You could call this the existential\nquestion that rests on the lips of the young, middle aged and even the old. For\nsome this question hangs around like a bad smell all our lives as we take our\nhand at this and that never fully reaching our potential. For others they are\nlucky enough to stumble on their path and find a sense of purpose that brings\nthem fulfilment. While for the rare few they know instinctually their gifts and\npursue their passion with a steadfast enthusiasm overcoming obstacles with\ntheir sheer conviction and dedication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What can we do if we find ourselves in the\nformer position, forever embraced by the above question roaming aimlessly\nthrough life without meaning?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We begin at the beginning. Who am I? As a Gestalt Psychotherapist we believe that\nexperiencing ourselves, how we do life and how that makes us feel, as fully as\npossible, is the first step in order to bring about change and growth. Our\ntheory posits that when we become aware of our patterns and habits that no longer\nserve us we can begin (firstly with the support of the therapist) to loosen\ntheir grip over us and build courage in doing things differently. As we let go\nof the old we experience the unknown until enough space is created to allow the\nnew. When we continue to let go of our familiar rigid holding patterns we\ninvite flexibility, authenticity, creativity and more choice into our lives.\nAnything is possible! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While some relish in the freedom of\npossibilities many of us experience this freedom as a daunting concept. A\ngaping hole of possibilities that appears to reflect back our own distrust in\nour ability to step out into the unknown, fearing that safety does not exist\nout there. Thus most of us choose to live our lives small and by this I don\u2019t\nmean simply, but in a way that avoids our own potential infusing our experience\nof life with a feeling of unrelieved tension. Soren Kierkegaard a Danish philosopher who is\nwildly considered to be the first existential philosopher describes the above\nas \u2018existential angst\u2019 when one is afraid of their own free will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To relieve \u2018existential angst\u2019 we need to\nembrace our free will in order to reach our potential. It takes courage and\nconviction to discover who we are in our freedom. We learn to be bold and\nresponsible for ourselves. We learn about what is important to us. Our choices\nand belief in our abilities grow and we can begin to embrace our free will with\ncourage and curiosity. We may encounter adversity and challenge however the\noutcome is capability and strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discovering\nour own unique path requires not only the boldness of doing, but also the quiet\nself reflection and contemplation of not doing. Rollo May an Existential Psychotherapist (1909\n\u2013 1994) and author of the influential book \u2018Love and Will\u2019 says it best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\nis an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they have lost their\nway.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You could call this the existential question that rests on the lips of the young, middle aged and even the old. For some this question hangs around like a bad smell all our lives as we take our hand at this and that never fully reaching our potential. For others they are lucky enough to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n