13 : on abandonment

Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there, she began to sob.— Genesis 21:16

Hagar’s story is one of profound abandonment. Cast out into the desert with her son, Ishmael, she faces an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. Alone and with no apparent future, she feels abandoned by the world, left to face her struggle in isolation. But in this moment of despair, Hagar also embodies resilience — her story is one of survival against all odds.

From a Jungian perspective, Hagar’s journey reflects the concept of enantiodromia, the idea that extreme states eventually give way to their opposites. The desert, symbolizing the depth of her despair and abandonment, also becomes the place where she encounters divine intervention and hope. In the very moment when she feels she can endure no more, an angel appears to her, showing her the well that will provide life-saving water. This is enantiodromia in action: the movement from utter desolation to renewal, from the depths of suffering to the return of hope.

The photograph titled Hagar in the Desert by Jacqueline Gad captures, in my opinion, the raw emotion of this pivotal moment — Hagar in the wilderness, alone but not abandoned by fate. Alone, but facing the raw potentiality of everything coming her way. All possibilities. Every day the sun will rise and set. Her resilience comes not from denying her suffering but from enduring it, holding on until the turning point arrives. In Jungian terms, we too must face our own deserts, the moments of deep despair, knowing that in these extremes, the seeds of transformation are often planted. It is when we feel most abandoned, that the potential for renewal is waiting just beyond the horizon.

Hagar’s story reminds us that resilience is not about the absence of pain, but the strength to endure it. The desert may feel endless, but the well of hope is always nearby if we dare to seek it.

Journaling Prompt: Reflect on a time when you felt abandoned or overwhelmed. How did you find the strength to hold on? Where might you see the possibility of enantiodromia in your own life—where despair can give way to hope?

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