Comic books
Image courtesy of Jason Valendy
There was once a man who collected a particular comic book. He buys the newest comic book each week it comes out and faithfully puts it into one of those clear bags to help preserve it. He has been doing this for years and his collection is almost complete. Every edition except #3. He has never been able to find issue #3.
In all his travels, he visits every comic book store he can find. He attends festivals and conventions in an effort to find issue #3. No matter where he turns, no one has issue #3.
After a while, the man brings his entire collection to the publisher. He speaks with archivist of the publisher and shows off the entire “almost complete” collection. Even the archivist has never seen such a compete collection of this comic and is impressed. The man asked the archivist if it is possible to have a copy of issue #3 from the archives. To which the archivist says they will look into it.
Two weeks later, the archivist called the man and said, “Good News my friend! Your collection is complete!”
The man became confused and said, “Thanks for the call, but I still am missing issue #3. How is my collection complete?”
“At the time of these early editions, the typesetter made a mistake and it turns out that your issue #4 is technically issue #3! The whole printing system is off by a number and so that makes your collection complete!'“ exclaimed the archivist.
At the sound of this Good News the man grew angry and said, “I have searched high and low for issue #3 and everyone has kept me from getting it. And now even you are in on these efforts to thwart me! I know there is an issue #3 out there and I will not let you keep me from getting it.”
Maybe you can understand the reaction of the collector. Maybe you too have heard someone say to you, "you are complete and beautiful!" but you refuse to accept or hear it. Many of us, myself included, are convinced and addicted to a sense about ourselves – that we are incomplete. We cannot accept that who we are is lovable and complete. We believe that there is an issue #3. That there must be something “out there” that we are missing, and that only if we had it, then we would be complete. When we are confronted with an idea (the Good News) that we are complete, we resist and even reject the idea. We are dependent on the story we have told ourselves that we are incomplete. So addicted in fact that any news to the contrary is not “good” at all.