Existential Dread— Not Choosing Is Still a Choice? (Audio Essay)

Original Text/ Transcript: https://www.pecanphilosophy.com/writing/existential-dread

I didn't set out to write an essay about existential dread and freedom. But after a recent post on social media sparked a wave of unexpected discussion, I realized this was a conversation worth having. It quickly became clear that I wasn't alone in wrestling with the complexities of free will—with the way the very thing we crave, the power to choose our path can sometimes feel like the heaviest burden to bear.  

Existential Dread.

This today. Life is pushing me towards a change… something I might have asked for but also maybe only half-consciously.

Or I want it to be exactly the way I want it. I wanted EVERYTHING. To give up nothing but to have everything I wanted.

How can I be so enraptured, so intoxicatingly optimistic about the unknown that stretches before me, yet feel this crippling fear, this suffocating grip, this utter inability to let go of the familiar?

I am captivated by the promise of a future I had hoped for. Yet now that the doors have been thrown open, I am so grief-stricken at the thought of losing the life I built, the ground that once felt solid beneath my feet.

I am so grateful to the universe for the necessary violent push, for the chance to begin again, yet I feel powerless in the face of not knowing HOW it’s going to happen.

I crumble, clinging to the wreckage before surrendering to the flow.

This is the existential dread, the dreadful paradox, isn’t it?

To be both terrified and thrilled by the very same force, to mourn what's left behind while dancing on the precipice of something new.

Change-seeking, growth-loving animals like us are perhaps, all on this tightrope, balancing the comfort of the known with the dizzying allure of the unknown.  

  X

Eggshell Therapy and Coaching: eggshelltherapy.com
About Imi Lo: www.imiloimilo.com
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/eggshelltherapy_imilo/
Newsletters: https://eepurl.com/bykHRz
Disclaimers: https://www.eggshelltherapy.com/disclaimers

Trigger Warning: This episode may cover sensitive topics including but not limited to suicide, abuse, violence, severe mental illnesses, relationship challenges, sex, drugs, alcohol addiction, psychedelics, and the use of plant medicines. You are advised to refrain from watching or listening to the YouTube Channel or Podcast if you are likely to be offended or adversely impacted by any of these topics.

Disclaimer: The content provided is for informational purposes only. Please do not consider any of the content clinical or professional advice. None of the content can substitute mental health intervention. Opinions and views expressed by the host and the guests are personal views and they reserve the right to change their opinions. We also cannot guarantee that everything mentioned is factual and completely accurate. Any action you take based on the information in this episode is taken at your own risk.