Emotionally charged stories from the past can keep us trapped in a misunderstanding about life.
In a recent session, a client became emotional as he spoke about a past experience of deep connection with someone. For years, he’d been carrying the belief that he’d somehow screwed it up, and that he would never feel quite that way again.
We reflected on how life naturally tends towards connection, wonder, and mystery when we stop trying to manage every moment and allow ourselves to be moved by it.
We also looked at the fact that, no, he is unlikely to wake up tomorrow and relive that exact experience. Life doesn’t work like Groundhog Day. But just as he had unknowingly created the conditions for that beautiful experience to unfold, experiences even more meaningful than he can currently imagine may be waiting for him.
The conversation then turned to how we often idealise the past. We remember the highlights and forget the ordinary days, the misunderstandings, the moments of doubt. In reality, every relationship and every chapter of life contains both rainbows and storms.
As these insights landed, something shifted.
The weight of regret began to dissolve. Curiosity returned. He relaxed.
He left the session feeling lighter, more hopeful, and newly enthralled by life.
Simply because he’d expanded his understanding of who really is beyond everything he thinks about himself and his life.
