The Roles We Play

In the industrialized world, it can seem as though there is great freedom, and there truly is.  There are also unwritten, unseen rules that attempt to govern our inner lives.  We live in a culture that has rules and roles for us to follow. We can bump up against what’s allowed, what’s not allowed, what’s right and what’s wrong.  Self-expression is a vital tool for mental health and well-being. Without ways to express genuine inner life experiences, we begin to feel pressed inside, tightened down and repressed.  Freud brought the concept to life. Just how the self has an inner life and the culture attempts to dictate which parts are acceptable and which are not.  To the extent that we are free to express ourselves in some place(s) in our lives (not every and all!), is the extent to which we feel free, happy and hopeful.  To the extent that we are holding in what is deemed unacceptable by the “other” of family, culture, media, peer groups, is the extent to which we can and likely suffer.  We can suffer knowingly or unknowingly.  We may know the pain of feeling held in, repressed, controlled.  Or our pain may seep slowly into our abdomen, our chest, our organs.  It can seep into our relationships in terms of how intimate we allow ourselves to become with the people in our lives.

There are many powerful ways to nurture self-expression and challenge the difficult dynamics of culture vs. self. There are friendships, art, music, and teaching. There is writing, talking, building, and designing.  Of course there is psychotherapy and bodywork.  However you find to express aspects of your inner life, you nurture your freedom and well-being.

CHALLENGE:   Allow yourself to write about something you experience, feel or know in yourself, that you’ve never given a voice.