What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.
(Henry David Thoreau)
“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.”
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)
The Depth Psychology Perspective
The quality of our life is what matters. But for many, they seek quality from an external source. Carl Jung called the gravitational pull the psyche takes towards external sources reinforcement the extraverted type. Likewise, he called the gravitational pull the psyche undertakes towards internal resources introversion.
Which one is right? Which one is for lack of better word to say… Wrong?
This is a question of the ages.
Philosophically, neither type is right or wrong. They have both clear strengths and weaknesses. However, is not within their strengths or weaknesses we should turn; instead, we must learn ways to foster the opposite within the develop a quality of life that promotes S not s Self.
Henry David Thoreau seems to be quite introverted by nature. However, his explorations into environmentalism, ecology, and matters of civil policy show how deeply influencing his works are even by today’s standards, nearly two centuries after his death.
On the other hand, the capacity to give a speech in front of a million marchers would seem to be a deeply extroverted trait. However, it was Martin Luther King Jr.’s spiritual foundation that fostered the deeply connected Human roots he preached to see materialize from a that etherial plane of a Dream.
Strength for the extravert is found in the foundation of going within. Strength in the introvert is found by breaking free from that shell that traps and moving outside. There is no wrong here, only matters of being. This is where a Realized state of Self Emerges.
What matter of Self do you have in You that You Wish to Grow?
Believe… Achieve… Advance Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams!
