The Medicine of the Familiar...

Being a student is certainly a stressful vocation, though some would argue with both the stressful and vocation part. But I would counter that, a) I can't think of a better word than "vocation" when describing what I do with my life, when it doesn't happen to be called a job and, b) when one is a student at UC Berkeley, I would certainly say that stressful is a very applicable word to any student found there.

And Heaven help us when the stress comes. It comes almost from the beginning. The saying goes that you start out behind at Cal, which could also be true for other schools. I have yet to hear, but I assume that it is not that unique to Cal, given the other unique qualities of Berkeley of course.

And of course when the stress do come, we all handle it in different ways. It is one of the more curious phenomena that I have ever experienced. One of the most common events is the delayed onset of sickness. The body drives itself, perfectly healthy and sound, all through finals, and when all is done, simply crashes. Sickness arrives with a vengeance.

But what to do about the stress?! And the calamitous after effects?!

It seems that our most sure solace can be had in the familiar tasks, objects, and actions that we have always done. That book that you read in childhood, that soft raggedy stuffed animal, making muffins, fixing a cup of tea, wearing that old worn plaid shirt.

What is it about familiar old things? What do they have?

Perhaps it is like the Skin Horse said in The Velveteen Rabbit, that these things have become "real". That favorite piece of clothing, because you used it, wore it, loved it even, became real. As the Skin Horse says,

"You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

So maybe we should listen to the words of the Skin Horse on this one. But making something "Real" doesn't merely happen to toys. We love clothes, simple activities, and other people, to name but a few things. And with this love we make all of them "Real", and when we need comfort and recovery the most, we can go back to these "Real" things, and truly recuperate. So find your velveteen rabbit, and hug it close.