Seven older gentlemen of various political persuasions gather in the courtyard under the squawking birds to politely discuss and examine, in regulated heartbeat, the current issues and events of the week.
They also like to talk about their high-school classmates, both living & dead, unknown to others outside of Los Gatos. It’s an exclusive club.
Before dawn last month a skunk crawled out from under the fence and made me spill my coffee. Our cat Biscuit went right toward it but stopped short & stood his ground – lesson learned from a previous encounter.
I immediately blocked that dirt tunnel with bricks to stop another from weaseling its way into our yard again.
It’s not that the pungent mammal is unwelcome in our backyard. I’m only thinking of Biscuit and his short-term memory. One faceful of spray may not have been enough for him.
Personally, I get along well with skunks. We hold mutual respect & admiration for each other.
Revolution is not a dinner party, not an essay, nor a painting, nor a piece of embroidery; it cannot be advanced softly, gradually, carefully, considerately, respectfully, politely, plainly, or modestly.
There are more things likely to frighten us than there are to crush us. We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.
Seneca
Feedback mechanisms as anticipatory anxiety trigger symptoms which in turn, reinforce the phobia. Paradoxical intention consists of a reversal of attitude. Fear is replaced by a paradoxical wish to experience the anxiety fully, and the wind is taken out of the sails. ~Logotherapy by Victor Frankl