The Ramblings of the Titanium Don

Why Is Genuine Gratitude Always Positive?

Tangible or intangible, big or small, gratitude is always empowering. There is no such thing as negative gratitude. Sure, there’s false gratitude, but that’s not gratitude. Genuine, true, real gratitude is always positive.   Genuine gratitude is an expression of appreciation. Appreciation is a direct pathway to kindness, compassion, and empathy. Everyone, everywhere, desires kindness, compassion, and empathy (sometimes inappropriately jealously, which is how we get so many who want it but refuse to give it. But I digress). Kindness,

Why Do I Feel This Way?

Short answer – because life is a crazy, unpredictable ride. For the record, depression sucks. Most of the time I keep the black dog at bay. I do my mindfulness, meditation, breathing exercises, fencing, take my meds, talk to my therapist, and other self-care actions regularly. Yet, I’m only human. Sometimes thinky-thoughts make me feel sad, rainy grey skies feel oppressive, and depression sits on my chest like my cat, but without the calming purr. Depression can be clinical, seasonal,

Why Are Intentions and Feelings Frequently Misaligned?

No matter your intentions, you have zero control over anyone’s feelings but your own. Lots of people approach things with good intentions. But what does that mean? It means that you might say or do something that’s not intended to be hurtful, mean, offensive, or otherwise upsetting. You have good or neutral – not bad – intentions. How come, even when your intentions are neutral or good, you still cause hurt to someone? Because you can control the feelings of

What Is a Cost Analysis of Life Choices?

Every choice you make has a cost. This is highly variable and subjective. Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This is applicable, however, beyond the laws of motion. For anything and everything that you do – literal or figurative – there will be a reaction. Some approach this from the notion that actions have consequences. I look at it as every choice you make is an action you

You Don’t Need to Reclaim Your Past to Heal Your Past

You can only learn from the past but can’t return to it. Do you have trauma from your past? Have you experienced pain, suffering, sadness, and the like? If you’re human, then you probably have had some or all of the above experiences. Some of them you probably don’t ever desire to recall or return to again. But some you might desire to redo or undo, and others you might desire to return to – with what you know now

Feelings and Emotions Are in a Constant State of Flux

This is why toxic positivity is so dangerous. Nobody lives a perfect life. You’ve had both good days and bad days in your life. Like it or not, life has had its ups and downs. Nobody ever experiences just one emotion or feeling. And that’s a good thing. Why? Because you need to experience it all. That’s part of living life. Life is made up of many a paradox and uncountable extremes. But most of life occurs somewhere between any

How Do You Release an Emotion You Can’t Identify?

Working with an emotion you can’t give a name to is challenging. As I strive to walk my chosen paths in life, I find that there are times I must confront subconscious matters. Many of these get tied to old, outdated beliefs and values. Some are tied to habits. All of these exist in the subconscious and can only, thus, be accessed consciously with effort. Thoughts and feelings are tenets of the present. Hence, they can only be truly known

Regret Does You No Good – Because You Can’t Unring That Bell

Time may be cyclical, but life moves in only one direction – and regret doesn’t serve you. Regret can be a very sticky topic. And there are lots of things that cause regret. Based on the definition at dictionary.com, regret is a feeling of remorse, a sense of loss, and coinciding disappointment. In other words, the fear of missing out (FOMO) realized. I woulda, coulda, shoulda – but didn’t. The problem with regret is that it’s unactionable. You can’t do

Is It Possible to Both Be Okay and Not Okay?

I’m pretty sure okay and not okay coexisting is rather common. It occurred to me today that while I’m mostly okay, overall – I’m not okay. A lot of different things have happened in the past 2 months that are the reason why I’m not okay. After successfully rolling multiple 20s since the winter of 2020, I rolled a 1 at Christmastime and failed to dodge COVID. Very, very fortunately I had a mild case. This I attribute to being

What Do You Do When You Feel Like You Can’t Win?

When you feel like you can’t win you always have options. The past couple of weeks have not been good. I got COVID. Even though I took lots of precautions and was as vaccinated and boosted as possible – I still got sick. However – it was no worse than a cold, and there seem to be no lingering effects. Vaccines work – thank you, science. Right on top of that, my mother-in-law had to be hospitalized. Without oversharing, she’s

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