T S Eliot in a Kayak

In Burnt Norton, part one of T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, there are a couple of lines which I have loved both as a dancer and a writer. These are the lines:at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.I have had the experience of being suspended in that moment a few times in my life but I never thought to connect this moment to Jung’s transcendent function, that dynamic dance between the conscious and the unconscious which results in the emergence of the ‘third thing”, i.e. the process of individuation (Jacoby, p. 135). As we know, this process is itself a complex, we are driven to it from the depths, we may fight it, embrace it, ignore it, resent it, but it is inexorable and painful.I have known that theoretically. But when I went kayaking, I had a new glimmer of somatic understanding which gave me some much needed comfort. For it is one thing to know a thing and another to live into it with awareness and energy.Since I am not a frequent kayaker, I needed to be reminded of the simple rules:• Hold the oar evenly, a little wider than shoulder length apart for balance• Pull the oar with the paddle side closest to the water• Push the oar with the paddle side farthest from the water• Don’t dig too deep with the paddle into the water, you will destabilizeOnce in the kayak, I followed the instructions and off I went into the Puget Sound on an overcast and chilly day. The tide was slack, which meant that it had already come in and wouldn’t go out for a little while. The sea was calm and so was I.I practiced, pull with the lower, push with the upper. It worked: I moved swiftly across the glassy water, stopping every once in a while to stretch my fingers and observe the gulls, the seals and the occasional power boat. One hour out to sea and it was time to return.But this time, the tide had turned, the current was against me and I had to pull and push harder. My unaccustomed to kayaking muscles strained, my hands felt like frozen claws, and the kayak did not move as fast as before. I was tired and sore and still had an hour to go.That last hour was difficult but also invigorating. I physically understood that the push and the pull are necessary for any movement to occur. The same is true psychologically, i.e., the dance between the polarities is crucial for our own individuation process and it doesn’t just happen to us from the depths of the unconscious. We have to take the oars and push and learn to push and to pull. The movement is the result of the resistance to the water, to the unconscious. It also has to be right amount of depth and the right amount of resistance.That still point? That occurred when I arrived at the dock and couldn’t get out of the kayak. I was filled with the laughter of pure joy and elation! I knew that the next time the complexes came to get me, I would be pushed and pulled and that I would be able to once again be able to reach the shore.Jacobi, Jolande (1973). The Psychology of C G Jung. New Haven: Yale University Press.