The Archetype of the Witness

Being Witness

“What have you been called to witness?”

Caroline Myss (Caroline's Blog, Life Settings that are Game Changers, Part II)

Priests, counselors, and psychologists are professional witnesses who have taken on the job of listening to and observing the pathos in people's lives without flinching. But all of us are called to witness. We witness things everyday that are not right, as well as things that are very right and good. We know the difference between the two. Most of the time, we see what we see, and do nothing about it—myself included. We don't want to get involved in anything that is messy or may become messy. It's human nature to want to self-protect.

The problem with that stance is that injustice is served when we witness and walk away. Each of us is put into settings where we witness the difficulties and sorrows of another. We see injustices and violations of human rights. If you view life from a mystical perspective, you understand that you have been put in that setting at that time for that very purpose—to witness. To be The Witness. Your job as witness then is to speak up and to call attention to that injustice so that it can be recognized and remedied.

When we as individuals, or we as a nation, say to ourselves, “Wow, that's terrible. Someone should do something about that,” but then walk away, we set in motion a cycle of karmic consequences which first, cause great harm to others, and then come home to roost with us. This is not theoretical, it's a law of the universe, a constant, and I have seen and experienced it over and over in my own life, as I'm sure you have.

When we support wars in foreign countries by selling weapons and backing fighting factions, we are stained by that violence, and we are equally responsible for the deaths of innocents. When we turn a blind eye to the perpetrator of the barbaric murder and dismemberment of a man who was only doing his job because our bottom line might be affected, we are co-conspirators to brutal murder. When we turn our backs on poor and embattled people seeking asylum from intractable poverty and violence, we are complicit in their suffering. When we see innocent people gunned down in their synagogue or church, their dance club or in the street, and do nothing because it might impact our political campaign, we are complicit in their deaths. We cannot be “great” and sow violence and injustice. It's not how the universe works. We are called to witness and act.

The archetype of the witness is one of the most powerful in the cosmos. It requires those who see, to speak up, and to act, and it is active right here and right now in America and abroad. We are living witnesses to all that is right with the world, and all that is wrong. Let us not shirk the call to witness and respond.

                                                      In the Spirit,

                                                          Jane