My mom had always wanted to make a custom scarf from my art, ever since I was a kid.
This Mother's Day I decided to surprise her with one, and this is the design I came up with.
Ideation: Carl Jung and Accepting Shadows
It may be strange, but we often talk about Carl Jung and the concept of the shadow and persona when we make our biweekly calls, and I knew I wanted to use that as an inspiration for this gift. I learn so much from just talking to her, and on our most recent call, she relayed to me an epiphany she had while reading about his work. She said that in the past whenever she felt anger or discomfort she tended to put the blame on others. Like, why did they do that to me, or why did they treat me that way. She's since learned to use that uncomfortable feeling as a way to reflect on herself and question why she feels that way, and in this process, she's been able to let those feelings go and accept that she can't control others' actions but only her own. This is kind of funny, and she didn't know it, but I was secretly taking notes while she was talking. Because of this, I have a direct quote:
"Ask yourself, why does it bother me, why do I care? It’s a light into the shadow. You’ll understand yourself better and make yourself comfortable. Only in that way, you can make other people more comfortable."
I had always struggled with the fact that I can't control anyone else's decisions, only my own. I understand the concept completely, but when it came to applying that to real-life problems the process often went like this: "I know they don't have to agree with me, but if only they did this they would!" This pattern repeated over and over again and it became so difficult for me to accept disagreement and rejection. However, somehow, framing the conflict as a way to analyze my reaction released all discomfort and anger towards the other person, allowing the problem of accepting that I can't control their decision to simply disappear. Instead of letting my shadow overtake me, I realized and accepted them.
Process