In my work as a counsellor, I listen to people grapple with big questions. These begin as smaller questions, like “Why do I feel anxious?” or “How come I’m so depressed”? Later, these questions take on a new form. I initially found therapy frustrating because I wanted advice, which is another way of saying that I wanted to stop thinking. Yet, when I’m given the space to ask better questions, alongside someone who will open themselves to being affected, it feels liberating.
“How do we love well if we’ve been loved badly?” - Anonymous
“What is true love, anyway, and how might we recognise it?” - Poets who write about love
“How are we supposed to be living down here?” George Saunders, A Swim In A Pond In The Rain
“How are we supposed to live together?” A Recurring Question
“If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? - Rabbi Hillel
“How can we feel any peace when some have everything and others have nothing?” - George Saunders, A Swim In A Pond In The Rain *
“In a life of misery and fear, where are the sources of joy and beauty?” Anyone who has anxiety and depression
“How are we supposed to live with joy in a world that seems to want us to love other people but then roughly separates us from them in the end” - George Saunders, A Swim In A Pond In The Rain