Death is Psychologically as Important as Birth

The integration of the Sage archetype is, generally speaking, the task of the second half of life. When we are young, we have to learn to live; and when we are old, we have to learn to die. Death is psychologically as important as birth. Jung tells us that when we are threatened with complete death, the unconscious apparently disregards it, life behaves as if it were going on. This is merely a psychological fact. So, it is better for old people to live on, to look forward to the next day, as if one had to spend centuries, and look forward to the great adventure that lies ahead, then one lives according to nature, and one lives right into one’s death. When one is afraid of death and looks backwards, then one becomes petrified and dies before one’s time.

#death #wisdom #sage