Theories

I've told you how The Artist's Way came into my life, but I didn't tell you about my theory as to why it came into my life. In 1990 I went to a shrink for the first time. I just sort of felt like life was blah and I was unhappy. I didn't know what to do about it. I was reluctant to go to a shrink before that because, well, there was nothing really wrong with my life. I mean nothing catastrophic, nothing that every other person on the planet was complaining about or trying to improve.  But then one day I found out that a friend whom I thought had it all together, revealed that she was going to a shrink and was on Prozac.  I was stunned. This woman was someone I admired. She was part owner of a successful business and took art classes and traveled to places like Africa.  Finding out that she thought she needed help allowed me to seek help. Luckily I ended up with a Jungian. At the time, I had heard of Jung, but all I knew was what I was taught in college psych classes, that he was a disciple of Freud's.  Later, I found out about his theory of the collective unconscious and felt cheated that his theories weren't more widely taught in place of Freud's, because for my money, his made way more sense.  It was an aha moment.

But I digress. The first thing the shrink asked me was what I wanted. Like really deep down, what did I want. It shouldn't be a tough question, but it was. I went to see Dr. Green for less than a year, but because of his counseling I asked for a raise for the first time in my life and I got it.  Then I bought a house and I couldn't afford to continue the process with him. But I was well on my way.  It felt like doors were opening just a crack. Somehow I think questioning myself and trying new things like asking for a raise and buying a house, paved the way for The Artist's Way to come to me. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  Something like that.