…The problem with the clinical, psychological idea of a narcissistic personality disorder is that the narcissists aren’t really self-obsessed; they’re obsessed with how they appear to others. The clinical narcissist doesn’t love themselves as they are; they want to love themselves, but can never live up to the image of themselves that would be worthy of that love and need other people to do this for them. When Narcissus stared at himself in that pool; that’s not what he was really doing. He literally fell in love with himself, as he was, as he appeared to himself…

Lately I’ve rekindled a love of jigsaw puzzles I first developed in childhood. My wife and I bought a David Bowie puzzle shortly after our beloved dog Chewie passed away last January. We also got a puzzle as a gift from some friends a bit before that. This year, being a mature, middle-aged man, my wife bought me a He-Man puzzle for an early birthday present. Just about everything I love to do has a “puzzle” element to it; there’s a way that putting together puzzles makes your brain work that really appeals to me and that reflects in my other goals.