Overcoming Limitations

Blessed Deficiencies

“Sometimes, having deficiencies in one area causes us to discover strengths we didn't know we had in another.”

Helen Keller said, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome.” One of the most amazing things about human beings is our ability to recover from set-backs. How we take the onslaughts of life, and somehow find the strength within to rise out of the ashes and move ahead. We may spend some time in the “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23), but sooner or later most of us either find the path out or blaze our own trail.

Case in point: My friend, Melissa, whom we celebrated Friday night, held a PhD in early childhood development, and worked in that field for many years. But she wanted very much to become a Jungian Analyst, so, in her fifties, she entered the Jung Institute in Zurich to pursue that credential. Early on, she was told she had to obtain a Master's degree in counseling in order to be licensed in Alabama, so on top of the training program in Zurich, she entered a Masters program in Birmingham. A couple of years later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. She helped her daughter through college, law school, and marriage, and continued to work as well. When she began having hip pain, she entered Physical Therapy, but eventually was told that she needed surgery to fix the problem. This summer, she made her final trip to Zurich, graduated from the Institute, came home and underwent double hip replacements. It took ten long years, but she is now a Jungian Analyst and walks without a cane! To say “she persisted” hardly covers the subject.

What we discover when we overcome our problems is that there is life on the other side. We may have to scrabble up the north face of a mountain to get to it, but it's there. If we manage not to be overwhelmed by the enormity of a challenge, if we can simply hold our ground and persevere, there is light at the end of almost every dark tunnel. For most of us, the desire to live is so strong we can move heaven and earth if need be. One of the most critical traits for a long and successful life is not money, not genius, not one's social connections, but fire in the belly—passion that drives us toward life and more life. If we have that, there is no stopping us.

                                                                 In the Spirit,

                                                                    Jane