This is an article from one of my 30 active blogs, Creative U. It addresses the Gnome in the Garden, that little voice that is in all. It's a voice of despair.
It's an unfounded, wrong, and even stupid voice. But despair hides in all our soul gardens, closets, and basements, and seeks it's opportunity to point out how our life is:
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| "Hey, look over here. Feel fear" zombie garden gnome |
- wrong
- stupid
- going no where
- hopeless
- despairing
- void
- devoid
- empty
- offers no opportunity
- everyone is against me, or has better opportunities in life than me
- something bad is going to happen next
- I'll fail if I try.....
- others think I'm bad, stupid, not blond, too young, too old, too.......
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| "Hey, I'm sugar and innocence and cuteness all wrapped up for you". Garden Gnomes cover up the real nature of mythical gnomes: foiling you |
The Gnome of Despair is good at reminding us of all the big and small events where we feel we failed, got cheated, were victimized, felt embarrassed, and etc. and etc. And, etc. The Gnome is like one of those Plastic Recording Parrots you'd see in stores about 10 years ago: you say something to the parrot and it' repeats. Over and over. This gnome is like that: it doesn't think, it just repeats without any soul, care for your life or intelligence.
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| "Nothing to see hear. Move along. Don't worry about having concrete objects in your English Garden....everybody has one, everybody does it.....the norm...." Garden Gnome |
And, that voice collected only the negative things. It doesn't want or allow you to remember all the good that happened. That doesn't mean any bullying or negative event was imaginary. It means that when you were being bullied all that time, you also were doing other things in your life that MATTERED. But, the Gnome and really the human brain only wants you to recall the painful.
For what persons does this voice appear? As a mental health therapist and sufferer myself of PTSD, I can say I've found it is in the garden of 90% of persons, which includes all who:
may feel compassion for others, have feelings of grief, sensitivity, desire improvement in life, feel they have "tried" and try.
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| the vomiting nature of the garden gnome: you're vulnerable and I'll spit out all your bad memories and bad character |
The gnome can be in the recesses of an English garden, almost hidden. But, the gnome is also very up front for those with:
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| Zombies are without a brain and have a single intent, just one purpose. Garden Zombie Gnome |
- PTSD, post trauma stress disorder and especially those victims of childhood stress, neglect, or abuse (by parents, siblings, neighbors, bullies, sexual abuse), which impacts 25% of all children
- Anxiety disorders
- Shyness, phobias
- depression of any type, which impacts about a third of the population, including just "low mood"
- any person with current or past drug use, especially of meth, cocaine, street drugs including those that are being designed to mimic meth or others and later are added to illegal lists such as drug "bath salts", inhalants, pain killers (oxy's), ingested steroids including athlete-muscle steroids, psychedelics like LSD, alcohol abuse (binging and alcholism). These all cause brain damage that is generally lifelong, but note that recent marijuana research shows it reduces suicidality, it's known use plus the oils, but I'm not recommending that.
- head injury of all types, including all youth sports head injuries, that cause life long brain damage. Adult sports, including pro sports causes lifelong brain damage, and leads to many stories we have of marital violence followed by the person committing suicide
- always, bipolar mood disorder, of which 80% attempt suicide and 1 of 5 commit suicide
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| adults that were bullied, neglected, abused or head injured as children have giant garden gnomes |
When we combine those who have compassion, 90% of the population, we get supercharged Gnomes. When this guy shows up, you can't ignore that stupid message: Life is Despairing. This is the Stupid Garden Gnome of our own Soul, a distorted, spiteful, and negative voice inside.
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| Just ignore me. I'm the garden gnome that slipped into your kitchen. Sneaky Pete. |
Now, who in your midst or news is NOT on this list of 7 above? Who doesn't have a Gnome of Suicide in their garden? The Gaslighters: those with NPD and Psychopathy have no compassion or concern for humanity. They are the bullies. They are the ones that when incarcerated in prison for killing or taking from others excel: they use the time to plan, and when released repeat crimes again and again. They are:
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| "Hey you, yes, you dummy. Look over here: I have perty yellow flowers." Garden Gnomes |
The 10% with pathological psychopathy in societies and the neighbors next to you!
