Dialogue with my muse |
JOE: Good morning Calliope. CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today? JOE: Getting back into the routine. Yesterday was taken up with financial arrangements and other tasks which kept me from my literary endeavors. CALLIOPE: And today? JOE: I couldn't face you until I had at least finished my column for this Saturday. I wrote it on Dealing with Stress and Its Discontents. CALLIOPE: Vaguely reminiscent of Freud. JOE: Very astute. I have never been a great fan of Freud but I found a couple provocative statements in the introduction to Civilization and Its Discontents which formed the basis for my column. CALLIOPE: What, pray tell, were the statements? JOE: One was that people would rather suffer than change. The other was that as long as there is culture people will be unhappy. CALLIOPE: Rather pessimistic I'd say. JOE: That was my first reaction as well. I went on to explain how much of our stress seems to arise from our unrealistic expectations about life. CALLIOPE: That's it? JOE: No. I suggested some alternative ways of viewing and handling our life circumstances. CALLIOPE: That's better. I'm looking forward to reading it. JOE: You will find it on my website on Saturday. Talk with you tomorrow. |