The Positional Shift in Doubt, Despair or Dread

The last example where dialogical conversation may need to take place between the pastoral caregiver and the client in clarifying meaning is doubt and despair. Uncertainty is the emotion that the individual experiences when the safety of life is unsettled. Certainly, the vision of any individual and community is to experience a protective stability in life. For example, without stable growth in life, meaning looses

inspiration and vision diminishes. Therefore, the internal make-up of human beings constitutes particular convictions in life. Furthermore, they express the interpretation of life based on diminishing values. Thus, meaninglessness can become real in the following ways: because of a lack of vision, the inability to meaningfully interpret new ways of creativity, or disorientation after completing a major task or successful achievement resulting in the anti-climax of a new day of normality. Therefore, situations of meaninglessness that are confronted within the crisis in life, indeed, can set a person into a position of despair, doubt or dread. This is the shadow side of life where meaninglessness may cause the person to become totally uncertain of life.

When despair or doubt sets in, the uncertainty of the individual creates regressive tendencies. In this situation, the disorientation in the person looks back to experiences of the past that, certainly, may be less developed forms of conviction on which they draw meaning. Unfortunately, these ideas have a basis of not confronting the future meaningfully and are linked to nihilism and death (See Diagram 5 Position B). For example, nihilism as a form of despair or hopelessness can be interpreted in two ways, as Reginster argues. In the consideration that life is no longer worthwhile, Reginster states that nihilism expresses two things: Firstly, life “is all in vain” and indicates that all efforts to realise our highest values are bound to fail. Secondly, life “is all the same” and designates evaluative indifference (Reginster 2006:32). Therefore, the more developed the nihilistic thought, the more intense the fear of death advances in conviction. The impact of this type of fear upon faith creates a withdrawal into deepening nihilism. Furthermore, it draws the person into believing religious and moral principles should be rejected.

Religiosity and morality weaken when uncertainty in life are aggravated by cynicism. For example, Hutter explains that the theory of cynicism is an enlightened false consciousness. Likewise, cynicism is false consciousness that has been enlightened in vain (Darby et al. 1989:118). Therefore, the pessimistic approach toward life creates a despondency and hopelessness toward life as a result of the complete unexpected outcome of despair. In such a situation, the client struggles to see any meaningful way forward. The idea of death and failure of a brighter future sets the person into a downward spiral and will undoubtedly lead to further existential realities.

The shadow side of life in a person taking the structure of doubt, despair and dread will define existence of meaning through means of compulsions. For example, the form of compulsion in despair is shaped by control. Furthermore, people take on this nature of control to protect themselves from further despair. The central idea of constructing meaning through control is to project mastery over the fear experienced. However, the nature of such a framework is merely control over future events where the foundation is constituted of inappropriate regressive values. When despair sets in, the need to interconnect with others becomes inflexible.

The significant distress causes doubt in the mind to believe in other opportunities that can be trustworthy. The underlying form of control in the individual struggling with doubt, despair, or dread is the desire to be protected from the hurts of other people. Certainly, this control pushes the individual toward a

regressive isolation rather than toward meaningful growth and interconnectedness. The pastor needs to help the client in this position to understand that in any situation there is an ability to find release from oppressive thought. Despair should not be grounded in the oppressive failure of values. Values are trustworthy and not bound to fail because of the current crisis. Therefore, protectionism is not a value that should be cognitively compounded in the client. There needs to be a cognitive awareness that there can be meaningful interaction beyond the status quo that life seemingly projects in the position of despair.

The form of interaction in the client should be explored in the pastoral encounter within the anticipation of other more hopeful assurances of life (See Position D). The awareness of despair, as described, reveals that a person will not shift from despair directly into a place of constructive hope; the client already believes values are meaningless. Furthermore, their despair naturally directs them toward regression and isolation. Therefore, any shift in the client’s condition of despair will have to be in dialogue around the comparativeness of despair and faithfulness. Faithfulness anticipates that even though the situation is pitiful, there can still be some way out of the predicament.

Faithfulness allows for new opportunities in the crises of despair in interdependent relationships. Certainly, faithfulness has to do with belief and action. Firstly, faithfulness is a relationship established by God in which we enjoy His fellowship. Secondly, faithfulness is participatory in that fellowship happens in community and togetherness. For example, Diehl indicates that faith never stops growing. He says we can learn about growth from those who have matured in their faithfulness. Furthermore, we must be able to affirm a sound set of beliefs on which we premise our actions (Diehl 2001:32). Thus, the pastoral encounter must dialogue around the eschatological faithfulness of God. Communication around what Christ’s suffering and resurrection means in terms of despair opens new doors of growth in faithfulness.

Where there is nothing left but fear in the individual, the example of Christ’s predicament in being faced with death can bring new hope. For instance, Christ overcame death and in His resurrection offered new hope in life. Yet still there is something needed in life in order for a person who finds themselves in the position of dread and despair. It is often that a person, from a Christian disposition, already understands the eschatological work of Christ but cannot see any hope. The shift of position into hope must take a particular direction, irrespective of how people understand Christ and His impact upon their future.

There is hope in having faith in Christ. In order for someone to live with the conviction that the outcome of their future can have hope, though not established, takes trust. To expand, the step toward the client moving away from despair is to reflect upon the previous work of the Spirit. Indeed, the client must anticipate that past faith and experiences have value and can direct meaningful change, although it involves a vulnerable trust. Furthermore, the simplest trust in the prior knowledge of God working in the client’s life can bring a start to change (See Position C). For example, where despair and dread is the stepping-stone of disbelief from trust shifting into nihilism, the opposite is true of trust. In this case, trust is the link between doubt and despair into a life of hopeful assurance; when belief acknowledges something can happen that is different to the current experience, even if the belief is a seemingly insignificant conviction. Such a

positional change of trust can start the process of healing. Similarly, the shift in pathological ideologies toward wholeness is best realised in the client’s stories from the past where trust was displayed as a means towards that realised hope.

In summary, however small a trusting memory is when a person is in the depth of despair can be the determinant victory that sets a new conviction toward the shift into hope. Thus, spiritual healing is the progressive nature of shifting positions from inappropriate conviction toward new hope. This hope can sustain the quality of life rather than bring desolation and isolation.

These positions are of particular significance when it comes to the client’s God-images, which will also clearly show the interrelationship between pastoral care giving and philosophical counselling.