Today’s watercolor sketch is a preliminary study of a way to express some thoughts and feelings about identity shifting. My own definition of ‘identity shift’ is, the change in self image due to circumstances that have changed in one’s life. For example, when a person is healthy, he or she may have stereotypical ideas about cancer patients. However if […]
State of mind: Fear and sadness have been stalking me. I’m trying to figure out where it is coming from. Buyer’s remorse? I have had that before. I just stocked up on some art supplies that I may or may not have needed. Last night, I really beat myself up. Lots of bad dreams Mom […]
Process prior to writing: Yesterday, I blogged about my mother’s 90th birthday party, the passage of time, and how things change. I alluded to a strange quality of my visit. I have found that it is nearly impossible to write well about things that I haven’t fully processed; this is particularly true about ongoing situations. Sometimes I need to […]
The first line of his A Mathematician’s Apology, G.H. Hardy, world renown English mathematician of the late 19th, early 20th century, notes his state of mind at the time of writing as one of melancholy. This is understandable given his sentiment that ”[e]xposition, criticism, appreciation is work for second-rate minds.” Added to the fact that he was pursuing […]
My brother Mike is 65 today (11-11-14). He is my older brother, autistic, very low functioning, and has never said a word in his whole life. I began this blog to relate my experiences in trying to get to know him – a daunting task, when you consider I never knew if he knew who […]
I recently posted about aging (Diminishment) and disability (Comfort Zone). Some reduction of faculties are gradual and can be tolerated I imagine, much as one gets used to the shock of jumping into a pool of cold water. Although frightening, this aspect of the human condition is often a topic that people in older age groups can […]
It is a pretty universal desire to want someone else to know exactly how one feels. By the same token, many people would love to know, to feel, exactly what someone else is feeling. This is the definition of empathy. But empathy – to truly feel what another individual is feeling – is impossible. The […]
My friend Jessica Safran coined the term ‘identity shift’ to apply to how one’s view of self changes when a settled way of life suddenly changes. Examples of this include: losing a parent or loved one; becoming sick; getting married, and so on. Some life changes alter the future course of one’s life while others […]
Yesterday’s blog was a graphic metaphor about the terrible day on Friday. So here’s the story. My wife and I moved from our shared home of six years to a new place this past Saturday. Friday morning we had no idea we’d be moving, by Saturday we were loading suitcases in the car for new quarters, […]
There are identity shifts and there are shifts in ways of thinking… not all for the better. As an example of this, let me walk you through a bit of what I’ve been thinking over the past day or so. Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I am very […]
