FLOWERS FOR THE SICK

Artist Tucker Nichols of San Raphael, California appeared on the PBSNewshour  Arts and Culture series CANVAS on 5-8-20. He spoke of how the experience of being sick is isolating so he sends flowers, paintings of flowers, that is, from loved ones of sick people. In this time of Corona, he has had so many requests, he now has to post pictures of his paintings of flowers on line:

  He writes:    

  Flowers for the ventilator operators

        Flowers for the hospital janitors

        Flowers for the bare handed mail carrier      

        Flowers for the neighbor who sits in her window on patrol

        Flowers for elastic waistbands

        Flowers for the dishwasher

        Flowers for for you if you are the dishwasher

        Flowers for someone who left in an ambulance but still no update

        Flowers for the kids who are realizing none of the grown ups know how this is going to play out

        Flowers for the frazzled woman at the post office directing the other customers to maintain their six foot perimeters while trying to keep her place in line

        Flowers for New York City

        Flowers for anyone in any hospital for any reason

        Flowers for your mother

        Flowers for anyone stuck at home without flowers today

Letter to Colleagues on recent events

Dear members of TBPS,

Writing this, I notice it is difficult to find the right words, a sound interpretation for the events that have recently taken place. Perhaps it is not about having the right words or interpretation but listening and bearing witness that is of importance. As psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists, we seek to understand. We seek to hold, contain, and transmute what is brought to the therapy session so that others may grow. It is our duty to bear witness to the pain, suffering, feelings of betrayal and rage following the recent killings of members of the black community and the intergenerational trauma the black community has faced. It is our duty to look within ourselves, at our privilege, our preconceived notions, our biases, at our countertransference and transference, in the face of such tragedy. Lastly, it is our duty to bring what is in darkness into the light (“where id was there ego shall be”), despite the difficult conversations it may create. Through these difficult conversations we can affect our community. If ever there was a time, this is the time to do what we do best: listen, empathize, and support to create change.

Below you will find a link to the American Psychoanalytic Association’s statement regarding racism and recent events:

https://apsa.org/content/racism-needs-be-heard-and-addressed

Warm regards,

Joseph Assouline, Psy.D.

Tampa Bay Psychoanalytic Society, President-Elect