They are the Gaslight Attackers!!
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| Holiday garden gnomes have especially nasty messages for the 90% of persons who have compassion |
And, now, the original article from Gaslight Attacks blog: this was written because this blog about creativity deserved a recognition of the persons and news of their suicides: two creative persons Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade.
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| Gnomes of Times past: abused by church or school authority, bullied, neglected, etc. |
https://crafterhacker.blogspot.com/2018/06/when-gnome-becomes-dangerous-suicidal.html
We all have something like them: that garden gnome sitting around that looks a bit silly, out of place, and up to no good visual mischief.
They can look very original, but since they're no smart at all, they can look a dopey or even a bit naughty. But, the demeanor is obvious: there is really no trickery here. The Gnome is not an art of work, and it's not complex. It's something to prop a door open with, or sit in a boring section of the garden..... It's like putting parsley on a dinner plate: What's that for?, we wonder. Oh, to make the food look tasty? Really??? It's a ludicrous garnish like that paper thin wafer of orange slice on your desert or rolled cookie wafer on your ice cream sundae. What do I do with this? Is it important? Do I eat it?
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| The Gnome may be some sort of Zombie puppet of our abusers, including political narcissists and psychopaths and any around us GASLIGHTING |
That's the gnome. In mythology, there's all sorts of small creatures in every culture worldwide, many associated with ancient or indigenous cultures. They're the forest creatures that are just there, but they're there to foil things up for you. And, if you don't recognize them, you come under their influence:
- milk spills
- luck goes bad
- the cow dies
These seem a bit silly. But each is a metaphor of the most severe tragedy: it's all failing, nothing works out, doom, despair, you won't survive but die, death will ensue whether physical or emotional,,,,,,,,,,,,,and on to a thousand variations of this negative diatribe. Thousands. And, the ones you have from your Gnome of Despair: they fit just you, and catch you at all your weakest and most vulnerable points or issues in your life. That Gnome has your story! That Gnome knows your weakest link. That Gnome speaks up when you most need a message of hope!
They're known as creatures of the earth: dwarfs, elves, and gnomes. And, they're known as creatures of the air: fairies and pixies were originally called "peskies" due to their nature of being pesky or a pest.
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| When a Gnome Becomes Dangerous: Suicidal Thoughts of Despair |
They're around, and seen but not seen by us:
- a pile of old papers or photos sitting on the coffee table we see all the time, and occasionally plan to sort
- a broken hinge on a door, ignored for a while, it's now a part of life
- the smell of the old shed where dank rules, but accepted as a way life is.
These are the things we ignore, but are there.
And, they are a metaphor of a real human bane: the ignored voice in all of us, that Garden Gnome of DESPAIR. Despair is a voice hidden, like the garden gnome, it can show up and take over. The dank shed can hiding common hantavirus of mice, and.....kill.
Ignored, we trip over the garden gnome. This voice inside, is not too sophisticated: it's the same old voice, the same old drivel of Despair. You've heard it all your life. It's nothing new. Perhaps you haven't heard from the voice for a while, but it's there. And, its waiting for that day you're tired, overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, or back in your PTSD thoughts, that you let it speak up. You listen to the drivel as if it's truth. It's not. It's not truth, but the message of an unintelligent piece of concrete you've been packing around since childhood.
You have to
- recognized the gnome of Despair is a human thing, and that voice is there, and likely will always be there
- be aware that Despair shows up when you're tired or other conditions are ripe as mentioned above.
- you may even from time to time, like an old Taoist story of dealing with dragons: talk to it and seek to calm it down.
But, if you do nothing, you'll believe it and act. The act of believing Despair is the commonality and final option to all: suicide.
We honor the lives of our many lost, daily.
- Kate Spade, creative
- Anthony Bourdain, creative
If you can't talk nicely to the suicide gnome of despair within, at minimum be ready for it to pop up from time to time, and tell it to shut up.
For information, books, and links on Suicide Inoculation and overcoming Despair, see our resources.
and, if you want more information on Psychopaths and all our resource books, including Methods of Lies, book, and Recovery from Authority and Work Abuse and Bullies CD:
When a Gnome Becomes Dangerous: Suicidal Thoughts of Despair
