[skysblue]

I don't mean just all the 'reasons' to appreciate life. I can list those and honor them and understand them. But, for me now I just feel an intellectual appreciation. I hope I can emotionally connect with those reasons someday before I die.

[SoupDragon]

I hope for that too skysblue.

[harvest moon]

I am sure that if there is a connection with your T, he can help you with your philosophical questions and existential problems. I myself have found a lot of "reasons" to appreciate life, but that has not been enough; the point is to find a purpose to live it, a motivation. I hear you and feel you, skysblue...

[skysblue]

I will be discussing this with my T today.

[stopdog]

I don't even know what you mean. But I do hope your t can help you achieve it.

[venusss]

Can T Help You Find Meaning in Life?

One would hope so....

I hear you too Skysblue, and here's hoping...

[ChristineEsq]

I think they can help you see what may be thwarting your ability to find it, if that makes sense.

Life's meaning or purpose eludes me as well, but my current T made it clear that I won't find it by obsessing over (and constantly writing about) my resentment toward my former T. (Touché.)

That's not to say that it's just our choices that work against us, however - in my case, there's also an organic obstacle and I'm sure that's true for others as well.

[elliemay]

I think therapy can help you see the meaning in your life and gain the confidence and courage to engage fully in it.

It's different for everyone though.

[rainbow8]

How was your session? Like I wrote in my thread, my T and I discussed that very issue yesterday. I've always felt unfulfilled and cheated out of life even though I have my kids and grandchildren. Taking some risks recently has changed me totally. I FEEL that what I accomplished was meaningful. It's not intellectual at all. Your T can discuss it with you, but you have to find your own way. It's within you, and I think we all can find what gives life meaning for us. It's what we're passionate about, what we love, what makes us feel like if we died tomorrow, at least we did such and such, and it meant something.

[crazycanbegood]

I think my T could make wine out of water but she still couldn't give meaning to my life

[learning1]

My t likes to talk about big picture, meaning of life things. I'm embarrassed to bring them up usually, but I'm glad he will talk about them when they do come up.

[skysblue]

Originally Posted by crazycanbegood

I think my T could make wine out of water but she still couldn't give meaning to my life

Oh, I guess my question wasn't clear. I don't think a T can give meaning to our lives. That's up to each of us to determine. My question was more how to connect emotionally to the meaning I already have. And I think I understand now how that can be accomplished.

[SallyBrown]

Originally Posted by skysblue

My question was more how to connect emotionally to the meaning I already have. And I think I understand now how that can be accomplished.

That's great! What did you learn?

Therapy has helped me identify meaning in my life. I'm an extremely driven person, typically very goal-oriented, but sometimes therapy uncovers things that are deeper than the meanings I have given myself.

A couple of times an insight in therapy has kind of struck me out of nowhere. When I was in college, I would talk to my T about some volunteer teaching I did with local high school students, which I really loved. I'd talk about other things related to kids, too. One day, he said, "It really strikes me how much you want to do right by kids." It was something that I just hadn't thought about in such a straightforward way -- but it's true, I did and still do, and being a positive influence in the lives of the children I interact with became a more explicit source of meaning in my life. It was there before, but I didn't appreciate it as well, nor did I allow myself to appreciate that it was a positive trait of mine.

I do think that therapy is about learning and admitting truths about oneself, and that meaning can be derived from those truths.