The Unsaid

In psychotherapy, it is in discovering the unsaid and within the moments of silence where a client can begin to heal. It is a therapists role to enquire, to be curious for the benefit of the client, so they learn to enquire, to be curious about themselves and to consider the unsaid.

This opens up feelings and emotions and slowly in the sharing, learning takes place leading to acceptance, forgiveness and an ability to move forward and to find happiness and personal fulfilment. Examining the unsaid leads to self awareness, a discovery of the truth and the opportunity to move on to live an authentic, rewarding and gratifying life.

I was brought up in a family where I was not allowed to express my feelings or question what was happening around me and to me.  I suppressed my feelings and honoured my mother and my family; I adhered to the silent messages to keep quiet, to keep the secrets.

When my mother died, I finally began to examine the unsaid and discovered for the first time the joy of speaking the truth.

Now I search for the unsaid in myself and others — by voicing the unsaid, I have discovered joy and freedom and have found richer, more rewarding relationships.

In creative writing, it is often the unsaid that is most important, the most interesting, where for the reader, learning happens, where empathy begins and where truth emerges.

It is often in the unsaid, that which lies outside the text, that a reader discovers meaning.

Why should this be?

In real life, there is subtlety and hidden meaning in people’s words and actions; there is what is said, and there is the subtext, the unsaid and it is this which we are most intrigued and curious about — the unsaid tells us everything, satisfies our curiosity and brings a sense of fulfilment and joy.

So it is for fiction; the joy of reading is in the discovery of the hidden meanings, the unsaid.  We learn and in learning we grow — in the understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

LIHazleton.
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