The Seeker

We yearn for something, but we don’t know what it is. We feel discontent, and think “there has to be more than what is in front of me”.

This may happen in adolescence, early adulthood, after being married for a few years, and any time during our life. The seeker can grab us at any age. We move, join groups, have children, travel, join a commune, start college, divorce, explore a new religion, deepen our spirituality- all ways we encounter the seeker. Often it is because our environment feels to confining in some way.

Ah, but the seeker has a shadow side, as do all the archetypes. We become addicted to newness, drugs, excitement, sex, and can’t commit to anything. We change major after major, unable to settle in to one major. We continuously try on new ideas and ventures, but never really experience them in their fullness because we quit too soon and move on to the next excitement. We stay in relationships only so long- once the newness wears off, we move on. Any addiction can be seen as the shadow side of the seeker.

An example from my own life of the positive side of the seeker is when I had quit college and on a whim moved to New York State. I had felt very dissatisfied with community college and felt stuck. Living nine months in New York satisfied my boredom, and I got myself back into college, after working as a grocery clerk, for low wage and low respect!

I have seen people move from job to job and career to career, never able to commit and become a master at one. I know that can be a good thing to explore career options, but if we are always feel discontent, we may be expecting our job to fulfill too many of our needs, that are best met in other areas of our life.

The seeker can be a wonderful ally, especially as we develop ourselves spiritually.