Growth?

There is a lot of talk about growth at the moment. And often what is meant by growth is getting bigger and bigger using more and more resources. In Transactional Analysis we use the term Physis to mean growth and in the past this has been largely anthropocentric with an assumptive position of human exceptionalism, assuming that humans are the pinnacle of evolution or of ‘progress’. They chart the march onwards towards something greater.

However, growth can also mean something more sustainable that is in tune with our personal development and connection to natural world.

When psychotherapy clients come to me in distress it is often a sign that the force of Physis is operating, that the “pain of being tight in the bud is greater than pain to emerge” (Anon). Their distress is a sign they want to grow out of their present way of thinking, feeling and doing.  

I believe the only path for human society, in this time of great uncertainty, is growth that combines an inner search for ourselves with a protective embrace of the natural world.

Book recommendations:

Eric Berne. (1972). What Do You Say After You Say Hello? The Psychology of Human Destiny. London: Corgi.