by Bryan Walton

Created on: August 31, 2009

A Very Special Party

The other week I had a party with all the different parts of myself. I was nervous when I sent out the invitations, because there were members of my internal family whom I didn't know at all well. They visited now and again, but we never had close contact. Then there were the black sheep of the family whom none of us had ever contacted. But I was determined that this would be the bash of all time and everyone was to be invited.

The preparations didn't take long. After all, it was so easy to create the environment; I imagined multicoloured balloons in one corner of my mind and a splendid buffet in the other. If I spent a lot of time thinking about it, I might have given up the idea as too risky because there were some aspects of myself that had been carrying on a vendetta for as long as I can remember.

The first to arrive was my sister Emotion and her brood. I have to tell you that Emotion and I never got on very well. It's not that I dislike her; it's just that she is so irrational that I feel most uncomfortable if I'm around her for too long.

She has many children and some of them are great to have around, like Excitement and Enthusiasm. But others like Fear, Anger and Despair bring us all down. We had a big row many years ago, when I told Emotion that she was welcome any time, but I would not tolerate her bad kids in my home. They only live down the road, but since then, Emotion only visits very briefly. Even those visits are spoiled when I find that the children she supposedly left at home have followed her and I find Anger breaking the aluminium siding off the front of my pride, or Fear rummaging through the attic of my memories.

Emotion swept in surrounded by her children; I could see the joy in her face at being invited for the first time with all her family. Enthusiasm went streaking through the house in a flurry of boundless energy and Hope seemed so much taller and graceful than I remembered. It was the first time that I had seen Anger all scrubbed clean, and dressed up. He had clearly been told to be on his best behaviour. His mouth was set in grim determination but there was a hopeful look in his eyes as they darted from his mother to me and back again.

As I got closer to Emotion, I could see a tiny girl dressed in black cowering within the protective folds of Emotion's billowing skirt. It was Fear and she was not about to enjoy the party. She raised her downcast eyes in a furtive glance. Just for a moment, I froze. My stomach

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