Columns

David Carradine starred in the 1970's TV series "Kung Fu," in which he demonstrated considerable knowledge of that Martial Art (albeit his abilities were exaggerated for the program). He died not so many years ago in bizarre circumstances that I won't go into. 

Glorification of violence doesn't make it in my book of ethics, even if you are portraying the protagonist as the person who supposedly wants peace. Yet, I don't always follow this ethic when I am writing fiction for publication, since I am trying to write something that will sell. 

Carradine's character demonstrated a great deal of physical flexibility, which is superior in many cases to inflexible, brute force attempts at overpowering an opponent. Flexibility helps in many areas of life. When we continue to be able to learn new things, and to change our methods of operations to match what works--while abandoning something that doesn't work any longer, or that never worked, we are demonstrating a high level of sanity. 

This is what I'm getting at: The willingness to take medication is not enough to move forward in life. The mental health treatment system wants more from us than that. And we need the mental health treatment system more than it needs us. 

I am accepting help from the Putnam Clubhouse in Concord in my efforts to seek employment. This feels to me like a risk, not only to my ego, but to retaining full credit for my writing. However, I have been out of the conventional work force for about twenty years, and I am clueless concerning the expectations as they currently are--they won't be the same as they were in the nineteen-eighties for a young man in his twenties. And I'm not on a regular daily schedule. Additionally, my sleep schedule is all over the map, my grooming level varies a lot, and I don't have decent clothes that would be acceptable in a job. 

Writing generates either tiny amounts of money or no money. And my SSDI/SSI isn't enough. Additionally, the increased contacts with people, brought about by employment, even if I am connecting with people through email and Zoom, will be good for my mental condition. 

Most of those who have money are good with people. If you are unable to deal with human beings, you can't earn money. This is because if you want money, you need to get it from someone. The closest you can come to earning money without dealing with people would be app-based driving. I tried that. I was on the freeway doing 65 miles per hour and the phone was prompting me to respond to another job request. Not safe for someone who already has enough difficulties. 

The mental health treatment system wants to keep an eye on us. They want to be sure that we are not going to do anything that will disrupt the business community, disrupt taxpayers' lives, or do anything that might frighten people. In some instances, they may find ways to bob our levels of success. We must gently let them know that we really intend to be successful, even while we accommodate them in their wishes to keep our act orderly. 

Many people with mental illnesses are subject to restraint via poverty--and this is miserable. But it is not as miserable as being kicked out of society entirely, becoming homeless, and/or being incarcerated. We may need to accept that we will be subject to some level of supervision in our lives. This is because there are a lot of people who like society as it currently exists, without a lot of people creating chaos when they go in the morning to Starbuck's before work. 

If we have a history of being a disruption to social order, even if we aren't violent, people in positions of authority will be nervous about allowing us to have any kind of power. 

Although accepting help from the clubhouse seems like I am allowing myself to be infantilized and not acknowledged for what I've accomplished, I've been able to carve out a middle ground for my own benefit, so that I might have a better chance of succeeding at something I haven't tried in many years. And there are others who have already done exactly the same thing.