ABSTRACT
This essay sets forth a Gestalt framework by which we can understand what a healthy, i.e. well-lived, life is. Such a life is one in which human beings fulfill their humanity and meaningfully express their own unique personhood. Since Gestalt therapy’s point of departure is the human organism-in- the environment, it is important to realize that the task of living well is both individual and social. Each person must discover and live out his own personal truth, while at the same time living in ways which also remain true to the fact that he is a social being. The reality that each individual person is both a member of the human species and a social animal imposes certain constraints and restraints on the choices we can legitimately make. Essay VIII, “Meeting of Persons--Reflections on Authentic Relationships” addresses the subject of authentic social and interpersonal relationships. The emphasis here is to discuss how an individual person lives his life well.
