Carl Jung: Many things should be put right in oneself first, before we apply our imperfections to our fellow-beings.

Anonymous

Dear Sir, 14 February 1961

It is very difficult to answer your question.

I should give you the same answer as Shri Ramana Maharshj, but I see too much the difficulty of the practical application.

If you want to do something useful, it only can be there where you live, where you know the people and cir- cumstances.

In nosing around among them you will find a possibility to help.

It is certain that you will find one, but not rarely the unconscious blindfolds you, because it does not want you to find an application of your energies to external circumstances.

The reason for such a resistance lies in the fact that you need some reconstruction in yourself which you would gladly apply to others.

Many things should be put right in oneself first, before we apply our imperfections to our fellow-beings.

Thus, if you should find no obvious possibility, it means that you have to cultivate your own garden first.

It is like water in a valley.

It cannot flow and it stagnates, but if you have a lake on a hill you cannot keep it from overflowing.

It may be that you need to raise your own level.

Sincerely yours,

C.G. Jung Carl Jung, Letters Vol. II, Pages 626-627