National Self-Esteem

National Self-Esteem

"When a country is out of love with itself the whole of life conspires."

   When a people is out of touch with its nation, it is usually also out of touch with the mythic being and consciousness of its land. The self-esteem of any nation stems from the relationship of its group-soul to the soul of the land. Tradition, customs, and memory all play their part as touchstones and thresholds of meeting in this relationship. But when we no longer come to those thresholds, instead sealing ourselves off from the mythic meaning by engaging in shallow living, the group-soul no longer receives its nurture. When there is no meaningful correspondence between the land and its people, a strange and undefinable malaise springs up.
   When a land is out of love with itself, many people want to leave it and live elsewhere, sensing that something dynamic has gone out of the relationship. But, just as in marriage, the first signs of fracture require deeper attention and better communication, not just a parting of the ways. This is the time to remain and work hard at the brightening of the relationship between ourselves and the land.
    The contract of nationhood is not drafted in bigoted, nationalistic displays of patriotism; rather, it arises from the deep, mythic engagement of lives lived in the context of a land. This requires an ongoing communication with the archetypes and love affairs that preoccupy the spirit of the land. By becoming active lovers of our land ourselves, we learn to sense and see the things that injure our beloved's good, as well as perceiving the things that make it glad. When enough people engage in this way, the self-esteem of the nation will rise.

"Test the pulse of your own country's self-esteem by going to the threshold between nation and land in meditation. What is the nature of the contract between your people and its land?Where is it failing?"
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]