Pedro’s Bitterness
When success does not bring satisfaction
Pedro is just over thirty years old. He lives in Germany, runs an audiovisual production company, and is the father of three young children.
From the outside, his life looks like a success: he works in what he always dreamed of, has a family he loves, and enjoys a comfortable standard of living.
And yet, Pedro feels bitter.
When achieving the dream is not enough
In the first Gestalt counselling session he repeats it several times:
“I feel bitter.”
He loves his partner. He loves his children.
But something does not fit. Something weighs on him. Something disconnects him.
He no longer enjoys his work. He feels uncomfortable with his team. He knows his colleagues tolerate him because he is the boss.
And the hardest part is that he does not know why he feels this way.
When the body says what the mind cannot explain
I suggest a small exercise so he can connect with his body.
He closes his eyes. Breathes. Listens.
What he finds is tension in his stomach.
A knot of sadness. Of dissatisfaction.
And then the sentence appears that summarizes everything:
“This shouldn’t be like this. I achieved my dream. I should feel satisfied.”
When dreams come true… they also change
That sentence reminds me of something said by Paolo Quattrini, therapist and teacher:
“When dreams come true, they also die.”
Because they stop being fantasy and become experience.
And like everything that ends, they also require a form of mourning.
Honouring fulfilled dreams
Celebrating what has been achieved. Honouring the cycle.
Perhaps Pedro does not need a new dream right now.
Perhaps what he needs is to honour the dream he has already fulfilled, to say goodbye to that version of himself who dreamed of arriving here.
To celebrate what he has built.
To thank the child who dreamed of making films.
And then… to leave space for something new.
Before spring comes winter
In nature, everything has its cycle.
And we also need moments of pause, reflection and silence.
Only by going through that inner winter can a new shoot, a new meaning, a new desire appear.
In many processes of Gestalt therapy with expatriates or people living far from their country of origin, this moment of pause becomes essential for a new direction in life to emerge.
Are you honouring your fulfilled dreams?
Sometimes we feel that “something is not right” and we do not know what it is.
And perhaps what we really need is to make peace with what has already been, close unfinished chapters, and open ourselves to what is yet to come.
Gestalt therapy can help you accompany this process with clarity, compassion and depth.
