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| photo by author |
Clients occasionally arrive equipped for the journey – with
appropriate gear for the long trek – aware that they are not going to get to
the pinnacle or goal in a day. However, some sit on the couch with doe-eyes
feeling as though they have been traveling on the rocky trail forever without
an end in sight. They’ve run out of supplies. They may hope that I have a
technique, a pill – something that will just make the pain go away.
In moments like those I wish I were a magician. A few weeks
ago, I threw down my notebook and exclaimed: “Being a counselor sucks
sometimes!” (I think my client and I were both a little surprised, but she knew
I did it because I felt for her. I wanted more than anything to diminish her
pain.) The only consolation I can offer clients is that things usually get
better if they want it, stick with it and work at it. Change can be
scary even when it is positive.
Some days a client might cover 10 miles on the trail and the
next day it may start snowing and she may only travel a mile before setting up
camp, but inevitably, she will arrive at her destination... or a destination. So we can’t always
see the ground we’ve covered or how we’ve changed, but a year out or two we
look back and feel like a different person.
People are occasionally suspicious of happiness, assuming that the happy person is faking it or just born
