Besides being a fun topic for Halloween costumes, classic horror movies, and summer schlock busters Mummies are people we have to deal with in life. Mummies are people who cut themselves off from the world around them. Not necessarily literally although there are some that becomes hermits entombing themselves in their safe environments, many times living in the past as much as possible.
And that is one type of Mummy, the person who wraps themselves up in the tatters of the past, trying to make shreds of old clothes, of old habits, past events, what was and what could have been, and try to have that be their life right now. We’ve all met them. The person who talks about their life 20 years ago as if it was today. Who talks about themselves as a child even though they are 30 and on their own. The man who wanders around lost because his glory days are gone, the woman who talks as if she’s still married even though the divorce was complete 10 years ago. The one person at work who tells the same stories over and over again like a doll with a voice recording that has only 5 phrases. These people slowly desiccate into a shell which can barely connect with the world around them and at some time they will either be a historical relic or something will truly touch them and they will disappear in a wisp of dust.
The other type of Mummy is the one that is defending itself from the onslaught of the world. Think of the commercials where everything in the house is wrapped up in bubble wrap. If it’s carefully preserved then time can’t touch it, change can’t every happen, everything will stay exactly perfect and nothing can ever get hurt. It’s the boy in the bubble concept. They can’t deal with change so they perfect preservation and conservation of their lives into an art form. It’s beautiful, but in a somewhat creepy way. The only way to connect to them, if they will allow it, is to enter into the bubble and be bubbled as well, which isn’t a good idea. These types of Mummies think they are doing what’s best and have great arguments for this, but in fact they have trapped themselves in a non-life, in the fake life of a museum exhibit. Supposedly it will be important someday for someone, but in reality it just sucks the joy out of life and leaves the semblance of it behind.
Just like in the movies, there’s not much you can do about a Mummy except avoid it. Unless you’re the plucky hero of the plot that’s going to defeat the bad guy, which makes you special or doomed or specially doomed. Depends on the movie, I guess. For the rest of us, avoidance is good. You can’t do much to help them, they are working too hard to avoid change and what you would be proposing is change. Don’t let them drag you into their tomb, run away if necessary, and for goodness sake don’t try to wake them. That’s when havoc starts.
