PSYCHE
In the darkness of our masked reality
In that chrysalis place where we hear
But do not see
Where identities
Are not yet formed
Is found the spark;
A curious striving to the light.
Open your eyes Psyche
Light the flame
Begin the painful journey
Wriggling clumsily from the safety
Of that tightly wound
Classroom cocoon.
Do you remember
Your father saying
That pain is actually
A call to growth?
It's time.
Time to transform.
This breathless pressure
Is just a casing that's too small.
It's time.
Sift through your value seeds,
Gather the softness of your golden voice,
Fill your exquisite vessel with flowing care,
Face the shadowlands within.
This is the work.
The tasks that will complete
And reset in an infinite cycle.
Growth and unification
Over and over.
This is the call
A soul asking, a soul responding
Sparking ever with a question;
The lighting of a candle
In the dark.
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September 18: I feel like I am fumbling around in the dark. Do my clients see through this? Do they know I can't always remember what I am supposed to do? I sit in front of them and think I should have paid closer attention. I realize that there are so many resources I should have written down as I encountered them over the years because now I feel an urgent need to already have a bank of them. It was safe while I was at school. Yes, there was vulnerability and growth; vulnerability has never scared me. I relish it and easily give of my follies, foibles, and feelings. What scares me is forgetting. Forgetting techniques. Forgetting skills. Forgetting the words and turned phrases. Forgetting myself. In this velvet casing of theory, workshops, and learning was the safety of my status as a pupil. As I move into a professional space, this casing is cracking. I need to find my fit in this new identity, to integrate my experiences, values, and aspirations into this new metamorphosis. In this expanded me "a new marriage of soul and mind or of art and science is necessary"(Sommer, 2003, p.329). It is not enough for this identity to be informed by the empirical vestments of research and papers. It needs to have soul. After all, the field is named for Psyche, the embodiment of spirit or soul.
Sommer, C. A., & Cox, J. A. (2003, June). Using Greek mythology as a metaphor to enhance supervision. (Innovative Methods). Counselor Education and Supervision, 42(4), 326+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/apps/doc/A105479197/EAIM?u=ucalgary&sid=EAIM&xid=37117049