Paranoid Patrick was afraid of everything and everyone. He imagined that monsters, big bugs, or alien creatures were all trying to kill and eat him. When he first saw me, he cried out, “Man-eating Dodo. Man-eating Dodo. Run for your lives.”

I figured that he was just fooling around so I tried to play along with him. But I couldn't catch him. He was a skinny hyperactive 17-year-old who was way too fast for a slow waddling non-flying Dodo.

One night I cornered him in the basement, and I started growling and saying, “I'm gonna bite your butt no matter what. I'm gonna eat your feet cuz they're so sweet. I'm gonna nip at your thighs like they were French fries. I'm gonna slurp your brain like it's sugar cane. I'm gonna bite your nose, here goes. I'm gonna gulp you down whole—mind, body, heart and soul.”

I tried to look meaner, hungrier, and scarier than his scariest nightmare monsters. But when I got my beak on his butt and was getting ready to take an itty bitty bite, he laughed. He laughed the laugh of all laughs and his fear of all fears disappeared.

He looked at me and finally spoke, “You're too harmless and stuffed toy-looking to be scary or dangerous. I know what you're doing. You're teaching me not to be afraid of my worst fears and nightmares. Through Dodo playfulness and goofy laughter, you've made me realize that I should never take any of them so seriously.”

From that day on, Paranoid Patrick was known as Paradise Patrick cuz he was always beaming with love. He lived in a continuous blissful state of happiness, and because he helped patients who were stressed or depressed, he was blessed.