It’s not the facts or evidence that count, but the directions they drive you to that carries “weight”.
It’s not what you look at that matters. It’s what you see. — Henry David Thoreau
Our Weight Watchers (WW) Zoom workshop ended with this quote. Two people can “look at” the same fact and reach different conclusions based on attitude and experience.
Imagine Anna and Beth, both 60, having lost 15 pounds and only five pounds away from their goal. At weigh-in, each is looking at the same number. Despite having had seven blue dot days, both gained a pound despite expecting to lose at least two pounds because they did well with food, drinking water and exercise. …
Cory sitting on the carpet in his bedroom thinking about the only one he’d really miss. Ben, his best friend, a born-again Christian invited him to come to see a faith-healer so he could be “delivered” from the voices. But Cory had absolutely NO use for a god who’d made him gay and fat — especially a god who hated gays
The “magic pills” should take effect soon. The man in black told him they would work. He would hear and see only beautiful things. He washed down the pills in several ounces of his step-father’s gin. …
Stuff your stereotypes and consider compassion
Social stigma happens when we unjustly treat people based on characteristics they can’t control: race, gender, age, or sexual orientation. It also happens based on what is much harder and maybe impossible to change: employment status, body size and vaccination reservation.
Social shaming, on the other hand, is for what others want us to change, for what they believe is possible or even easy to change. It is for what we have valid and strong reasons not to change.
It’s “politically incorrect” to stigmatize those who are different. But these rules disintegrate when we believe the other one can change…
What we wear is a form of self-expression and freedom of expression is disappearing.
I first felt drawn to cover my head at Mass in 2009. Though I hadn’t planned it, the first time I veiled at Mass was on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. I was called to and accepted in the Secular Order of Mount Carmel in 2008, so this timing was significant.
Two years later in 2011, I was discerning a call to wear a head covering full time. It was important that I be able to clearly articulate what this practice meant to me. I watched a lot of YouTube videos for ideas on how to tie…
A way to get “relational”
I responded to Tom Kuegler’s article by asking “What stops us from curating each others’ work?” but it was Jimmy Misner Jr.’s reply that got me thinking. Could individual Medium writers “curate” other writers in a Medium article —just not by Medium’s definition or process?
1 — Thematic
I would choose a narrow topic, stoicism for example. The introduction would be two or three sentences about why the reader would benefit from reading the three to five articles listed and linked in the body. For each article, I’d tag the author and state what I found most helpful in one or two sentences…
Is it limited to new words written on a page or typed on a screen?
During these three months of lockdown, I’ve been struggling with expectations surrounding what I “need” to have in order to write and what it means to have “written” on any given day. One of my barriers is the inner “demand” to have at least one hour of guaranteed uninterrupted time before I’ll even consider sitting to write. If I get interrupted, I completely lose my train of thought. I hate losing my flow once I get it, so I find I refuse to even start. I really miss my afternoons at Tim Hortons. …
I understand this in the context of improvisation on the piano. If it's just intelligence, I understand which chords work with which scales (keys). I know strategies on how to play chords in different ways, how to play bass notes with the left hand while playing chords with the right, and how to play random notes from the scale with the right hand while playing chords with the left.
If my fingers can't do what my brain is imagining, I can't create new melodies. There is no mastery. When it comes to "writing every day", I don't think writing anything…
If I have a choice, I’ll NOT give up work from home.
In Sam Westreich, PhD’s article Please, Account For Shadow Work, he outlines all the extra effort needed if we return to full-time work in the office. How many of us will actually be given a choice to continue with the work from home (WFH) model?
My situation is unusual since I only work 10 hours per week and live 10 minutes walk from the office.. As a SAS programmer, I have all I need at home and there’s usually a shortage of office space.
The “shadow work” I avoid only includes dressing up, packing a snack. Everything else, I’d be doing anyway. As an introvert, I don’t miss the social part of work. Another great benefit of WFH is that I’m not tempted by the treats people bring in and I don’t feel obligated to attend work “lunches”.
Or does it even matter?
Is “having a passion” seriously overrated? Does not knowing what mine is or not having one at all make me socially deficient? I continue to cycle through a wide range of interests. Being a sedentary sort, I enjoy activities that stimulate me intellectually and creatively, from categorical logic to crochet and puzzles to piano.
If I was dropped on a desert island with food, shelter and nothing else for a month, what would I miss most? When I need to get up early, what will I stay up way too late doing? What will I make sure to bring with…
Remedies for relief
Whether it’s lockdown lethargy, an undiagnosed case of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), or some other cause, passion for writing and interest in other creative hobbies have been draining out of my soul like the slow steady drip of a leaky kitchen faucet. I’ve had oodles of time to write during these past three months.
Even though I enjoy writing since I don’t get paid to write what I’ve no interest in, I’m avoiding writing words on a page or typing them on a screen. …
