How to find order amongst the chaos of the Pandemic

There has been a recurring theme for my clients in the last few months which is that they are experiencing being in a turbulent storm and looking for some solid ground or a rock to be able to have their feet on the ground and feel back in control of their lives and reconnected with themselves. ?

It is no wonder this is coming up for so many given the relentlessness of homes schooling, working from home and not knowing when you can leave the country or just move around in general to feel a sense of freedom and normality. ??

There was an expectation that 2021 was going to be better; that life would return to near normal and it would be a new beginning. That has not yet happened, and this is weighing heavily on many people. ?

This desire for stability and an anchor is normal and so difficult to achieve when we feel overwhelmed and all over the place in this ever-changing turbulent sea we are currently experiencing.?

Carl Jung favourite story that he told before many of his lectures is simple, yet given the disturbed and disturbing times in which we find ourselves living, I believe has a profound and wholesome message for us all.?

???? ?????? ?????????????? ?????????????? ???????????????? ???? ???????????????? ?????????? ?????? ?? ?????????????? ???? ???????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????? ??????????. ???? ??????????????, ?????? ???????????????? ???????????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??????????????????, ?????? ?????????? ???? ?????? ?????????????????? ????????????. ???????? ???? ??????????????, ???? ?????????? ???? ???? ???????? ?????????? ?????????????? ?????? ???????? ???? ?? ???????????? ??????, ?????? ?????????? ?????????? ???????? ???? ????????????, ?????? ???????? ????????????!??

?????? ?????????????????? ?????????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????? ????????. ?????? ???? ????????????????, “?? ??????????’?? ???????? ?????? ????????, ???? ???????????? ??????.” ?????? ????????, ?????????? ?? ??????????, ???? ??????????, “?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???????? – ???????????????????? ?????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????? ???? ???????????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ???????? ???????? ???????????? ??????????????????. ???????? ???????? ???? ???????????? ???? ??????. ???????? ?? ?????????????? ???????? ?? ???????????? ???????? ??????????????????. ???? ?????? ???? ?????? ???????? ???? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?????????? ???????????? ?????????? ???????? ??????????.” ?????? ???????? ???? ??????????, ???????? ?? ??????????, “???????? ?????????????????? ???? ????????????.”?

(adapted from Von Franz, Psyche and Matter, p. 161)?

There are many ways to interpret and find meaning in this story. ?

At one level this story speaks to ?????? ???????????????????? ???? ?????????????????? – of ‘bringing oneself into order’. However, the composure of the rainmaker goes deeper than persona or outward appearance. Indeed, others are not even aware of what he’s up to when, feeling himself becoming agitated and disturbed, he asks simply to be left alone in a hut for three days.??

During the pandemic, and especially for those of us who have endured lockdowns or who live in areas where the virus has taken a heavy toll, I know of no one who has not had significant personal ‘stuff’ arise, whether that be around money and work; close relationships with partners, siblings, children or parents; or a heightened awareness of their own mortality.??

There is no linear ‘cause and effect’ relationship between the rainmaker’s retreat and the arrival of the rain. Indeed, the old man specifically denies any responsibility for making the rain. Yet he saw there was no separation between his inner chaos and the outer chaos of the drought. In committing to quietening his chaotic mind to bring himself into order it extended to everything around him.??

We know how to struggle and fight, but not how to be silent and receptive. We have forgotten how to look and listen. And yet the signs are all around us—and for some, the best response to this pandemic might be, like the rainmaker, to retire to “a quiet little house,” where rather than bingeing on endless streaming shows, we might look inward, we might return to the Tao, to what is in balance with life’s natural flow and reconnect with the calm and in doing so finding that solid ground that we are seeking. ?