ONE CANNOT LIVE THE AFTERNOON OF LIFE ACCORDING TO THE PROGRAM OF LIFE'S MORNING... Carl Jung, (The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche.)

 A few days ago, I had a strange dream, so strange that when I woke up, I told myself that it was not worth trying to decipher it because I would not succeed. The dream was as follows: I was in front of two large paintings depicting geometric figures. The difference between the two was that while the colors of the left canvas were gleaming, those on the right canvas lacked luster. I remember thinking in the dream that the second canvas had probably been washed with chlorine. But as attractive as this dream was, its images didn't communicate anything to me... that is, until I remembered a Jung saying that I had read a long time ago. "One cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning,” it stated. According to Jungian thinking and without fear of being wrong, we could say that life really begins (the canvas on the left) when time is running out. But what is the reason for

this paradox? The paradox is not such if we realize that it is only in the second half of life that we understand the meaning of existence; for instance, that our life is free and determined at the same time. In other words, although we enjoy a certain freedom of action, there are tasks that were sent our way for us to fulfill. Over the years we also understood that the pain suffered was necessary to grow spiritually and become our real Selves; it was thanks to the way we dealt with life storms that we became examples for those who follow us in time. Finally, it is only when there is less time left that we understand that solitude is our best companion. Only when we are alone can we grasp the undeniable fact that we were the only ones able to do what we came to this world to do. Finally, it is when the day is almost over that we realize that the only things we will take with us are the goodness and reverence for life we have shown to all and everything.