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THE GANG INSIDE MY HEAD is a cadre of some thirty characters, coordinated by three - THE CLOWN, THE TEACHER and THE SOLDIER.
Together, they make up the various factors of my overall personality. They represent emotion, logic and action - how I feel
about something, what I think about something, and what I do about something.
They are the classic "voices" that therapists talk about when the question is asked, "Do you hear voices in
your head?" I learned long ago that there is no one who walks the face of the earth that does not hear voices inside
their head. They are one reason that even in those moments when I am physically isolated, I am never alone. Another oft
asked question is whether the voices influence actions that may be typically classified as abnormal (just what is normal?)
- thus mental illness. If I allowed the voices unrestricted autonomy, the answer just might be yes. However, it is the three
that influence the others so that aberrations are minimal, and some semblance of normalcy is the general course.
By and large, they are a reasonably happy group, often breaking into a musical chorus that resounds within my mind and cannot
be ignored. Sometimes they are a distraction, but most often they are a foundation that assists me to engage the activities
of life. They are a guide that helps me avoid some of the pitfalls of life. And, sometimes, they too, drift into a melancholia
that induces inactivity - procrastination. All in all, they are me - my emotions, my thoughts, and my actions. In their
unified course, they help me to be BIG ENOUGH and to KEEP PASSING OPEN WINDOWS!
As the course of these entries progresses, we will seek to address issues relative to the mental health, well-being, and coping
strategies of the elderly - specifically those living alone. It might well be that the number one issue facing the elderly
living alone (beyond health issues) is the question of whether one still has value in this society. Thus, the following brief
commentary.
There is, in the process of aging, a melancholia that develops from within - a deepening sorrow that the adventures of youth
are no more to be. One of the most profound poems that touched by being - more than sixty years ago, was Dylan Thomas' outcry
against death and old age. If the piece had meaning and an impact on my emotions so many years ago, it is even more profound
now that I have crossed the threshold of seventy plus years.
It is that I reach out to my brothers and sisters who have walked through time, endured the ravages of life, met the challenges
of youth, and crossed over the portal of middle age with vigor and determination, only to face the withering chaos and confusion
of the autumn of their years. It is that I echo the refrain of life's rebellion
"DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOODNIGHT. OLD AGE SHOULD BURN AND RAVE AT THE CLOSE OF DAY. RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING
OF THE LIGHT."
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