Renowned psychiatrist Irvin Yolem talks about the four givens of human existence: isolation, meaninglessness, freedom and mortality.
PICTURE: deberarr/iStockphoto
At our core, we all battle with our feelings of being alone, of wanting autonomy, the desire for meaning, and the reality of death.
These are the existential challenges that drive our anxiety, and we either ignore them, distract ourselves from them, let them drive us to extremes, or, hopefully, face them in healthy ways, that grow us immeasurably.
Loneliness, autonomy, meaning, mortality.
My hard-earned experience is that faith helps us with each one. We have a God who is closer than a brother; who gives us freedom to refuse or freely serve Him; who gives our lives profound meaning, and who conquered death on a cross outside Jerusalem.
Don’t treat this quaintly. Fully embraced, this is the answer to life.
Paul Clark’s musings can be heard on radio across Australia and at atthetop.org.au.
