#212 Why just Survive? Why not Choose to Thrive?

     We repeatedly hear of people who choose to remain for a long time, even a lifetime, under terrible circumstances eg with an abusive partner. They do so, apparently, because they fear the unknown more than the misery they know well.
     It's also well known that many patients who are forced to see a mental-health professional when they can no longer function, will terminate therapy as soon as they can barely function again.
     Many wise people throughout the ages have provided detailed roadmaps to higher levels of consciousness and thriving that far surpass (Freud's) "ordinary unhappiness".  So why do so many of us choose - and it is a choice when  superior alternatives are available - to remain stuck in cynicism and sadness?

Montreal, Province de Quebec