Office Decor
Writing about the Magic 8 Ball in my office in last week’s blog got me to thinking about the way I’ve decorated my work space. In the more than three years I’ve been this particular office, I have brought some personal touches beyond diplomas.
Now, I will tell you there are some counselors and therapists out there who don’t like to give away anything about their personal lives. They might consider it an intrusion into the therapeutic relationship. I don’t agree.
Maybe it’s my background as a longtime journalist, but I equate this issue about office decor to how I saw my work in journalism with sources. I built journalistic connection by getting to know a little about them as people and sharing about myself, too. I feel the same about counseling. I want my clients to know me as a human being; with a life, with interests.
Hence, in my office are mementos that at times promote conversation and connection. These include:
My late father’s fleece winter hat (circa 1950s).
A New York City subway map
A framed tree of life jigsaw puzzle (put together by my wife, Terrie, and me)
A cue ball, representing billiards, one of my pastimes.
The aluminum plate that was the front page of the Winston-Salem Journal the day Darryl Hunt was exonerated and freed of a murder he didn’t commit.
I have many other doo-dads from different times of my life—10 of them appear in the photo with this blog, including the aforementioned cue ball. It would take too long to explain their significance, but one of them (the little orange-and-yellow plastic puzzle on the left in the image) is the oldest “toy” I ever had, probably a hand-me-down from my sisters.
In my office are a fair number of my own books, too, fiction and non-fiction. Some of these are from my journalism years, some from much further back and, as you might imagine, many from my present-day career. Three of my all-time favorite books are on the very top shelf near the ceiling: Clockers, a novel by my favorite author, Richard Price; Snow in August, a unique fable-like tale by the late journalist Pete Hamill; and Ball Four, the seminal book at professional baseball life by the late Jim Bouton.
On the floor leaning up against the bookshelves are framed images from concerts I attended of my two favorite musicians, Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny. The Magic 8 Ball that was the star of last week’s blog sits on a bookshelf just above them.
In the 2009 movie “Up in the Air,” about a corporate downsizer who fires workers for companies too scared to do it themselves, George Clooney’s character has a side gig giving motivational speeches on the theme of, “What’s in your backpack?” The idea he espouses is that people should be offloading the baggage of their life, from relationships to material goods. Clooney’s character learns by movie’s end that his philosophy is bunk.
My office reflects my philosophy: We collect things over the course of our lives and they create the stories of who we are. If I can use one of those stories to connect with a client struggling and help them in their search for knowledge, balance and meaning, why wouldn’t I?
How do you decorate your work space?