Each of us has his own idea of the existence of people. Someone believes in fate, that everything in our life is predetermined by the Almighty, and we, as puppets, are left obediently to follow the threads of fate. Others believe that a person chooses where and how to live, how to be, what way to go ... “One cannot ignore fate, we cannot just erase it or replace it with something else. But we can choose how we meet our fate, using the abilities given to us, ”said the great psychologist Rollo May. Indeed, it is true that randomness is not accidental, which means that there is a fate, but does man really have no choice? May devoted the last years of his life to this very issue.
General information
Full name is Rollo Reese May. Date of birth: April 21, 1909. Date of death - October 22, 1994. Place of birth - Ada, Ohio. The place of death is the city of Tiburon, California.
Parents: mother - Earl Title May, father - Maty Bouton May. Family: Rollo May was born into a fairly large family consisting of 7 children (the eldest sister and the remaining 6 brothers, Rollo May was the oldest of them). Place of residence: almost immediately after the birth of the child, the family moved to another city in
Michigan, Marine City, where all the psychologist’s childhood years passed. Cause of death: prolonged illness.
The family of psychologist Rollo May was not as positive as you could imagine. Father and mother were uneducated people who were angry that their children had developed intellectually. There was no time for mother and father to deal with their children, so the kids had fun and developed themselves.
Soon, parents could not live together and filed for divorce. Perhaps this was the first impetus on the path to a career as a psychologist. Thus, the atmosphere in the family was not the best; the boy often ran away from home and from school to stay in silence, alone with nature. There he felt calm and happy.
In addition to communicating with nature, a psychologist from an early age began to become interested in literature and fine art, which later accompanied him all his life.
Rollo May entered the institute, but was soon expelled from it for rebellion and wayward character. However, he entered Oberlin College and successfully graduated from it.
The beginning of adulthood
After graduating from college, Rollo May left for Greece and began teaching his native English at a local school there.
At the same time, the psychologist discovered new places for himself, traveling through beautiful cities in Europe. He revealed the culture of each country, delving into an understanding of himself and the person as a whole. He was also interested in medicine, namely,
clinical psychology, that is, how a person copes with his illness and whether this can somehow affect his future life.
Understanding your own role in life
At the age of 30, Rollo May faced a terrible disease - tuberculosis. In those days, it was an incurable disease. He went to a sanatorium, where he had to worry a lot, realizing the approach of death. He began to realize that a person’s physical condition is inextricably linked to his emotional component. Watching patients who were in the same sanatorium, Rollo May revealed that those who stopped fighting for life were dying in front of their eyes, and those who wanted to live often recovered. It was then that he realized that there is a fate, that is, a disease, but to accept it or to fight it is a decision that a person makes. Rollo May wrote “A Man Finding Himself”, where he tried to figure out himself, in his life, and helped people around him in this.
The main problem of mankind is anxiety
Rollo May began to write books, to know himself and others. He devoted years to studying the works of great classics, such as: Freud and Kierkegaard.
And as a result of his many years of research, the psychologist realized that a person can defeat everything: illness, problems, troubles and even death if he can overcome the feeling of anxiety and fear in his mind. And for this, each of us must engage in self-knowledge.
The works of a psychologist
Realizing the moment that the problem of humanity is a fear of the unknown and constant anxiety for himself and his future, Rollo May wrote down all his thoughts on this subject in his dissertation, which was published in 1950 under the title “The Meaning of Anxiety”. This was his first major publication, after which the psychologist even more began to plunge into the knowledge of himself, the relationship of the world and man,
personality.
This gave rise to his publications, the publication of books and manuals for the study of himself. The psychological help provided by the psychologist was able to revive many people to a happy life. The most famous books:
1. "The meaning of anxiety."
2. "The discovery of being."
3. "Love and will."
Homecoming
After several years, Rollo May returns to the United States, where he writes his first and still the best publication in psychology ("Guide to Psychological Counseling"). At the same time, he is studying at the seminary and becoming a clergyman. There is nothing accidental in life, every lesson, every action and every choice is called to lead a person to where he is predetermined to come, but by the power of will and self-knowledge, everyone can change their future. Many people tried to get a personal appointment with a psychologist after reading the book “Psychological Counseling”. Rollo May tried to find the answer, to open the truth for everyone who went to him for help.
Best seller in the history of human psychology
The plot was based on self-awareness (Rollo May). Love and Will became Rollo May's most published and readable book. She came out in 1969. Just a year later, she was awarded the Ralph Emerson Prize . This book analyzes the natural components of man.
This is directly love for oneself, for everything that surrounds us, and the will, the ability to choose and go along the chosen path. The author points out that in order to expand their zone of comfortable life, these two criteria must merge. Only in a favorable coexistence of love and will will a person be able to rediscover himself and enter a new stage in his life's journey.
The basics of the teachings of a psychologist
Throughout his life, Rollo May, unlike other psychologists, did not establish his own school. He believed that this only distracted from the truly important aspects of the teaching. He considered his main task and goal to make people feel free. It is in this lies the foundations of a happy life, to feel free from all prejudices, fears, insecurity and anxiety. Casting aside all doubts, believing in himself and his "I", a person is able to overcome even death. The art of psychological counseling helped the psychologist to become a guide to everyone who turned to him. He said that it was in his power to help a person make a choice between staying a victim, strictly following his fate, or taking himself and his own path into his own hands.
Conclusion
Rollo May is a great psychologist who has managed to know himself and his role in this world. He was able to help and still helps people through his books to choose freedom,
love, life, full of meaning, peace and adventure.
The psychological assistance he provided contributed to removing the person from his own crisis. Thanks to the ability to help people, Rollo May lived a long and happy life in his own way.