Say it with Flowers

As a hypochondriac, neurotic, and a dilettante of non-western medicine, I've been a big fan of Bach Rescue Remedy(TM) for awhile now. It even does the trick on my neurotic and dilettantish cat. But until today, I had yet to understand fully the amazing power of flowers, as represented by the complete range of Bach Flower Remedies(TM). They're better than EST. I sure wish you'd known about this in 1980, Mom.

And had I known in 1980 that there is a cheap and non-lethal prescription for extreme mental anguish, when everything has been tried and there is no light left, I would probably be a happily married, Volvo-driving mother of two with a high salary and a daily Xtreme-Pilates routine.

Is there a prescription for that?

An index of Bach Flower Rememdies and their indications:
1. Agrimony – mental torture behind a cheerful face
2. Aspen – fear of unknown things
3. Beech – intolerance
4. Centaury – inability to say 'no'
5. Cerato – lack of trust in one's own decisions
6. Cherry Plum – fear of the mind giving way
7. Chestnut Bud (made with horse chestnut buds) – failure to learn from mistakes
8. Chicory – selfish, possessive love
9. Clematis – dreaming of the future without working in the present
10. Crab Apple – cleansing remedy, also for self-hatred
11. Elm – overwhelmed by responsibility
12. Gentian – discouragement after a setback
13. Gorse – hopelessness and despair
14. Heather – self-centeredness and self-concern
15. Holly – hatred, envy and jealousy
16. Honeysuckle – living in the past
17. Hornbeam – procrastination, tiredness at the thought of doing something
18. Impatiens – impatience
19. Larch – lack of confidence and self-esteem
20. Mimulus – fear of known things
21. Mustard – deep gloom for no reason
22. Oak – the plodder who keeps going past the point of exhaustion
23. Olive – exhaustion following mental or physical effort
24. Pine – guilt
25. Red Chestnut – over-concern for the welfare of loved ones
26. Rock Rose – terror and fright
27. Rock Water – self-denial, rigidity and self-repression
28. Scleranthus – inability to choose between alternatives
29. Star of Bethlehem – shock
30. Sweet Chestnut – Extreme mental anguish, when everything has been tried and there is no light left
31. Vervain – over-enthusiasm
32. Vine – dominance and inflexibility
34. Water Violet – pride and aloofness
35. White Chestnut – unwanted thoughts and mental arguments
36. Wild Oat – uncertainty over one's direction in life
37. Wild Rose – drifting, resignation, apathy
38. Willow – self-pity and resentment

One upon a time...*

The tragic events of
Five Years Ago
July 7, 1941
September 11, 2001
9/11/01
April 1996
November 8th
June 15, 1920
the slave trade
Palm Sunday, 1965
last Tuesday
November 22, 1963
June 22, 1941
Dec. 6
the last several years
his personal and professional life
the last few days
this period

In a world of
ambient intelligence
woe
unstable electricity distribution
rising life expectancies
shit
networked knowledge
private capital markets
strangers
their own
business process outsourcing
software diversity
smart everyday objects
trouble
bandwidth-on-demand
increasing complexity and diminishing institutional power
spam

The heartbreaking story of
the prince that history forgot
friendship and love
a man who murders his wife
the prejudice she faced
an irretrievable loss
an Indian Air Force pilot
two Italian immigrant radicals
baseball legend Lou Gehrig
how the Hebrews won their release from Egyptian slavery
their renewed love
his children
the men who made it
her greatest love
our friend's friend

The bittersweet tale of
a misclaimed Civil War medal
baby ring-tailed lemurs
a young boy who’s worth getting to know
a dancer who finds her destiny
a fading starlet who must face a harsh reality
two boy geniuses
monstrous love
a life wasted by love
a roguish country singer
a girl who lives near a portal into Hell
a boy who escapes his poverty-stricken existence and becomes heir to a magical chocolate factory

*imagination brought to you by Google

The Interpretation of [some recent] Dreams

1. Gossipy secretary placing small dogs about body of college Provost standing in office doorway; supposed to be cocker spaniels but are really mini dachshunds.

Boss coming back from vacation

2. Serial killings/disappearances of loved ones and others; culprit looking for me.

Morning dream (post-coital), am not in my house

3. Someone is making up words that sound like other words.

Must explain why I woke up laughing at 6:30 am

4. Driving for hours in deserted wasteland with “family,” full of dread in back seat. Keep passing same advertisement on billboard.

Funnier than word dream when I told it

5. Psychiatrist is having marital problems; we kiss, stop because it's unethical.

Headache and night sweats: PMS?

6. Am pregnant, have doll-sized girl and boy; later, they die. Insensitive coworkers keep asking about pregnancy; must relive grief over and over.

Labor Day weekend

7. Losing control of 1950's convertible on road near grandparents' house on way to press conference for world peace; Bill Clinton one of many celebrities there, looks good.

Everyone promised my work would be rewarded, no one came through