Speaking to a friend, I realised that OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, if you look closely, and perhaps against your expectations, is present in every one of us, to some extent. We were relating our own experiences with OCD to each other, which led to some funny tales. I care enough to record some of them here.
You know when you're locking the door? And you put the key in the padlock hole and turn it around, the lock clicks heavily into place and you feel it in your hands. You know the job's done but then again, is it? Is the lock really locked or is it just pretending? Maybe its just a mechanical tick - an anomaly - and doesn't really mean the lock clicked into place at all. So you pull the lock a little more to check if it really is locked, downwards, sharply. It is. You turn to leave. But wait, is the lock really around the hook? There's no other hook or hole anywhere near but maybe you've just hooked it onto the bloody door handle. You check to see if the lock's around the hook then, bending a little to do so. It is. But wait, is the handle bolted down? Lifty lift - check. And you leav... wait, is the bolt in the wall hole? Is it? Push a little - all the way through. Yeah. Lets leave.
Ever had this mental itch when you're walking down a tiled floor? There are cracks between the tiles. They're black. They look deep. Maybe they run all the way through the floor and through the Earth crust all the way through to it's core. And if you step on it, you may just fall through. You avoid them altogether, placing your foot carefully on the centre of each tile if they're small (the tiles), or spacing two or more steps equally from either end of the tile if they're bigger.
Hindu mythology (or do I mean religion? I feel another blog on mythology versus religion coming up) has it that paper is Vidya, or knowledge, which is sacred. It's the form of a Goddess as well. So, Hindu tradition is to never offend any form of paper. Indian culture (and presumably most oriental cultures) considers it an irreverent act if one's feet touch anything holy or divine. Occasionally, when you're lying in bed, probably just lazing around and there are a few newspapers lying at the bottom of the bed. Your feet, in one regrettable movement brush the newspapers. And now you're in a dilemma because you must get up and kiss the newspaper to show your penance for having disrespected it but the problem is you really don't want to get off the bed. Your cultural conditioning keeps nagging at the back of your mind as you fight to keep it at bay, until you finally succumb and do the deed.
Shoelace tying, just after we've learnt how to do it. You're tying them by yourself (now) and you make the knot. You're not so happy with it somehow. The two loops don't feel the same strength. One's tighter, the other's looser, a tiny bit - no a little bit, more - yeah that much tighter, loser. You've got to equal them out. They must be the same. Pull a little, tug a little, now a little that way, done! Are they the same length - those loops? Bah, never mind. Let's go to school.
You know when you're locking the door? And you put the key in the padlock hole and turn it around, the lock clicks heavily into place and you feel it in your hands. You know the job's done but then again, is it? Is the lock really locked or is it just pretending? Maybe its just a mechanical tick - an anomaly - and doesn't really mean the lock clicked into place at all. So you pull the lock a little more to check if it really is locked, downwards, sharply. It is. You turn to leave. But wait, is the lock really around the hook? There's no other hook or hole anywhere near but maybe you've just hooked it onto the bloody door handle. You check to see if the lock's around the hook then, bending a little to do so. It is. But wait, is the handle bolted down? Lifty lift - check. And you leav... wait, is the bolt in the wall hole? Is it? Push a little - all the way through. Yeah. Lets leave.
Ever had this mental itch when you're walking down a tiled floor? There are cracks between the tiles. They're black. They look deep. Maybe they run all the way through the floor and through the Earth crust all the way through to it's core. And if you step on it, you may just fall through. You avoid them altogether, placing your foot carefully on the centre of each tile if they're small (the tiles), or spacing two or more steps equally from either end of the tile if they're bigger.
Hindu mythology (or do I mean religion? I feel another blog on mythology versus religion coming up) has it that paper is Vidya, or knowledge, which is sacred. It's the form of a Goddess as well. So, Hindu tradition is to never offend any form of paper. Indian culture (and presumably most oriental cultures) considers it an irreverent act if one's feet touch anything holy or divine. Occasionally, when you're lying in bed, probably just lazing around and there are a few newspapers lying at the bottom of the bed. Your feet, in one regrettable movement brush the newspapers. And now you're in a dilemma because you must get up and kiss the newspaper to show your penance for having disrespected it but the problem is you really don't want to get off the bed. Your cultural conditioning keeps nagging at the back of your mind as you fight to keep it at bay, until you finally succumb and do the deed.
Shoelace tying, just after we've learnt how to do it. You're tying them by yourself (now) and you make the knot. You're not so happy with it somehow. The two loops don't feel the same strength. One's tighter, the other's looser, a tiny bit - no a little bit, more - yeah that much tighter, loser. You've got to equal them out. They must be the same. Pull a little, tug a little, now a little that way, done! Are they the same length - those loops? Bah, never mind. Let's go to school.
