Last week’s cartoon is a little philosophical about psychology. How much of your personality and quirks define your very existence? Or is this reality just a dream you’re having?

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Today’s cartoon is part of a syndicated feature I do for newspapers about restaurants, Daily Special. But this cartoon’s not just a waiter at work, it’s about interpretation…and money .

When money is a big concern or worry — and I think we’ve all been there at one time or another — it colors everything else. What you see, what you hear, is all filtered through any big anxiety or fear you have. You might miss things, or misinterpret them. In fact, you’re not really thinking straight.

A friend of mine, also a cartoonist, was really struggling financially a few years ago. He explained that every time he felt happy – a day at the beach, lunch with a best friend, a nice exchange with an editor – he would remember his dire financial situation , and it shut down all his good feelings immediately. It was as if there was a ceiling right above him, and he couldn’t rise above it – or even see above it.

His happiness never rose above that one point.

A lot of therapists would say, money isn’t the problem. They might be right, but I don’t buy (pun?) it. Personally, I think there’s a tipping point, and if your bank account gets dangerously low, money is indeed the biggest problem. Once your finances are in order, or at base level, at least, you’re back to normal, and all the other things that are going on.

And as for my friend? He started a side business, producing old video games, and is very successful…and is one of the most cheerful people I know.

We all deserve to bust through that ceiling!