Sunday, December 21, 2014

The wisdom of Sigmund Freud


“Lieben und arbeiten”
“To love and to work”

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)


It’s claimed that Freud, a neurologist who is revered by some as the father of psychoanalysis, suggested that the good life can be understood in simple terms: to love and to work.


I think both love and work are pretty good ideas, but Dr. Freud’s prescription for life is a bit too transitive for me, a bit too solitary. I’ll defend “to love and to work” as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough or deep enough.

I’m convinced that a big part of the bounty of my life is sharing—sharing love, sharing work, sharing the infinite and very expressible joy of being a grandfather who is part of the developing life experiences of three young grandchildren, all of whom, as you might well imagine, are adding substantially to the love and work in my life.

For me, it’s not nearly satisfying enough to love the beloved people in my life, to love the beautiful things and beautiful ideas and beautiful words I cherish in my life, to love the concepts of—and my dedication to—essential amity and charity in my relationships with others.

For me, it’s not nearly satisfying enough to do skillful, honest and useful work.

I want to share my reverence and my advocacy of these things with all who have a like mind.

I want to celebrate love and work….and I know I can’t do that alone.

N.B. This is the putative wisdom of Dr. Freud. There are skeptical sources and unconfirmed sources suggesting that someone asked him what a person “should be able to do well,” or that a reporter asked him “What is life all about?”








Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2014

No comments:

Post a Comment