What makes you who you are?
Serious
Patricia Ross, a seasoned therapist, shares a compelling story of personal transformation, drawing from the experiences of one of her clients.
In her narrative, Ross vividly portrays a person who moves from a binary existence to a more complex reality, where he starts recognizing his role in shaping his future.
Gradually, the man embarks on a journey of self-discovery, exploring his preferences and interests, thereby transitioning towards a more enriched, three-dimensional life.
Step by step, he asks why he is the way he is. As he becomes more curious about himself, he becomes more interested in others.
Patricia has written a terrific story, and I loved the three-dimensional metaphor.
Who is that person who looks back at us from the mirrors?
He’s complicated.
In big and small ways.
He doesn’t like the confinement of labels.
When even he sees only a single reflection.
If he’s that way, then you are too.
Silly and, sadly, true
For example, take another gander at that fellow in the mirror.
He doesn’t like in-person shopping because he has a hard time saying no.
Often, his first response needs to be corrected.
But the striped shirt looked good on the window model.
He also felt guilty about buying from Amazon.
Purchasing locally makes him feel superior, like owning a Subaru Forester in southwest Iowa.
Besides, clad in that shirt, he imagined himself looking like soccer great Lionel Messi on the beach in the Michelob Ultra ad.
However, he remembered that Messi, also 5’7″, wears Argentina’s vertical stripe uniform.
He found the shirt on a rack.
It’s funny how, inside the store, it appeared green.
When he tried it on, it stayed green, and what about those stripes?
Would Lionel wear horizontal stripes?
He had better text Rebecca; she’d tell him what to do.
While waiting for her reply, he spotted an orange shirt.
Orange was the color of the Netherlands national soccer team. Or was it Holland’s?
It was a muted orange, and he wouldn’t look like a pumpkin.
He’d never worn orange.
Even Darrell, the Trump supporter who lives next door, wore more colorful shirts.
Rebecca replied a few minutes later: “The green shirt is OK, the orange is better, without the red hat.”
When she says OK, I know she means no.
He’ll get a compatible cap to complete the orange outfit.
The store owner said both shirts looked good on him.
And
Buy two, and the second one is half-price.
He knew the guy was only trying to make a buck, and keeping a men’s clothing store afloat was challenging in a small town.
Back to serious
So, he bought two shirts and a navy baseball hat.
He tried to like the green and parallel stripes.
But finally gave it away.
His tiny contribution to President Obama’s spread the wealth idea.
The other day, draped in orange and topped with blue, he waved to Darrell, the Trump guy.
He wondered about all the things regarding Darrell that he didn’t know.
Darrell, who did look like a pumpkin, smiled and waved back.
