IS IT BETTER TO SHARE THAN TO KEEP?

One of my patients said the above as he was reflecting on how much he has benefited from attending alcoholics anonymous meetings. He felt that he had recieved a lot from others attending the meetings and had also gained a lot by sharing his story with others. I then said that I believed that it was not possible to worry about the past if you are sharing your life with others. My patient said that this seemed right to him and yet I wasn't sure about it. So, why would sharing our lives with others make worrying about the past impossible?

Maybe it is because if you are sharing with others you are listening to them without your own reactions and this allows you to feel connected to them and you are more likely to share with them as they listen to you. It could also be that listening is like sharing as you are sharing the othe person's life experience as you listen. So, maybe if we feel connected to others it is harder for us to worry about the past. If that it so, does it mean that we worry about the past because we feel isolated from each other and the worrying is our effort to feel connected to others? Yet worrying does not seem to actually connect us to others.

What do you think?

COOPERATION VS COMPETITION

Which one did you vote for [cooperation or competition]? Or is that silly as we need both to live healthy and happy lives? Is some competition ok and other kinds not ok? Is cooperation always better?  Which one brings people together?  Which one recognizes individual effort?  Which one gives you winners [and losers]?  Which one is the foundation for one's life? 

Well, tally up the answers and see who won!  Can cooperation win? Is it hard to separate competition from our every day lives? Is the significance of sports linked to competition and winning and losing?  Or is it linked to being part of a team and sharing experiences with others? I have often seen players [competitors?] at the conclusion of games [competitions?] greet each other warmly and with what seems like caring for each other or do you think this display is not real? I have also at times seen the coaches not show any caring and occasionally see a coach not shake hands and walk away instead.  

Well, who cares whether the players or coaches care about the other team?  I care and I suspect that you do as well.  If they do care about each other then maybe competition is not the main thing but a way of valuing how well a group of people work together [cooperate?] and testing this against another group of people working together.  So, competition helps people learn the importance of working together and the value of sharing life with others? This may seem like a bit of a stretch but if indeed we are meant to be pack animals that do not exclude other packs then this could be good preparation for life.  What do you think?