Latest news with #existential
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
From a punishing void to a chance to observe: how we can learn to wait in life
Waiting is an inevitable part of life. From the slow shuffle at the supermarket checkout to the more profound waiting between a medical test and its result, wait we must. Yet in a society hellbent on speed and efficiency waiting has become the enemy. Historically, the act of waiting had spiritual meaning: waiting for the Messiah or the second coming, waiting for sacred rain, or the return of the Sun God. But in today's world, where time is money and productivity is a virtue, we've developed a pervasive impatience. Waiting raises our anxiety – not just mentally but physiologically, as stress hormones flood our systems. We experience it as a gap to be filled, a void to be plugged. It also heightens our awareness of uncertainty, and uncertainty activates the same neural pathways as pain, fear and threat detection. But while these neurological facts explain our psychological responses to waiting, explanations do not necessarily change these responses. There are different forms of waiting, each demanding something unique from us. Everyday waiting – traffic jams, slow wifi – tests our patience and requires frustration tolerance. Interpersonal waiting, where we are asked to match the pace of someone more vulnerable, calls us to slow down and inhabit a better version of ourselves. And then there is existential waiting, which is particularly challenging as it relates to matters of life and death. Existential waiting can lead us into the abyss: catastrophic thinking, free-floating anxiety, the unravelling of our defences, even the fragmentation of our sense of self. Navigating these moments requires the capacity to bear difficulty with grace, and to cultivate faith and hope that transcend the immediate, without slipping into denial and unreality. It means tolerating anguish, slowing down and navigating suffering, not only with tolerance but with purpose and hopeful endurance. Religious traditions have long valorised such states. Christianity focuses on the redemptive power of suffering through Christ; Sufism sees longing and anguish as paths toward union with the divine; Buddhism teaches us to sit with pain, to observe and detach. Some secular philosophies also mirror these insights. Viktor Frankl, writing from the depths of a concentration camp, emphasised the importance of finding meaning even in suffering. The contemporary rise of death cafes, where people gather to reflect on mortality, speaks to a desire to confront and grapple with the existential unknowns. These cafes offer a space to explore death as a way of enhancing life, inviting us to see waiting not as lost time but as time for becoming – individually, and in resistance to the commodification of time itself. Existential waiting also raises important questions. What are we waiting for? What does it teach us? What are we becoming in the process? But before we can engage with these larger questions, many of us need help simply learning to tolerate the anxiety that waiting provokes. Take Michael*, a high-achieving software developer who came to therapy after experiencing a panic attack prompted by a routine health check. Rational and successful, Michael found himself unravelling in the face of uncertainty as he awaited the results. He described himself as feeling 'out of control' and 'spiralling'. He couldn't sleep. He compulsively checked his email. He imagined worst-case diagnoses. Physically, he experienced heart palpitations, stomach tightness, restlessness and persistent anxiety. Digging deeper, it became clear that Michael's difficulty with waiting was rooted in a familiar psychological pattern. He had grown up in a family that prized achievement and productivity. He had lived a life mapped out by goals – goals that he usually met. But recently, he had been shaken by the sudden death of a close friend his own age during a routine jog. Since then, his health anxiety had escalated. In Michael's case, the medical test – and the waiting it required – was the trigger for a common psychological pattern. His automatic thought was: 'It's probably bad news.' This gave rise to anxiety and dread, which led to physical symptoms like tightness in the chest and a racing heart. His response to this was rumination, compulsive checking, Googling and avoidance of sleep. These behaviours brought temporary relief but ultimately reinforced his anxiety. Underneath it all lay a core belief: that not knowing is dangerous. He struggled to hold multiple possibilities in mind; for him, uncertainty collapsed into catastrophe. Therapy began by helping Michael recognise this cycle. We worked to challenge his catastrophic thinking and to open space for alternative outcomes. He was encouraged to delay checking his email and to soothe his anxiety in more helpful ways. He practised guided body scans to anchor himself in his body's present safety. He learned mindfulness and breathing techniques. Gradually, he began to see waiting not as a void to be feared, but as an opportunity to observe. Over time, Michael's anxiety lessened. 'Waiting still sucks,' he said. 'But now it doesn't own me.' To live slowly and to wait well is an act of quiet rebellion – a refusal to see time as a thief. It is a form of resistance against a culture that equates speed with worth. Waiting will never be easy, but if we develop the capacity to wait with presence and intention we may discover that waiting is its own form of becoming. In the words of CS Lewis, waiting can become 'the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard'. *Michael is a fictional amalgam to exemplify similar cases we see. The therapist is a fictional amalgam of both authors Prof Gill Straker and Dr Jacqui Winship are co-authors of The Talking Cure. Straker also appears on the podcast Three Associating in which relational psychotherapists explore their blind spots
South China Morning Post
31-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Will you click on this story? Do Hong Kong tarot readers hold the answer?
