The Only Person With the Answers Is You.

It's not that I don't know anything worthy of sharing but inevitably part of the purpose of writing this is to convince you, the reader, that this is the correct place for you. That you have a wound and I, the carrier of the antidote, have the exact thing that you need in order to fix your life.

The Trouble With Selling a Cure

I find it difficult to write in this manner because I don't see this as my role nor this as the case. Nearly all therapeutic modalities seek to explain a causal effect between some portion of your life and your suffering. You're depressed because you don't think properly. You're depressed because you aren't performing the proper behaviors. You're depressed because... you get the point. That all human behavior can be explained and understood within the lens that the writer chooses to believe the world operates.

So to tell you, you have a problem that I can fix feels... inauthentic, because I don't see it as true. This black and white thinking that the need to sell creates, creates a false narrative and a negative representation of what the therapeutic process should look like. And there I go, saying that others are wrong and that my word is law. But that is not what I mean. Do not take my word as the indisputable truth. Question it. Question everything.

Every Belief Has Its Own Story About Suffering

Christianity tells you that you are born with original sin and must worship your creators to escape suffering.

Buddhism tells you attachment is the cause of your suffering.

Islam says suffering is a test by god and you must worship them to alleviate this.

Cognitive behavioral therapy says you suffer because of your cognitive distortions.

Psychoanalysis tells you suffering stems from unresolved unconscious conflicts in your past.

Existentialism says that suffering is the unavoidable reality of the universe and that we have the ability to create meaning within it.

A Fellow Traveler

Who am I to tell you that I have the answers that you seek. Because the truth is I don't. The only person with the answers to what plagues you is you. That is why I have trouble with my writing. I don't have the secret sauce you need. I am simply an expeditioner. A fellow traveler, finding and creating my own path. A path passed down through generations. Walked many times before in many ways, but still unique in my own way.

Your Path Is Your Own

So as you venture into the universe and carve out your path, remember that it is yours. Not mine, not your parents, not what that person trying to sell you on their service says it is. Maybe in taking ownership of your path, your answer exists. And maybe for a brief moment in the infinity of time, our paths can intertwine. To dance with others in the mysteries and uncertainties of life is my greatest joy.