The Wizard's Little Black Book Of Security

Liam sat despondent, looking somewhat dishevelled as he explained his dilemma. The therapist, Sarah, nodded as he talked about his security job. He had an appointment just before he had to go back to his job agency, and was fretting. People had been depressed, and anxious, and taking out their frustrations on each other since being allowed back into bars in Australia after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liam was feeling the brunt of their frustration, as whenever he attended work previously to his appointment on the Monday, his shifts he had found stressful. Bar attendees were drunk, not in control of themselves and hostile. Recalling one of the old men who was subsequently banned from the hotel, he shuddered as he visibly shifted in his chair.

“They have started making death threats against me,” Liam uttered, and his therapist, Sarah, leaned forward and gently patted him on the knee.

“Have you heard of Carl Jung?” Sarah offered quietly.

“I believe so, he talked about how when you think about something or dream about something, then you often have it appear in your life. It happened to a woman he was counselling - a beetle flew in through the window of Jung’s office that she had dreamed about,” Liam was deep in introspection.

“Right,” Sarah agreed “You’re obviously smart and well aware of some psychological concepts then.”

“So how does this help me with the stress of my security job, and people making threats?” Liam was curious, his brow furrowed as he tilted his head and made a deep gazing eye contact at his therapist. She nodded, agreeing with his question, and contemplated.

“Well, what you think about can come into being in your life,” Sarah corrected her hair briefly by a gentle stroke across her scalp, while she looked out the window.

“So, you’re saying that all of the violence and the threats that I have been thinking about lately have been appearing in my life?” Liam offered in a sincere tone.

“Yes, Liam, they have, and you have a notebook right, that black notebook that you carry about with you?” Sarah quipped.

“I don’t think I am going to have a black book fly in through the window,” Liam laughed, thinking about his notebook that he already carried about, and held it up to the light, in front of Sarah.

“No, but write in there how you resolve everything, and write that you every situation in your life is calmly and peacefully resolved even before you need to address it,” Sarah held both her hands out in a gesture that emphasised her point.

“Oh, that is very Carl Jung, that is a winner,” Liam stated, “my little black book is almost summoning Carl Jung as a Security Wizard.”

Sarah laughed as she continued the session with Liam, and he then signed the paperwork for the bill, and made another appointment for next month. He penned into his notebook the appointment, and with a deft hand, put on his old style bowler hat, and walked out the window. Though born in the beginning of the 21st century he had a dapper styling that people mistook for someone from another time, almost the ghost of Nikola Tesla, such was his appearance.

The following weekend, Liam was finalising the notes he had for the shift that night, and he noted that everything had gone surprisingly well. He saw that he was able to start the new job that was completely stress free, and it was at a retail mall, where he simply needed to walk about and greet people, and encourage them to be mindful of social distancing.

Liam looked across in the distance as he saw a genteel elderly man, attempting to pick up a book as he hunched across his cane, and then he walked across directly.

“Can I help you Sir?” Liam questioned?

“Oh, it’s alright, I just recalled that I needed to go to the taxi rank,” and the man started to walk away. His glasses were very old style and Liam was perplexed as the man seemed to have a curious grin and one arched eyebrow. The man wore a bow tie, and Liam thought that it was quaint, and then turned and helped another lady into the elevator behind him.

Liam suddenly felt another lady tug on him and offered him a black notebook.

“I believe this is yours?”

Liam looked at the cover, a very old leather bound book, and the lady kept walking after handing him the book.

On the front cover was written in bold white imprinted lettering: The Security Guards Notebook of Wizardry. In smaller type was: Written by Carl Jung.

Liam sat up immediately with a start, the morning after after his shift, and grinned.