Amid the hustle and bustle of a prime Hong Kong shopping district, there is a small alley where Ceci Yeung sits and quietly shuffles her deck of tarot cards, offering answers to questions both great and small to anyone who walks past her booth. For two days a week, Yeung performs tarot readings at the Window and Alley, a 46 sq ft space in Causeway Bay that is commonly used for community events and as a spot for local vendors to sell artwork and other goods. Among her clientele, many of whom are in their twenties and thirties, relationship questions are always the most popular. But this year has seen a growing number of people seeking answers to existential dilemmas, she said. 'In an earlier stage of my career, romance was the most-asked question, like whether they should get back together, or questions about cheating,' Yeung said. 'But this year, people feel more helpless than usual because of huge societal changes. They feel insecure about their current situation. Maybe they feel they might become redundant at work or are replaceable by artificial intelligence.
Geek Tyrant
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Mike Flanagan Says THE LIFE OF CHUCK Is the Movie He Wants to Be Remembered for; There's Also a New Clip — GeekTyrant
Mike Flanagan has a strong talent for telling existential stories like Midnight Mass , The Haunting of Hill House , Doctor Sleep , and Gerald's Game which all wrestle with mortality in their own ways. But with his next film, The Life of Chuck , Flanagan believes he may have created something even more enduring. Flanagan shared in an essay posted on social media: 'There are very few pieces of work that I imagine will outlive me in a meaningful way. You always hope they will; we hope that in telling the stories we tell, we are planting a seed that will grow long after we've faded away. 'I have no idea which of these seeds will take root with people, and dwelling on those questions is a path to insanity. I feel a quiet, humble confidence that The Life of Chuck will long outlast us all.' That's a big statement coming from someone who's also attached to high-profile IPs like The Exorcist , Carrie , Batman , and The Dark Tower . But it's clear that Thee Life of Chuck hits a different nerve because it's so personal. Based on the short story by Stephen King, The Life of Chuck plays out the life of a man, Chuck, in reverse. It's a poetic, emotional unraveling, and Tom Hiddleston leads a incredible ensemble that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, and Mark Hamill. It's the kind of movie where performances matter, but so does the feeling it leaves behind. Flanagan continues: 'The Life of Chuck is, at this moment in time, my favorite movie I've ever been a part of. I told people going into production that this was the film I wanted to leave in the world for my children. 'It is so rare to work on something so meaningful, so unique, so distinct, and so earnest. This is a story without a cynical bone in its body. What a rare and beautiful moment of art.' The story that the film is based on is thoughtful, deeply human, and surprisingly warm for Stephen King, and I can't wait wait to watch this film adaptation. It's gotten great reviews! I also included a clip from the film for you to watch below
ABC News
14-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
In defence of workism
"Workism" is defined as the tendency to put work at the centre of one's identity and life meaning - and according to many recent commentators, it's a bad thing. Workism is said to throw life out of balance, and to expose workists to the risk of deep existential trauma if they lose their job. But according to this week's guest, the arguments against workism don't stack up. Guest: Matthew Hammerton, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Singapore Management University Producer: David Rutledge What is wrong with workism? Matthew Hammerton in the Journal of Applied Philosophy (2024) Workism is making Americans miserable Derek Thompson in The Atlantic (2019)
