blocks

okay, so counseling class today was really intense.

we talked about ethical issues again.. and it just got really personal. we started talking about bringing baggage from our own lives into the sessions, and it made me think about why i don't think i'd be a good therapist...

i take things so personally. and then i let one personal thing build on another.

the professor talked about leaving things at the door when you come into a session.. taking some stuff with you, but knowing it's there. doing a "gut check," if you will. my new goal is to do that every time i open my mouth.

see... i started building this analogy in my head (shocker, right?), and it had to do with blocks. lots and lots of blocks... every time someone throws something at you, it's like a block lands on your plate, and it catches you off guard. the next thing hits you -- the next stressor -- and it's like that block just stacks on top of the last one... and so on and so forth until it's a leaning tower of stress. finally, it collapses, and the weight of the world comes down on you.

there's another way to do it, i'm learning... let the blocks hit, but don't let them stack. keep things grounded, if you will -- don't let them volatiley stack up... keep control. the highest blocks are the same size as the lower blocks.. they just seem more threatening because you're anticipating the fall. if they're all grounded, there's no need to brace yourself.

so practically, it's just another way of not letting stressors freak you out, i guess.. another way of not letting one thing unneccesarily impact the other.

maybe it makes no sense, i don't know. i'm a visual person. it works for me.

off to lunch... then three more hours of class and an exciting night of econ studying :) :)