Missing Chapters is the title of the latest poem added to this blog. The title reminds me of the many parts of history that are omitted from biographies, autobiographies and works of history in general. Some of these things would probably be too mundane to include, but some are purposely omitted in order to present a person or subject in a particular way. Deciding what to include and what not to include has both artistic and political (in both the narrow and broad senses) implications. It is said that "history is written by the winners." I'm sure I could find the actual person to whom this quote was originally attributed. Suffice it say that I'm not claiming it for myself. You can look for the reference if you want. It is clear to me from working as a psychologist for many years that some truly formative experiences never make it into people's autobiographies. We hide many of these experiences, even, sometimes, from ourselves. I am a fan of science fiction and have been intrigued by a theme that occurs occasionally in stories of that genre. In those stories, the beings are unable to shield their thoughts from others in their societies, so that no thoughts are really ever private. Because of that, people never learn to bury their thoughts by "shading the truth." (Lying, denial, exaggerating, deceiving and so forth). The stories are not sophisticated enough to deal with people giving "false" messages because they perceive the world in a distorted way. But would the messages actually be false or just different from what others perceive? Would communication really be any better in that type of society? What is true is that we have our public faces and our private ones. Sometimes balancing the differences between the two causes great distress. I suspect that trying to reconcile the differences between the two is one of the main motivators for bringing people into therapy. And in psychotherapy, what is not focused on by the client is often fertile ground for exploration. It probably contains the areas of focus that will eventually bring about the desired change. What is included in your missing chapters?
FRACTURES and LEAKS
Blog
FRACTURES AND LEAKS
FRACTURES and LEAKS
Commentary, poetry, pictures, humor about life as seen through the eyes of a man old enough to know better but undisciplined enough to expose his inner processes to anybody curious enough to look. This is the next step in my attempt to follow meaningful paths after the death of my wife of nearly forty-four years from cancer. It is therapy for a retired psychotherapist. We will discover the limits as we go.
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