It’s There When You Choose to Look For It

You can always find positivity somewhere. Over the past couple of months, I’ve needed to lessen my time on social media. Why? Because there is so much fear, uncertainty, and negativity pervading every channel, it’s difficult not to be left feeling bad. Bear in mind, I am in no way, shape, or form, advocating for putting on blinders, adopting a Pollyanna attitude, or ignoring the shit going down out there. Awareness is important because knowledge is power. What I am

What Can I Do About This?

What you can do about this is small but still significant. If, like me, you see the world going mad and feel like there must be something you can do, it’s all too easy to become discouraged. You look at the lies people accept, believe, and buy into. What seems completely ugly and horrific to you, others are just allowing. You see these so-called leaders tossing out kindness, compassion, empathy, and even just caring in the name of greed, power,

The Simple Positivity of Being

I’m here, you’re here, and that’s a very good thing. If you practice kindness, compassion, and empathy in your life – it’s really challenging right now. The surreal things being done by the US Government, people treating other people as lesser as part of resurgent prejudices, not to mention world affairs – it can feel really hopeless. When you focus on these things far, far outside of your control it’s hard to feel hope. You can do little to nothing,

It Will Never Be Perfect

Perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Lots of people hold off on projects, creations, and other work because they need to make it perfect. Right from the start they seek to have it all flawless with the “t’s” crossed and “i’s” dotted. They do everything they can to make sure they have all the metaphors in a row before doing the art, painting the painting, starting the business, or what have you. There is one very

I’m On The Lookout For My Sanity

You’re the only one who can look out for your sanity. I’m fairly certain that I lost my sanity around my freshman year of college. In fact, I spent an afternoon looking all over the campus for it. This included opening my mailbox and asking if my sanity was there, walking around calling for it like a lost dog, and then a friend said she saw it run off…with her sanity. All kidding aside, it’s increasingly difficult to maintain sanity

They Don’t Care About You

Why do you care about them? I’m not talking about your family or friends. Though I can make an argument that when you aren’t present with one another, they likely aren’t thinking about you. But that’s not the same, because they still care about you. Who I am talking about is “them.” Those included in “them” is every police officer, clergyman, business mogul, politician, celebrity, and similar people nearly always distant from you and yours. When all is said and

You Win in Life by Living Life, No Matter What

You are worthy and deserving of getting the win. A lot of the narrative in the world today is all about the win. You’re a winner or a loser. Take this side, you’re a winner; take that side, you’re a loser. Be like that guy you will win; be like that guy you will lose. This comes with a huge number of false equivalences, outright lies, and distractions. Then, a lot of impressions get made that create unnecessary competition, division,

Pick Your Battles and Know Your Allies

What can you do in the face of this madness? How the fuck did we get here? Why do they think starting a trade war will do anyone any good at all? Oh, right, because they only care about what lines their pockets and fuck the rest of us. I’m scared. I can’t deny that. Watching the nation that I call home being ripped apart by this ludicrous, unconscionable excuse for a human being and his sycophants is depressing, horrifying,

It’s Okay to Get it Wrong and F*ck it Up

The surprising positivity in being imperfect. You have screwed up before. You chose the wrong toothpaste, an inconsiderate lover, the wrong time to take a trip, the wrong job, and tons of other things both big and small. Congratulations, you are a human being. Well done. Yet you are constantly being bombarded by messages about perfection, buying “X” to look good, doing “Y” to feel good, and the like, in a way that makes getting it wrong and fucking it

It Helps to Be Able to Improvise

Sometimes, the best way through is to make it up as you go along. When I began to learn melee combat in medieval fencing, a key phrase always stuck with me. No plan survives contact with the enemy. And it’s true. The “enemy”, be it a physical opponent or an intangible like Resistance, is unpredictable. You can’t and don’t know what they’ll do, how they’ll do it, or much of anything, really. Part of this is because you are the

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