✨ The Gift of Dreamwork: Join This Jungian Life Dream School with ten percent off from now until the 31st of December. Just use code HOLIDAY2025 when you purchase Dream School for yourself or as a gift. Learn more and enroll.
-----------------------------------------------------
A Jungian Look at Gratitude (and Why It Usually Arrives Late)
Have you ever suddenly realized, “I never really thanked them for that,” a parent, teacher, mentor, or community that quietly carried you through a hard stretch?
Gratitude is a psychological turning point: the moment you grasp that your life rests on the real, sometimes costly efforts of others, and how that realization can shift you out of self-obsession into a larger world of connection and meaning.
Today we’ll explore:
- How genuine gratitude usually arrives late because we don’t understand what motivates other people, and our empathy is shallow.
- The contrast between gratitude and resentment: how resentment can be necessary at times, but becomes toxic when we’re trapped in it.
- Gratitude can shift us from a defensive, shut-down stance to an open-hearted, process-oriented way of living.
- Why some gifts like life, care, education, protection, and initiation can never be paid back, and how a mature form of gratitude is often paying it forward.
- Religious and ritual practices of saying grace, giving thanks, and honoring the dead are ways of recognizing that our lives depend on ongoing acts of generosity and sacrifice.
- How gratitude can be a sign of individuation: moving through the world with a heart that stays open to both joy and suffering, and letting experiences change us.
If you’re curious about how a simple “thank you” can become a doorway into a soulful life, this episode is for you.
LOOK & GROW
Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL
We've got totally NEW MERCH!
If you’ve been struggling in the dark, trying to find the keys to unlock your dreams, help has arrived. Order your copy of Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams from the hosts of This Jungian Life podcast and open the secret door.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!