Month: December 2019

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Understanding Ourselves

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” This quote by C.G. Jung is a succinct reminder of his psychological concept of projection and of how we can learn about ourselves by being aware that projection occurs. Projection can be defined as attributing an element of our personality to another person or group. We project negative as well as positive qualities. Projection occurs unconsciously—we cannot control whether and when it happens. But we can try to notice when it does.

Last summer I was at an outdoor farmers market looking at the various stands of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. There were a lot of people there, all of us walking along and stopping to select items to buy, and also enjoying being outside on a pretty summer day. Suddenly I heard someone near me make a deprecating, racist remark, and I saw a man who had an angry look on his face. I also saw that the man had directed his words to two men of a different race than himself. The two men had enough character to ignore the man and walk past him.

The man’s words, tone of voice, and facial expression made it clear he was a rageful and self-righteous person. And my witnessing this incident caused me to think about projection. I’ve read works by several authors who attribute racism to projection. It’s clear the man had no idea that he was projecting a negative aspect of himself onto others. He did not know the two men as individuals; he automatically thought of them as hateful based only on the fact that the color of their skin was different from his.

It is incredibly sad how racism and other forms of bigotry are modeled by some parents, caretakers, and public figures. What a difference it would make if more people knew about and embraced the reality of projection and then made an effort to learn from it. By doing so, they would grow in self-awareness that would lead to positive changes within themselves and in the ways they influence others.

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Holding On to Faith

One of many writers whose writing has enriched my life and helped to shape my worldview is C.S. Lewis. I’m impressed by the creative ways he approaches writing about truths, both through his fiction and nonfiction works. Among his books for which he is best known are The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven books generally considered to be children’s literature. They, however, speak to adults as well—as is the case for much children’s literature. Lewis is also known as a Christian apologist, someone who supports the teachings of Christianity with clear, understandable explanations and reasoning. Some of his best known works of this type are Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, and Miracles.

One of Lewis’ fiction works, The Screwtape Letters, is an excellent example of his ability to present truths in a creative manner. The two main characters are Screwtape, who is a senior devil who has a lot of experience doing evil, and Wormwood, who is a junior devil whom Screwtape mentors and who is also Screwtape’s nephew. Christian teachings are looked at from the devils’ points of view, and Screwtape refers to God as “the enemy” throughout the book.

One of the many thought-provoking passages in the book is when Screwtape says to his trainee Wormwood: “Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”

When I read that quote I thought of how Screwtape’s words are a perfect definition of faith: for a person to continue to strive to obey, to continue to try to follow what that person believes to be right and just, even during those times of feeling alone spiritually. To hold on to one’s beliefs and faith when they are most challenged. There are many things that happen each day and there have been throughout the history of humankind that can lead to questioning and doubts. What matters most is to hold on to that gift of faith.