03-03-2009, 02:01 AM
The neighbors and even the police keep bugging me. There's a lot of "How you doing?" "Everything okay?" "Need anything?" I appreciate the concern, but it gets tiring. Here's the thing: I don't need a therapist or psychiatrist; I know how to monitor my own mental health. It's really very simple. I just paint a picture.
They used to give kids drawing tests. Maybe they still do. Draw a house, a tree, and a man and a woman. The house tells about the home life. The tree reflects how the kid views the external world in general. The man and woman usually show the child's attitude towards the parents. A nice concept, but too simple, too constrained. Why not just let the kid to draw whatever he or she wants, and give them plenty of time?
So every now and then I just paint something. I don't plan it in advance, and there's no timetable. When I'm done, I give it a careful analysis. If there's a problem, it'll jump out at me. That's it, and that's where I'm different from most people. I know how to keep a finger on the pulse of my own psyche.
I just spent three days doing such a painting. Afterwards, I studied it very carefully for a long while. What surprises me is just how well-adjusted I'm becoming, because there's not a hint of an issue anywhere.
Now I have this idea. I'll make little business cards out of the painting. They won't really be business cards. They'll be clean bill of health cards. You know, proof that I'm okay. Then when a neighbor says, "You doing okay?" I'll just give them the card. I won't even have to speak. Pretty soon it'll finally sink in that I'm fine and then maybe they'll leave me alone.
http://www.garywshockley.com/images/psyc...anefly.jpg
They used to give kids drawing tests. Maybe they still do. Draw a house, a tree, and a man and a woman. The house tells about the home life. The tree reflects how the kid views the external world in general. The man and woman usually show the child's attitude towards the parents. A nice concept, but too simple, too constrained. Why not just let the kid to draw whatever he or she wants, and give them plenty of time?
So every now and then I just paint something. I don't plan it in advance, and there's no timetable. When I'm done, I give it a careful analysis. If there's a problem, it'll jump out at me. That's it, and that's where I'm different from most people. I know how to keep a finger on the pulse of my own psyche.
I just spent three days doing such a painting. Afterwards, I studied it very carefully for a long while. What surprises me is just how well-adjusted I'm becoming, because there's not a hint of an issue anywhere.
Now I have this idea. I'll make little business cards out of the painting. They won't really be business cards. They'll be clean bill of health cards. You know, proof that I'm okay. Then when a neighbor says, "You doing okay?" I'll just give them the card. I won't even have to speak. Pretty soon it'll finally sink in that I'm fine and then maybe they'll leave me alone.
http://www.garywshockley.com/images/psyc...anefly.jpg