There is a famous letter by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) titled ‘On the Acropolis’ written to the poet Romain Rolland (1866-1944) on his 70th birthday. In this letter, Freud writes to Rolland about how his father always dreamt of climbing the Acropolis in Athens but was too busy to do so. Now he, Freud, gets to climb the Acropolis at a late age and writes to the poet about his conflicted feelings — including regret that his father never made it and wonder that he did himself.
I’ve got an Acropolis moment coming up as I will, all things being equal, complete my research degree this year and will be able to add letters to my name. This was not even a remote possibility when I left university a quarter of a century ago. I never wanted to read another book in my life! Even eighteen months ago I was ready to quit. I got my partner to take a photo of me looking free and happy ready to quit. And yet…
Many of us have our Acropolis moments – things we want to achieve in our lives but can’t imagine achieving or perhaps would feel guilty about achieving if we did. These moments are perhaps all the more important to focus on in an age when we can distracted by the sheer availability of diverse experiences. After all, travelling to the Acropolis itself – or indeed many other great monuments in the world — is no longer a big deal.
But the reason for focusing on those Acropolis moments is that ultimately it’s not about us, it’s about the people that will come after us; and the kind of world they will experience. By living our lives to the utmost we not only train the next generation but we also live the lives that our parents, unconsciously perhaps, dreamt of living – just as Sigmund Freud’s father dreamt of visiting the Acropolis.
The truth is that the last two years would have been much easier if I had quit, and part of me still wishes I had; on the other hand, I realised that pushing myself to the limit to get to the Acropolis was not about me. It was about everyone who had supported me – financially, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually – to achieve the impossible.
What is your current Acropolis dream? Have you even dared to air it with anyone? Who is your trusted circle of friends or family with whom you could dare to share such a dream with? Does it seem impossible to achieve as mine did? Are you googling it? Are you relying on social media to dream it? Although we might gain more information or contacts that way, we will not be able to get lift-off in reality. Achieving your Acropolis takes time and talk, sometimes tough talk, in real-time with real people.
As my research degree (or my Acropolis as I will now call it!) demonstrates, it’s really only when we unfold our narrative in real-time with a real person – or real people – that our perspective can shift and the unimaginably impossible, starts to become possible. That’s when the magic happens. As Marianne Williamson writes, ‘These are the times. We are the people. This is the time to speak up.’
Do you want to find out if we are a good fit to work together to visualize you climbing that Acropolis?
I’d love to hold your hand as you start to climb your own personal Acropolis.
Why not subscribe to my newsletter newsletter? Want to book a call to visualise your dream becoming a reality? Why not book a **free** call with me for 30 minutes?
Here are some of the things people are saying about working with NLC:
‘What I got from working with NLC was to prioritise your vision. You reminded me to always return to my needs and my vision.’ Karen
‘Through Narrative Life Coaching, I was able to give form and structure to my vision. I also learnt life-affirming thought strategies to sustain my vision and illuminate it further.’ Laura
