That word has an earthy flavor to it, don’t you think? Ground. On the ground. Above ground. Below ground. It conjours up all kinds of images; loam, sand, clay, etc. Hit the ground! But in a sense, it is hard. We have to dig to get into it and beneath the surface.
The thought comes of mining. Dig down and penetrate the earth. Coal mining, gold mining, diamond mining, thousands of feet beneath the surface of the ground. But there is another meaning to ground. Just like there’s another meaning to intergrate. Carl Jung knew the meaning of this, when he talked about the ground of soul.
Jung had a favorite story of his. It was about a woodsman back in the middles ages, who daily would go out into the forest and cut wood in order to keep body and soul together for his family. He would cut wood and go into the homes and sel! l it for fuel. Often he would take his young son with him. His son was too small to be of use, except to gather up and bundle branches to sell. One day the child was searching for fallen branches, when he came upon a giant oak tree. It was then he heard a tiny voice calling out, “Help me. Let me out.” The boy looked about to see the source of this muffled cry. He looked above and around. Then, he looked down at the gnarled roots of the tree. Leaves clotted the roots. The sound was coming from there. He knelt down and began to dig. And there, beneath the leaves and dirt he saw a small, crystal vial. Within the vial was this strange creature, who constantly mewed, “Help me.”
The child instantly plucked the vial from the earth. He wiped the dirt from it and stared, awe striken. What was it he wondered. Curious he pulled the stopper and was knocked to the grou! nd from what roared out of the vial. A gigantic form towered over him. “I’m going to kill you!” a voice roared from above. The boy was almost speechless, but managed to ask him why. And then a thought came into his head; maybe he could save himself. “How did you do that?”, he asked. “How does someone as large as you get into a bottle so small? It’s hard to believe.” The giant said it was easy. And just like that he flowed down from above into the tiny vial. The boy instantly put the stopper back into the bottle.
Once again the creature in the vial began to cry in a tiny voice, “Let me out. Please let me out.” The boy thought for a minute and then said, “Only if you agree not to kill me.” “Yes. Anything,” the creature said. “I’ll even give you anything you want.” At that the boy thought again. “My family is poor. Can you give us money.”
“More than that,” the creature replied. “I would like to be a doctor, a healer,” the boy said. “I can give you more than that,” said the creature.
The boy pulled the stopper again and out came the gigantic figure towering once again above him. “Here,” the creature said, “just as I promised.” He held out a soiled rag to the boy. “What’s this?” “This is my promise to you.” The boy took it puzzled as to what it was and what to do with it. “Take it, and you’ll see.” With that the giant vanished and the boy was left with this strange gift.
The boy returned to his father. He didn’t tell him of his adventure, but did offer to help his father. HIs father was fingering his axe and studied it carefully. “What’s wrong?” asked the boy. “My axe has about had it,” said the father discouraged. The boy asked to see it. ! ; The father gave it to him and the boy took the rag and rubbed the head of the axe. Immediately the axe turned into pure silver. In shock both the father and son returned home and turned all the metal in their home into silver and sold it for the much needed money. The son went on to become a doctor and healer of men.
Steps four and five are the beginning of our digging into the ground. Just the beginning. We’re seeking a spiritual awakening, a God of our understanding, who will enable us and empower us to overcome our alcoholism. But the story tells us more about us and what is wrong with us. Alcohol has the power to kill us. So do our character defects, which can lead us back to the drink. We have to dig deep down to find the answers and we will end up mining, not just silver, but pure gold.
Ned