“ We must accept our reality as vastly as we possibly can ; everything , even the unprecedented , must be possible within it ... Some people only come to
know one corner of their room .” [ 6 ]
“... we must always trust in the difficult , then what now appears to us as the
most alien will become our most intimate and trusted experience .” [ 7 ]
“ Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act , just once , with beauty and courage . Perhaps everything that frightens us is , in its deepest essence something helpless that wants our
love .” [ 8 ]
“ Don ’ t search for the answers , which would not be given to you now , because you would not be able to live them . And the point is , to live everything . Live the questions now . Perhaps then , someday far in the future , you will gradually , without even noticing it , live your way into the
answer .” [ 9 ]
“ Everything is gestation and then birthing . To let each impression and each embryo of a
feeling come to completion , entirely in itself , in the dark , in the unsayable , the unconscious , beyond the reach of one ’ s own understanding , and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born ...”
I have used all of the above as direct suggestions or as inspiration for imagery in therapy .
When Nothing Else Works – Throw Poetry at Them
The act of writing poetry is an attempt to put into words that which the poet finds inexpressible . When it is successful , the act of reading or hearing it can create a similar , unsayable experience — an experience that is beyond logic , that bypasses the critical mind and , as Kafka so poetically suggests , can “ smash the frozen sea within us .”
While it is easy to assume that poetry is only for a certain type of client , this belief could create missed opportunities . Poetry can have the most profound effect on the clients you wouldn ’ t expect . Of course , not everyone loves poetry . Some people will tell you they hate it . These people usually had a bad experience in school where they had to read medieval poetry and then analyse it . Most people are pleasantly surprised when exposed to contemporary poetry on a subject that interests them .