"... the illusion of freedom ..."

"... freedom is possibility and anxiety is the possibility of freedom ..."

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, 1844

Cheers

"welcome to the factory floor ..."

Midlife is the moment of greatest unfolding, when a man still gives himself to his work with his whole strength and his whole will. But in this very moment evening is born, and the second half of life begins.

Passion now changes her face and is called duty; "I want" becomes the inexorable "I must" and the turnings of the pathway that once brought surprise and discovery, become dulled by custom. The wine has fermented and begins to settle and clear.

Conservative tendencies develop if all goes well; instead of looking forward one looks backward, most of the time involuntarily, and one begins to take stock, to see how ones life has developed up to this point.The real motivations are sought and real discoveries are made.

The critical survey of himself and his fate enables a man to recognise his peculiarities. But these insights do not come to him easily; they are gained only through the severest shocks.

Carl Gustav Jung - Collected Works, Vol. 17, p193, Routledge & Kegan. London, 1954

Over the years, five of my friends grappled with discovering these insights, only to confront the "severest shocks". May their souls rest in peace, even if they did not find the answer.