byArjun S. Byju

Jun 20, 2024 | miaminativemag.com | Arjun S. Byju |byArjun S. Byju

The psychiatrist Irvin Yalom, influential for his existential approach to therapy, said there were four ultimate concerns in life: freedom, death, isolation, and meaning. The first, we think, accounts partly for the last: We are free to take actions that have consequences, to author our own destiny, and as such find purpose. We are aware of our own mortality. For all the poetic value of relationships, we arrive and depart from life undeniably alone.