the magpie

sometimes the best defense is a good offense and the best offense is a good defense but I don’t intend to offend, and it saddens me to have to defend. myself. against. my. former. lover/abuser. 

this time though, the best fight is to not fight.    Fighting crazy with crazy will not sustain.   a. life. of. happiness. wellness. love. and compassion.  

end game. over and done.   escape. exit. delete. delete. delete.   

The Democracy of Small Things - The Blow 

I spoke to all my molecules
And they were divided
On if you were invited
“Love undecided”
I told them,
“Now’s the time,
You’ve got to make your choice
No more can avoid
Lift up one solid voice”

They told me,
“We just can’t say yet,
There’s a lot of yesses
But also plenty no’s
And we work by consensus!”

I said,
“Pull in the stragglers.
Try to wear down their defenses
‘Cause it’s getting humiliating
Out here on the fence”

I spoke to all my molecules
“Hey guys,
Did you see those EYES?!”

“I know I felt you all there with me
Swell in that one kiss
Think of all the waves of holding back
We’re going to miss.
What’s the problem
Why’ve we held back for so long?”

Ready to move on?

Adapted from Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

O GODDESSES, OUR HELP IN AGES PAST

O Goddesses, our help in ages past, 
Our hope in years to come, 
Our shelter from the stormy blast, 
and our eternal home —

Under the shadow of Thyness’s thrones 
Thyness’s saints have dwelt secure; 
Sufficient is Thyness’s arms alone, 
And our defense is sure. 

Before the hills in order stood, 
Or earth received your frame,
From everlasting thou art Goddesses, 
To endless years the same. 

A thousand ages in Thyness’s sight
Are like an evening gone; 
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun. 

Time, like an ever-rolling stream
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day. 

Our Goddesses, our help in ages past, 
Our hope in years to come, 
Be thou our guards while troubles last, 
And our eternal home.

On the basis of these interviews, and information about past behaviour from independent sources, such as social workers’ reports, they build up a four-part assessment. The headings are: ‘interpersonal’, covering behaviour such as manipulativeness and lying; ‘affective’, covering irresponsibility and lack of empathy and remorse; ‘lifestyle’, tracking impulsivity and need for stimulation; and ‘anti- social’, which looks for records of things such as juvenile delinquency. Those on the receiving end of the assessment find it tiresome.

For psychopaths who are deemed dangerous, there are no therapeutic options. “We know there is no effective treatment for psychopathy,” says Hochstenbach. Pharma- ceuticals don’t help and those who receive behavioural therapy have a higher — not lower — rate of recidivism.

But she says that psychopathic people can be very tiring to work with because they command, and need, intense attention.

“I think my high psychopath score is a talent, not a sickness — I can make good strong decisions, and it’s good to have some distance with people.”

If a form of therapy were ever to emerge, it is not clear whether people like him — who do not consider themselves sick — would be willing to take it.

‘Normal’ people run simulations in their brain mirroring what others feel. This means that when they see someone expressing (through facial expressions and gestures)

a particular emotion, some of the same circuitry is activated in their own brains that would be activated if they were feeling that emotion themselves3. This circuitry feeds into cognitive and emotional processes. So the empathy is both an intellectual and an emotional process.

Psychopaths have a number of defining features, one being a pronounced lack of empathy. Do these individuals fail to mirror the emotions of others, or do they detach the emotional component when the mirroring process happens? Christian Keysers, the director of the Neuroimaging Centre at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands has designed an experiment to address this question.