"A World Apart" - Our House and Theirs

"Compare and Contrast..." A favorite technique of one of my favorite professors to engage us, so-called "grad students" aspiring not only to a higher level of scholarship but in order to eventually enter and start "practicing" as professionals. A technique for putting two things, ideas, concepts next to each other, even in what I came to learn might be termed a "juxtaposition". That is, we were challenged to seek, then find differences in things that seem to be quite similar, or find come common ground when two things seem to be in significant conflict, even opposite or, another fancy schmancy word, "orthogonal". We were also cautioned that casually tossing around such terms in certain groups may turn heads, as being not only misunderstood, but underappreciated. In other words, he taught us to be humble about what we do, don't know...in a word, "humility". Yes, compare and contrast, a rigorous, multidimensional way of thinking. Such as how We and They tend to view things, perhaps in part from our accumulated experience...All this in an attempt to give us a bit of...

Perspective: Which quickly became another focus of our graduate level academic experience, when we took required courses in "Learning Theory" and "Child Development" -- both of which, especially in combination, taught us to see things from a different angle, how most of us learn to put ourselves "in their shoes" in developing a sense of "empathy" or, on the other hand, how most of us, depending on "our lot in life" (or little, as the case may be), can experience another's experience...

Vicariously: (AKA fantasy life, "In your dreams!") Which can, when we experience "it" indirectly, can either en-rich our lives or, a sour after-taste, leave us feeling a bit empty, as we go back to our daily lives, after leaving the theatre, for example. Or, most recently, when we were, world-wide entreated to a Royal gala (well, none I have met had tickets to either the coronation itself or the after-parties) and had legions fantasizing about it would actually like to be "Them". As for me, even if someone had handed me a ticket, who decided like a few "notables" to "snub" the Royal Family, I would have been hard put to come up with a such a gallant outfit, uniform featuring extremely meticulous tailoring but also all those badges and ribbons They 'earned' (which sent my mind wandering...). A sort of what we psychologists call "sour grapes" type of coping skill ("I would not have gone if I was invited...") Which for me have saved me from feeling snubbed myself, occasionally...

"Reality Sucks" A cynical line, an early meme, that even found its way onto a t-shirt (along with "Life's a -----!" etc.) Many of which seem to have been worn by those who "didn't have a life", at last one that left them envious, bitter, looking elsewhere, such as peering into the House of Royals where everything seems rosy, at least rose-colored on the day of the "Coronation of King Charles III" who hails from the House of Windsor, one which is always adorned with roses and such, given that they seem to benefit from a Treasury which has no bottom...the true sources of which are still a bit murky, after all my Goggle searches. Which sets my mind to wander if, that's what instigated a previous Prime Minister to blithely reply, on behalf of socialism as compared, contrasted to the House of Royals, "Sooner or later you run out of other peoples' money..." And perhaps why, at least the Royal watcher rumor mill has it, that Liz and Maggie had a bit of an uneasy relationship...

Back at Home: As on this side of the pond, as in our House of Congress, we have our own Yellen going on, screaming for a higher debt ceiling..."in order to continue meeting our obligations..." Let's see, increase the amount we can go into debt in order to pay our debts... That would never sell in our house, growing up. Which is probably why our parents, well before I even dreamed of attending college, let alone "Grad school", taught us, "It's always good to clean your own home before looking at theirs..." Something like that. And other sayings ("things are not always what they seem; be grateful for what you have, honey") that added up to traits that I first experienced growing up and re-learned in grad school. Such as "humility".  

Just when you/I thought: That I was running out of material, these recent happenings and the mentality of those requesting for U.S. to dig deep in order to fund all their so-called "pork barrel" projects, I am assured I will not, any time soon run out of job security as a psychologist ("They're nuts!") nor material as a blogger. So, coming soon...

Front and center: "Kiss off...no more PDA's"