top of page
Writer's pictureJennifer Watson

The Truth

Updated: Sep 16, 2022


So, I've had "write new blog post" on my to-do list for a while. Aaannnddd I've been ignoring it.


I haven't been able to face it.


"Why?" you ask.


Here's the thing...


The thing..."the elephant in the room" as the saying goes...is that...


I am struggling right now.


And I don't mean I'm struggling with a little bit of this or that or I'm struggling to lose a few pounds or keep the kitchen clean.


I mean that I'm struggling with EVERYTHING right now.


With parenting my kid, with being a good partner to my husband, cleaning my disaster of a house, being a good daughter and sister, my weight, my SoulCollage® practice and business, depression/anxiety and ADHD.


With being a functional human being.


When I see the "write new blog post" entry on my to-do list I panic and ignore it.


There's no way I can write some cheerful "hey, everything is great and SoulCollage® is amazing and you all should know that I am doing great and you should come to my workshops because I know what I'm doing" post.


Nope.


How can I write those things when I'm supposed to be helping others - helping YOU - using SoulCollage®...while here I am struggling to help myself because I feel overwhelmed by my life??


So that's where I'm at.


Or was at.


Until early this morning when I remembered Carl Jung and The Wounded Healer.


"What is The Wounded Healer?" you might ask.


[In 1951] Jung proposed that [healers] who had been wounded can provide their clients with a deeper empathy, patience, and acceptance. In fact, it’s our own hurt and pain that provide us with the power to heal others. Whether a healer or not, to be able to listen to other people’s stories, we must be able to be self-aware and learn how to listen deeply to our own stories.

- Diana Raab, PhD (posted in Psychology Today, Jan 26, 2022)

As an archetype of the collective unconscious, the wounded healer represents patterns of initiation and healing that become constellated (activated) whenever helper and client come together for the purpose of healing. These patterns rest on the ancient bedrock of evolutionary psychological development, creating an expectation in both helper and client that there is a way forward, and that the potential for healing lies within the wound itself.

- James R. Newell, PhD (posted in Depth Psychology Alliance, Sept 22, 2021)


Is this me? Can I really lay claim to being a "Wounded Healer"?


I don't know. What I do know is that despite my own struggles - or maybe because of them - I very much WANT to help others on their life journey. To help others through their suffering.


I HOPE that I am one who at least has POTENTIAL to help and heal others.


I hope by sharing my truth and my struggles in this space and in my SoulCollage® workshops that others - that YOU - might feel open to sharing your struggles and truth. And I hope by listening deeply to ourselves and to each other that TOGETHER we can activate our healing.


OK...whew!!...that was a lot.


Having shared all that...please excuse me while I go check "write new blog post" off my to-do list.







144 views

Recent Posts

See All

1 Comment


tammy.soulgarden
Sep 15, 2022

This is a beautiful, authentic, vulnerable piece of writing, and I appreciate this. I, too, am here at the struggle. Struggling through, and Becoming a wiser, stronger, more courageous me because of it. Thank you.

Like
bottom of page