I’m reading Jung, and he talks a lot about individuation. I’ve seen this word before, along with individual and individuality, all of which I’ve associated with the quality of being separate, unique, standing apart from others.
I was surprised to find out that I was wrong.
Individuation in Jungian terms isn’t about becoming separate and differentiated from others. Rather it’s about becoming whole, complete, and unified with all parts of yourself.
If you look at the word, you’ll see it too: in-divid-ual with the “divid” being the same root as divide, divisible. The “in” negates it, so it means: indivisible, undividable.
Very different than what I had in my head.
I think part of what it means to be well-read is to have experiences like this. You learn the deeper meaning of words and concepts that you had taken for granted in everyday language, and go past a surface-level understanding.
What words are you reflexively defining? Do they merit a second look?
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