project 5/

T0 FEEL MISERABLE

E. Snegireva, Teacher, Kzyl-Orda

It is characteristic of a human being to complain. No matter how his life is turning out - successfully, happy, average - he always has sufficient reasons to find in it this or that fault, he can complain to others or to himself about real or imagined difficulties, to appear to be - in the eyes of others or in his own eyes - an unfortunate person. This conviction of his "misery," this suggestion can be so strong, that the person him- self begins to lose his perception of the real correlation in his life between the happy and the miserable. His existence begins to appear in his imagination to be so gloomy and hopeless, that his.

entire real life and all that surrounds him seems to him not to have any goal or purpose. In such a state, arguments or persua- sions "from others" cannot radically help.

Our proposal is capable of helping a person who has been in such a state for an extended period of time. One must put on very old, used things (if you cant find them, then one of your suits ' has to be sacrificed, turning it into what could be called "rags," and doing the same with a coal and shoes); write on a piece of plywood or cardboard a humble request for help and sit down on a street-corner, on the ground, having laid out a blanket with holes in it under you, and smearing your face with soot or ink. You should sit, having put a cup out in front of you for money, in this position for 2-2.5 hours. until you are seized by a real, not imagined feeling of being "unfortunate," you will experience it with your whole being, and not only in your imagination, having felt fully the entire measure of apathy and repulsion on behalf of passerbys, No matter how painful the realization of this project is, after one or two such "experi- ences" you will see your life more "positively" in all its, as it seemed to you before, "hopeless" banality, and you will see it in a different "light."

TO FEEL MISERABLE

1.Lean an old piece of plywood with a white faded surface up against the wall and write in black paint: ``Because of poor health, I cannot make a living. I have not eaten for three days. Give whatever you can.''

2. Lay out an old gray folded blanket near the wall.

3. Put a jar without a lid on an old dirty handkerchief or an old towel. Place two coins inside it.