How to Do Your Part to Heal the World

Carl Jung said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” In other words, we act out the unresolved issues inside us, projecting them out into the world, until we recognize them, reflect on them, then deal with them by pursuing personal growth and development.

Based on Jung’s idea, it’s no wonder what’s going on in the world today. We’re seeing the reflection of all the unresolved issues in us personally and in society generally as they play out all around us as though we are moving projectors and the world is our screen.

In a larger sense, this chaos and uncertainty were projecting onto the cultural canvas is here to remind us that the world is constantly in flux and goes through cycles of destruction and renewal as part of the process of continual creation. The old dies away, and the new is always unfolding in front of us.

More importantly, we can learn something from the chaos if we are willing to look beyond the events we see on the surface. With perspective, we can see through to the deeper principles and eternal truths behind each situation.

That’s why, under current conditions, there is probably not a better time to embark on an exploration of yourself and your self-development.

Apocalypse

Some people talk of the “apocalypse”, as a final event – a reckoning -- as though the world will physically end. But this is a trick of the ego and a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word. “Apocalypse” comes from Greek words apocalypsis, which means “revelation”, and from apokalyptein meaning to "uncover, disclose, reveal". Therefore, an apocalypse is not so much about the physical world being destroyed as it is about having the curtain pulled back, to reveal what has really been going on in our lives and culture. It’s part of the process of destruction and renewal, as old structures crumble or collapse and new or renewed ones come into being.

Thus, in a chaotic, apocalyptic time, if we’re brave enough to really see through what’s going on, we are blessed to witness the deeper truths about the world we created. So, rather than living in fear during uncertain times, it pays to be vigilant and open to the real truth of what we created but collectively ignored or were oblivious to until now.

Instead of burying our heads in the sand, it’s time to take a hard look at the uncertainty and chaos playing out as an opportunity to address the underlying or hidden issues within us, individually and collectively. This includes, for example, questioning how we define and measure what we value; how we define and use of power; the use of new technology so it benefits more than it harms; and the relationship between humans and the natural world.

What It Will Take

The temptation during chaotic times is to blame someone or something outside of ourselves and to look to those in leadership positions to address the uncertainty. However, if we collectively wash our hands of responsibility and wait for a few people to save us, we are playing the victim. If Jung’s idea is valid, all of us have contributed to the projected chaos, either actively or passively

No single person can solve the systemic problems of the world. Instead, it will take a collaborative effort to solve the cultural crises facing us, with each of us doing our part to contribute to putting the world on a “better” track. Further, Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of thinking that created it.” That means, we can’t rely on the same reasoning and values that created our current systems to resolve the mess we find ourselves in.

 Wisdom from Ancient Cultures

While each of us may individually contribute our time, talent, and money to worthy causes during these times, ancient cultures put more emphasis on creating a better world by becoming better versions of ourselves and finding our unique place in the world. When we do this, we start to clean up our projections thereby allowing a new reality to emerge.

Stories From Ancient Cultures

The ancient Irish had a mythic notion that when you reconnect with the truth of who you are and with what you are meant to do, you automatically do your part to influence the unfolding of a renewed world. Person by person, this new world will better reflect what we collectively intend for generations to come. In their mythic tradition, during times when the center cannot hold, when the world falls apart and leaves everyone and everything caught in conflict and ready to give up, that’s the time to go looking for a new center.

A new center can only be found where most people don’t want to go – to the edges of life, in the depths of despair, and out into what is unknown. It is in these uncomfortable places where each person will find the untethered end of their individual thread of life, which they can bring back to re-weave a new center with the threads of everyone else, like darning a hole in the giant tapestry of life.

It’s Time for Renewal

There is no returning to life as it once was. The world as we knew it is already gone. The future is created in the present, not the past. That’s why the work before us is to step into a bigger story that unites us all. To reconnect to the center of our culture and create something new requires all of us to stop living primarily from our egos by shedding old learning and conditioning and old beliefs and behaviors that aren’t working for us anymore. In short, to uncover our best and most authentic selves who are better able to project a renewed world.

Therefore, the big questions for each of us are:

• How do you create meaningful change in your own life and in the world around you?

• What is your greatest and most expansive destiny?

• What behaviors and beliefs do you need to let go of that don’t work in your favor anymore?

Seek the answers to these questions, and you will do your part to heal and renew the world.