Mind Games

I can't stop playing

Mental Pinball

My brain careens from one thought to the next, bumping into an emotionally-charged memory, then rolling off in another direction. Sure, I have some agency in this. But the tiny paddles I flip do little to control my bouncing thoughts. The ball is in play. I must keep going, or lose my quarter.

Perpetual Emotion Machine

When I experience the heights of emotion—joy, relief, exhilaration—I can’t stay in that feeling for more than a moment. Soon I’m right back to base level. Not too happy, not too sad. Maybe a bit annoyed. A shield of sarcasm to protect me. At some point this gets boring. So I scale the rickety wheel of elevated feeling. And I reach a heightened state of being—temporarily.

Emotional Tetris

Or better yet: Conversational Tetris. Oh, to be someone who deftly navigates every social situation with grace and composure. But I do the worst thing—I start analyzing my next move. Soon I miss a place to interject an idea. I get so hung up on anticipating my next move that I fail to listen. And the blocks pile up without a satisfying order. I’m left wondering why I ended up conveying nothing I actually wanted to say.

GAME OVER.

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These comics appear in my latest book THINKING ABOUT THINKING, published by Abrams ComicArts.

Collect the entire Incidental Comics set from Bookshop.org or your favorite local bookstore.