July 09, 2023 – A

Sunset from Cadillac Mountain 10/11/2009 Oil Paint Rendered — Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
That’s a cruise ship in Penobscot Bay, bound for the harbor .
Carl Jung said that a hermit
is a primitive person
who trusts their unconscious.

I would have used the term "Natural"
instead of "Primitive."

A natural person who trusts their unconscious
is a rare sight in any age.

And a natural person would naturally
trust their unconscious.
There is no other way.

Living naturally is expressing
in our life
the leading/guiding/directing influence
of the psyche, the unconscious.

Who we naturally are
is who we are apart from cultural influences,
social expectations,
religious instruction
and all of the rules to live by
that we have spent a lifetime learning
and applying.

We learn the rules governing behavior,
and then live beyond them
in sync with the Law of Sincerity and Spontaneity,
offering in the moment
exactly what is called for,
no matter what the culture and society may expect.

Jesus was called "a glutton and a winebibber,"
which was in those days the same as saying
that he was "beyond parental control."
Or that "no one can do anything with him."

He lived beyond culture and society and religion
in saying and doing what needed to be said and done,
and left that behind as a hermit's legacy
to all who would follow him
in responding to each situation as it arises,
and to each moment within each situation,
as it needs to be responded to,
regardless of what culture/society/religion
have to say.

We cannot live like that and care what our chances are,
but we do live like the spirit-wind,
blowing where it will.

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Published by jimwdollar

I'm retired, and still finding my way--but now, I don't have to pretend that I know what I'm doing. I retired after 40.5 years as a minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, serving churches in Louisiana, Mississippi and North Carolina. I graduated from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, in Austin, Texas, and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. My wife, Judy, and I have three daughters, five granddaughters, one great granddaughter, and a great grandson on the way, within about ten minutes from where we live--and are enjoying our retirement as much as we have ever enjoyed anything.

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