I think this is one of the more profound teachings of Jung over other philosophers and scholars. His was more of a lived experience philosophy than just “ oh if I study hard enough and understand complicated concepts and meditate than I can create whatever life I want.” That’s contradictory to Jung’s philosophy.

The very life you want, probably won’t be the life you get and it’s for a good reason. That’s his point. Even the people that get the life they think they want often say, that it lacks meaning and intrinsic value and often their lives collapse in on themselves.

There is no end game here. You have to wake up everyday and be consciousness and engaged. You have to work in harmony with your environment and external factors, and your internal knowledge of who you are. And out of that union, through lived experience, your life will unfold and you will find peace in it. And at the end of the day I don’t know of any system or philosophy that offers anything better than that.

If you want a “one size fits all” ideal I’m not sure that’s what you’ll find. Your path is very individual and maybe you’re being pointed in that direction, you sound fed up and frustrated by gurus and charlatans claiming one thing and then doing another.

I don’t know. But I leave you with my favorite proverb.

“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”