Digesting Jung: Food for the Journey - Inner City Books

36 Typology Revisited
sharper than mine. He lives alone and has a fabulous garden. He
knows the names of all the flowers, in Latin.
Meanwhile, I have dinner parties and have been known to haunt
the bars till dawn. I misplace precious papers. I forget names and
telephone numbers. I can no longer find my way around a strange
city. I pursue possibilities while things-to-do pile up around me. I
could not cope without a cleaning lady.
Such developments are the unexpected consequences of getting
to know your shadow and incorporating it in your life. You lose
something of what you were, but you add a dimension that wasn’t
there before. Where you were one-sided, you find a balance. You
learn to appreciate those who function differently and you develop
a new attitude toward yourself.
Arnold and I are still shadow brothers, but now the tables are
turned.
I tell him about my latest escapade. He shakes his head. “You
damn gadabout,” he says, punching my shoulder.
Arnold describes quiet evenings by the fire with a few intimate
friends and says he never wants to travel again. This man, this great
oaf, who used to be off and running at the drop of a hat.
“You’re dull and predictable,” I remark, cuffing him.