Modern Day Alchemy: This town ain’t big enough for the both of us

At the foundation of everything we do is our approach.

Why do we consistently fall for the “how to” videos? It’s certainly easier to wrap our heads around learning something this way, especially if we are visual learners. If we’re being honest with ourselves, though, shouldn’t we be admitting that it’s our thinking that needs to be correct to best approach something? As it turns out, revamping our thinking isn’t as hard as you would think.

At least, that’s what I discovered on Day 1 of Morning Pages.

The Artists Way

I’ve been struggling for years to find direction. The urge to create goes above EVERYTHING else. To the extent I’ve given up a job for time, possessions, and even distracting relationships. But I don’t know what to create, just that I know I need to.

And here, we find ourselves at The Artists Way, doing Day 1 of Morning Pages. Morning pages, from my very limited understanding so far, are a form of meditation that helps to unblock ourselves from the creativity that exists within us. Its premise: write 3 pages every morning, no matter what.

Day 1

My hand is cramping, but my thoughts are incessant. One of three pages in, and I can’t seem to get my thoughts down fast enough. I remember a tip from the book, The Artists Way.

If you are unclear about an answer, ask your younger self the question.

Kinda hokey, but what do I have to lose? And I know I am quick to judge, only to be humbled, so I’m going to try it.

LW, what should I do about this part of me that I think is stopping me from knowing what it is I want to create? How can I be more like the part of me that I like more? It seems like the part I don’t like is always stronger than the other.

Seemingly out of nowhere, like the images we see in our dreams, a response happens in my head that doesn’t appear to be from my own thoughts.

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.

Lol, what?

But I kept writing. And writing. And by the end of the piece, I realized something, pretty Jungian in nature. According to Jung’s definition of individuation:

The psyche strives to maintain a balance between opposing qualities while at the same time actively seeking its own development or as he called it, individuation.

The realization

I take the quote as the stubbornness of the two types of self. I’m not sure what to take from it exactly, and it’s only day 1, but if I were to guess — my thought is that one is the shadow self qualities, and to simply acknowledge its existence is step 1.

In practice

I’m throwing a lot of Jungian this, and Morning pages that. While I’m very excited to continue on with The Artists Way, I’m also taking away a practical tip already.

The act of gaining what it is you want for yourself involves accepting what the negative side involved is. Not dismissing it, judging it, or attempting to bury it, as Jung would have you believe, will only result in it showing up in your actions without you being aware. Not exactly an easy concept to wrap our heads around. Clearly, I am able to really understand the concept only through a parallel lens, of the famous movie / song phrase about the standoff between cowboys. I’d recommend a similar setting, whether it be through observing art like the yin and the yang, or something that displays balance.

It may seem silly, but have you been able to think your way into your solution?

Acknowledge the negative side. Acknowledge its existence. I think after acknowledging it, it has less power, and less ability. And to gain what it is you want (in my case, clarity), you ultimately have to have the balance. That is to say, you have to let two cowboys exist in a town, because in fact, the town is big enough for the both of them.

Of course this realization hits me as I’m visiting Texas for the first time.