Duke Ellington, the Maze of Life and Psychotherapy Herzel Yerushalmi, PH.D

Shlomit Mona Yerushalmi, LCSW

In a memorable TV interview with Duke Ellington, aiming at a life review, the Duke was asked what he would like to say about the influences and events that shaped his starry life. He said something like this:

"Ya know what it's like runnin' around life, like a maze, and you come to a corner, and ya don't know which way to go., and then some guy standing there and you ask him, 'which way?' and he points and says, 'That way,' and ya run and run until ya come to another fellow and you ask him, and he points and says 'that way.'" Duke went on to say that he wanted to "to thank all those guys who was standin' on these corners at the right time and pointed me off in the right way."

Implications for Life in Progress and mental health counseling

Each of us can look back on important people in our past when meeting them, and their influence shaped our life trajectory and identity in a positive way. Psychotherapy may be a place to meet one of "those guys" standing on the corner, which means being there for us at the right time when we are most vulnerable due to a myriad of life events, when we feel insecure, undecided, feeling at a corner, not knowing "which way to go" and what to do. 

How does therapy "show the way?"

Matters of safety aside, experienced therapists do not engage in providing you with pre-prescribed solutions or answers. As the saying goes, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime." Therapy may become a safe place where the real self, feelings, and needs that require intimacy, care, and love can reveal themselves. Meeting our real needs and capacities may lead to discovering unknown possibilities and solutions from which we may choose and act.

We may not be a lonely travelers in the Whirlpool of the Life-Maze 

Like in a maze, running around life is often a solitary journey. What Duke is inferring is that sometimes while in the whirlpool of the life maze, nothing, not even the maestro's soothing notes of the piano, provides assurance but somebody, a "guy," who listens to you, supports you and helps you see there are "ways." That there is light around the corner. 

Therapy could be that place

Psychotherapy and counseling may be a safe place for a human connection where talking, sharing, and examining different options can discover missing pieces, disjointed events, blind alleys, and hidden gems and start to understand the whole of oneself and move forward. 

At Footprint New Jersey, our team is here for you to speak to in confidence no matter what "corner" you are in your life. Our professional therapists are ready to listen attentively to your feelings and the issues you are debating and struggling with. Get in touch here for a confidential chat to discuss how we can help you.