Living Mystery

I don't know what this means. I ran across this quotation last spring. It caught my attention, but I've been having trouble working out what it's trying to convey.

Is it ... like marriage? Or "best friendship"? Or any partnership? That the relationship between the two people can truly only be understood by the two parties involved? Either party can attempt to explain what it is that makes the partnership work, but the words can never fully express all that happens as the two exchange spirit through story, laughter, experience.

Outsiders can look at the facts of the pairing, and can, through logic, explain why it should not work. There are too many opposing forces at play. (But then, opposites attract). There are too many miles that separate. There is too much divergence in the sense of humor. There are cultural differences. There are stylistic differences in life choices or business practices.

All these stones can be thrown. All these arguments waged.

And yet ... the twosome works on some level. And the mystery of why it works is hidden between the two.

Are there any Jungian experts out there that can help me understand what Carl was really trying to convey? This quote appears to be from a letter dated August 12, 1960. It was after the death of an estranged friend, and written in the latter part of Jung's life. The line preceding this quotation is:

In the last resort, every genuine encounter of two human beings must be conceived as a mysterium coniunctionis (mystic marriage; sublime union).

Doing a quick Google search makes it apparent that Jung was very interested in exploring what this "mystery of life" might be. It seems to have something to do with an inner cosmic marriage between different aspects of the self - diametrically opposite aspects of oneself (like male/female ... or mother/daughter).

It may also have to do with how two people become one. As in, my marriage is made up of me and Dale, two separate entities. But there are times when we perform as a unit, two parts of one couple. We are 'one' as parents (and our kids know not to play us against one another, we perform as one). It can be about BFFs. Virginia and I became best friends through sharing of classes, working at a small press, camping in the Idaho wilds, sharing stories and laughter, helping the other cope with loss and family pain. We are a 'one' in friendship. My Dad and Russ were 'one' as business partners. Two leaders, one business. It seems the idea might work on many levels of human interaction and connection between two people.

This is a bit too deep a topic for a lazy Saturday morning. But it does give some gum for thought to chew on.