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| SCRIBBLES |
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| MORE SCRIBBLES |
A client of mine, who has schizophrenia, handed me, unsolicited, his latest “scribbles.” Yikes. He had drawn these during his episodic drink-and-weed consumption a couple evenings ago. Yikes again. According to my client, these sketches offered up rich symbolism and insight, directed from his “super brain.”
Hmm. As I look
at these, I see a creative quality akin to kindergarten art. And to be
analytical, in the first drawing I see a checkmark, and a question mark, and a
number sign within a light circle of dots. In the second drawing, top left to
right, I see, simply, a percentage sign, a filled dot, a plus sign, and some
arrows. Middle left to right I see a filled dot, more arrows suspended in a
rectangle, and yet another filled dot. From the bottom left to right I see a
circle with a plus sign and a scribbled treble clef, and another filled dot.
Yes. I see Kindergarten art.
But my
client said he sees his scribbles as significant and meaningful. When I asked him
for his interpretations, he said that in the first set of sketches he drew a
checkmark, a question mark, and a number sign within a light circle of dots.
His interpretation seemed no different than mine. As for his second set of
drawings, he confirmed that he drew a percentage sign, a few dots and filled them
in, some arrows, and last, a treble clef. Strangely, or maybe not-so-strangely,
his interpretation of these drawings seemed no different than mine.
Save for the
arrows. He went on and on and on about those arrows, and how he has perfected
them. He stated that he draws these oftentimes in his free time, and I know he
has plenty of that! His only obligation for the day is his self-mand, to every day
at 1:30 walk downtown to the local gym and lift weights for approximately
one hour. He has had this routine for close to a decade, and he looks the part.
My client has a ripped and shredded body and he is as strong as an ox. My client
has been lifting weights daily for over 20 years. My client has followed his
exact self-manded regimen for over 20 years.
Regarding
his scribbles, I figured there would be bits of insight revealed by my client
in this kind of projective psychology conclave. Being a psych guy, I could have
contributed some pseudo- scholastic wit in my interpretations of his sketches. I could have projected some intellectual efflorescence, interpreting the checkmark as the point of his unconscious
desire to create a checklist and check items off his to-do list
accordingly. I could have easily
interpreted his question mark as representing his inquisitive nature, his
enquiring mind ever seeking universal truths regarding the universe and his
station therein the universe accordingly. And the number sign I could have
easily offered that he really knows life is but a game of Xs and Os, and this
number sign replicates the grid for the game. The circle of dots is a simple
one, representing the never-ending circle of life. The percentage sign is a reckoning of the odds
of being, and the treble clef most certainly symbolizes his eclectic love of any
type of music. I could've rescripted his art, but nope I did not. Nothing to see here, folks – was all
there really was for me, and that’s okay by me.
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| SNOW SCRIBBLES (COURTESY OF "ALAMY") |
Scribbles. Truth be that I like to scribble too. I like to scribble in the snow with my skis on the slopes. In any serious nonversation (talking to myself vs conversation of talking to someone), my scribbles project nothing. They are neither symbolic nor insightful. My snow scribbles project only that I LOVE SKIING. Nothing to see here, folks -- save that I am a humble-bragging ski instructor.
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| SADLY, THIS SKI SEASON FOR ME IS FINIS. |
Marching in my CHAUCERIAN PARADE this week:
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| THE FELINE OF A FRIEND |
Here is my last MISSION for the season (pun intended) - Another ski picture, of course!
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| LIFTIE PROJECTIONS AT MISSION RIDGE SKI RESORT -- SEE THE SNOW SCULPTURES! |
FACTOID: My client's scribbles came on the same day as my last day on the slopes -- the very day Mission Ridge Ski Resort closed for the season. Call it what you will -- I call such coincidences, PHENOMENOLOGY, the psychology of being able to make sense of coincidence!
My client's scribbles were the nidus I needed to write yet another entry about downhill skiing. And to put scribbles and such into perspective ...
SKIING FIXES EVERYTHING!
