The twenties are a period of emerging adulthood, a time to engage in the maturational tasks of finding one’s place in the wider world and forming intimate relationships. This stage of life calls for the ego strength necessary to make initial choices about work, intimacy, money, lifestyle and values. The protections and constraints of family, education, and culture are no longer unquestioned.
It is time to engage life on one’s own authority: take appropriate risks, tolerate anxiety, weather disappointments—and reap the rewards of growing self-confidence and life competencies, lest isolation and stasis ensue. Embark bravely and with an open heart; learn to balance aspiration and reality, passion and practicalities. Jung says, “If one lives life then surely something should come from it. You see, life wants to be real; if you love life you want to live really, not as a mere promise hovering above things.”
Here’s the Dream We Analyze:
“I walk into my older brother’s bedroom in my childhood home. The room is full of sunlight. I head towards a mirror that is leaning against the window. I pull down my pants to check on a tattoo I recently got on my right thigh (I really did get a tattoo there recently). As I’m pulling my pants down I see another tattoo on my left thigh. It’s massive. The tattoo is of a statue of the Virgin Mary. Except where her face should be there is a black square covering her face. I panic and will myself to remove the tattoo with my own mental fortitude. The tattoo began to disappear. Then came back then finally disappeared.”
References:
Erik Erikson. https://www.amazon.com/dp/3656837708/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_TNX6QB0YXK8NPPY1V4QH
Poem: The Desiderata: https://www.desiderata.com/desiderata.html
Resources:
Learn to Analyze your own Dreams: https://thisjungianlife.com/enroll/
