Handle Your Own Hat
Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS
Everyone knows the “cat in the hat.”
He’s an irritating, whimsical fellow.
He instigates. But he motivates.
He’s mischievous. But he’s creative.
He definitely stretches the limits,
but does he himself stretch? Or just make trouble?
Do you know people like that? Kids like that?
You want to wring their necks. At the same time, they are also entertaining, and they make things happen.
Extreme qualities, in one entity, can spark extreme reactions in another. But they also can spark action.
Remember in the story that the cat in the hat came with a minion of helpers. He sometimes can’t do it all by himself.
Yet he is a leader.
And these characters may be creating an outlet for others and inspiring the passive to be wild.
Yet somehow, they do have a place in this, often hum drum, world.
It’s each persons’ job to monitor their own reaction. Or a parent’s job to teach skills to navigate this kind of influence.
Bottom line is we can’t blame the other guy. If they have an influence on us, we better recognize what’s going on under our own hat.
Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals.
She is a Certified Relationship Counselor. She is a Co-Founder & Creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivkirosenwald@gmail.com
