The messenger offered me a paper invitation to a private reading of Jung’s The Red Book in an interior room of a private lodge as a perk of membership. I tried to accept it but the paper sprouted thorns from every possible surface, and there was no way for me to accept the invitation without wearing layers of gloves that would make it difficult for me to participate.
I politely declined the invitation, and said I would be reading it in the outer room of the lodge and following along with my own efforts, but I would not be participating in the interior endeavor as the cost of personally attending would be greater than mere pricks and annoyances.
The messenger nodded sadly, put away the invitation and asked me if I was going to remain a member of the lodge. I quickly stated that I would, but part of being a responsible member of the lodge means acknowledging personal boundaries. If doing the thing means bringing self-harm upon my person, then I should not do the thing. And if doing the thing means bringing undue confusion to my lodge brethren, then I should not do the thing. Maturity is not always knowing when to go, it is also knowing when to stop.
The messenger smiled warmly at my response. They wished me well and reminded me that even though I mean to sit in the outer room for this endeavor, I am not an outsider. They left me in peace then, and the ambient light increased to reveal I had been standing in the outer room all this time. I sat down with my tablet with intention to begin reading.
The screen was split to show two windows at once. On the left window was the Kindle app opened to the Reader’s Edition of The Red Book. On the right window was a browser opened to this blog. Satisfied, I closed my eyes, and fell into a deeper sleep.