Assignment: Nagging Dissatisfaction’s initiative

Assignment: Nagging Dissatisfaction’s initiative

mother as a woman born in 1929, is not necessarily going to be satisfying for you as a

woman facing today’s challenges and opportunities.

Now that you have stalled Nagging Dissatisfaction’s initiative, I can’t help but wonder

how your realization about the significance of your role in helping your children move

forward in their own lives is likely to also help you rediscover your own passions and

dreams. I’m also wondering how this realization in turn is likely to help you move

forward in your life as well. However, doing so may stir up more of those disquieting

feelings like the troubling anger, fear, and longing you mentioned. As a mother, you

know that stirred emotions are to be expected with any transition. But I am concerned

that Nagging Dissatisfaction may try to use these feelings as a way of frightening you

into “going asleep” again, as it had in the past, so you won’t pay attention to what really

matters in your life.

On the other hand, the “hope” you mentioned, which brought tears to your eyes at the end

of our meeting, suggests to me that you are indeed staying awake and already beginning

to rewrite this story with more possibilities than Nagging Dissatisfaction could write for

you. Having heard the beginning of this new story that is so different than the one

Nagging Dissatisfaction had in mind, I have been wondering who in your life would not

be surprised that you’ve been able to break Nagging Dissatisfaction’s spell and instead

remember what really matters most to you. I mentioned how I thought catching on to

Nagging Dissatisfaction’s tricks may help you move forward; I have also been wondering

how this change is likely to benefit your children’s futures as well.

Something I wish I’d asked you during our meeting was how our conversation was going

for you. In particular, I wondered if the conversation was going in a useful direction, and

if there was anything I could have done that would have been more useful for you.

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welcome any thoughts you have about this question, because my best guesses about what

may be helpful may or may not really fit for you. You understand your life story as only

a woman and a mother can; being a man, I only can understand your story as an outsider.

I would very much appreciate your guidance in how I can be most helpful to you as you

learn how to keep Nagging Dissatisfaction from interfering with this new story that you

are writing for yourself and for your children.

I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts about these ideas I’ve offered, as well as any

ideas you have had about your changing story. I look forward to seeing you next week to

dialogue with you further.

Warm regards,

Jim