with short-term fixes—like toppling
statues, and punching people, and building beautiful little shrines
to the wounded and the dead. But, the real and lasting fix will come
only with real and lasting change. That change will be deep and
uncomfortable, but it will initiate in a new era. That era will be
better than the one before—more progressive and fair. That's what
our daimons do—they push us forward even when we don't want to go.
They deserve a little love today.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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