Unlearning and Climbing Down Ladders

“When C. G. Jung was an old man, one of his students read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and asked Jung, ‘What has your pilgrimage been?’ Jung answered: ‘ Pilgrim’s Progress consisted in my having to climb down a thousand ladders until I could reach out my hand to the little clod of earth that I am.”’ —C. G. Jung Letters, Vol. 1, Gerhard Adler and Aniela Jaffé, eds. (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972), p. 19, footnote 8.

Richard Rohr describes the spiritual path of unlearning and climbing down as “The way down is the way up.” We do spend our lives learning and unlearning, climbing up and climbing down. Thomas Merton said, “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, when they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong building.”

When three spiritual leaders share this secret, I listen. My experience is that people who try to stay at the top of the ladder soon are overtaken by younger and smarter people in their profession. Attempting to contend with this paradox leads many people to seek spiritual direction. They realize that their old life no longer holds the answers. Their soul cries out to be heard.

The “climb down” can be gentle, with the help of our friends who care for us because they love us, not due to what we have accomplished. They see the face of Christ in us and try to describe it to us. We meet some fascinating people on the way down whom we never would have paid attention to before. The outer life becomes less important. Our inner life speaks more clearly and becomes heard. The descent is an ascent.

[See: Richard Rohr, Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go (Crossroad Publishing, 2003), pp. 168-169, 172-173.]

Joannna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com

Anne Frank: The Remedy

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy, is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God.” —From Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (1947).

Anne Frank lived in hiding in a cramped, secret upstairs annex of an office building for more than two years with her parents, sister, and four other Jewish people: Hermann and Auguste van Pels, their son Peter, and Fritz Pfeffer. The building was owned by Otto Frank’s company, and the entrance to the dark, damp hiding place was concealed by a bookcase. Anne and the seven other people could never venture outside. A small window in the attic through which she could see a chestnut tree was her only chance of getting fresh air. In a powerful reflection in her diary, she calls it “the remedy.”

Anne was fifteen when her family was discovered and sent to Auschwitz death camp, and later to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died weeks before British soldiers liberated the camp.

Today we give thanks for the life of Miep Gies, one of Mr. Frank’s employees, who helped the Frank family hide and later retrieved Anne’s diary. Otto was the only member to survive. He received the diary from Gies on returning to Amsterdam after the liberation.

Every day I know that I take Anne’s “remedy,” the world outside my window, for granted. I am putting Anne’s picture on my desk in hopes of honoring her short life and its truth.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com

To the Joyous

“Shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake.” —Order of Compline, The Book of Common Prayer (Church Publishing, Inc.), p. 134.

“The joyous.” I know these people. I have worked with them. I live with them. I go to the symphony with them. I read their postings on Facebook. They call me in the early morning on the way to work every day. I go to church with them. I serve with them.

I especially find them at one place I never suspected, at our church’s weekly Food Pantry. They are not only the joyful people who serve there, but they are the people who come once a month for food. That is why I selfishly go, not necessarily to offer light, but to receive it, especially from the neediest families. I sit and ask them how they are doing. “I am blessed,” is their response. They bring each other to the Food Pantry and talk about how they are going to share the meals together.

They share poignant stories of how God has been working in their lives, caring for them. They have never met a stranger. They ask us how we have been doing since we last met. Their voices echo laughter. They ask for prayers for other family members. They are teaching us how to live.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Just in time for the holidays

A Spiritual Rx for Advent Christmas, and Epiphany

The Sequel to A Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter

Both are $18

All Money from sale of the books goes either to Camp Mitchel Camp and Conference Center in Arkansas or Hurricane Relief in the Diocese of Central Gulf Coast

Contact: joannaseibert@me.com