"God and Humans," Reflections on the Life & Dreams of C.G. Jung

[Eva Libre]

The 83-year-old wood-chopper [C.G. Jung]; photo © Aniela Jaffé.

"Being able to bear life and its trials by continuously battling to remain conscious ultimately means being able to bear the presence of God. But that is in the distant future. If, however, we consciously lead a very simple life, like living in the forest and thereby reducing life to the simplest formula, then consciousness has won. When the evening of humankind approaches, then the highest culture lies in the greatest simplicity. Because then one has recognized the meaning of existence and knows that everything is illusion, apart from living in what is.

But were I to consider emigrating to Polynesia à la Gauguin, in the hope that I would find some perfection, or withdraw from the world like a hermit, to cut myself off from the world in order to contemplate its meaningless, the result would be neither meaning nor value. Rather, it would be like a reproach to the creator for making such a nonsense of this earthly existence.

Life, nature, poses a deep problem. We would need to know an unimaginable amount more in order to comprehend the meaning of it all. This requires not just great scientific progress, but also a deepening of consciousness scarcely imaginable today – a distant goal, but one that gives dignity and hope to our existence.

Apparently, we need to battle for our lives with all the fibers of our being, with the aim of achieving as much consciousness and knowledge as possible – knowledge about ourselves, about the world, about eternity. That is what gives meaning to life. Without consciousness, the existence of this world would be only a stupid incident of a silly demiurge."

~ C.G. Jung, "God and Humans," Reflections on the Life & Dreams of C.G. Jung by Aniela Jaffé, p. 187

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Photo: The 83-year-old wood-chopper [C.G. Jung]; photo © Aniela Jaffé.