Out of Time
Each of us must reckon in our own way with the facts of life. We are born into a world governed by strict laws of nature. With the tools we are given and the power of our imaginations, we do our best to create lives full of meaning and purpose. What we create depends on how we arrange our values, beliefs and priorities. And, despite having limitless potential for growth, love and creation, the force that confines us the most is time.
And yet time seduces us, moving just slowly enough that we may be lulled into complacency. The sun comes up. The summer arrives. The leaves fall. The stars emerge at night, twinkling in the darkness. The sight of one’s face in the mirror shifts ever so slightly over time, and self-recognition persists. But then, like a clap, or a jolt, we notice that the world we knew is no longer the world that exists. We lose people and places and moments. Chapters end and we are forced to move on. We confront an existential fear: if we are not willing or able to keep-up, we may be left behind or even perish.
The speed of technological advances and the effects of climate change have turned up the temperature both literally and figuratively. Ideas spread lightning-fast in our hyperconnected world. Do we adjust our speed to keep up? Is there even an option to slow down? If we refuse to participate in the race we may preserve our personal peace, but for how long? In the fundamental pursuit of stability, we walk a fine line between self-preservation and the refusal to squarely face a threatening global reality. What are we as therapists to do?
This conference is about claiming time and space to explore these dilemmas and phenomena. We invite our participants to step back from the chaos of the outside world and, in connection with our community, find together what is timeless. We hope to reconcile our timeless treasures with our most innovative approaches as we come to understand what it is to care for the person of the therapist today and what it is to care for our clients.
Our intention is to create space for voices of all ages and experiences to be expressed and heard. We invite you to join us in encountering the unknown, in recognizing that the need for preservation can coexist with the need for change, and in reckoning with the challenges of our time. Join us! Because the way forward is the one we find together.
