Of psychologists and crickets

 

Father might have many defects, but he also had some virtues that Mother didn´t value. The most important thing in my view was how affectionate he was with everyone, especially me.

One day he surprised me by giving me a cricket cage he built — dexterity with his hands was another of his virtues.

It was a small cube of 7x7x7 cms using some canes lats collected from the stream that ran near the house. He told me that his father had made him one like that when he was about my age. At that time I was on my tenth anniversary.

When I had it in my hands he taught me about what these insects eat and that before the cold of autumn arrives I should release it in the field again.

The curious thing about the situation is that Mike and I had watched the Pinocchio movie a week before; and when we left the cinema we had a ‘philosophical’ conversation exposing our points of view when touching on the subject of the main protagonista for us: Jiminy Cricket.

While I was doubting whether a counselor like JC was an advantage or a disadvantage, Mike was clear that the bug would be an obstacle if it came after us when we were in the middle of the task and, by punching his left hand, he settled the matter.

Many years later I found out that the true story, the one written by the Italian, Jiminy Cricket died from a hammer blow from the angry wooden marionette.

What I´m telling happened sixty years ago.

Nowadays we know that an advisor to advise our conscience as the puppet had would be magnificent, in addition to saving us a lot of money by avoiding having to go to the psychologist.

But, alas! In such a hedonistic, crustless society that we live in today, absolutely no one wants to be left behind in having things like the personal trainer, the female nutritionist — almost all nutritionists are female nutritionist — or the spiritual advisor, pseudo yogi or mind specialist to help you have a progressive mind! As if everyone had the obligation to live happily and constantly cheerful because my neighbor follows a famous influencer and encourages me — with a pat on my shoulder — to be positive and not let feelings of doubt enter my life when choosing a choice quickly. Yo can´t spend a second without knowing very well where to go: dude, go to the psychologist!

And I say, don´t people know that the mind, just like the body, needs to feel that one is down from time to time and that most likely the spring that we all have deep within our being will resynchronize the steps for a natural recovery?

I believe, and I´m not the one who believes it, that happiness is not hunted, is not there in the distance, but that we have it at our side all the time and that Jiminy Cricket knows it.

Fromm y Borstal.

LDR