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Sunday, May. 19, 2024

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Are You Listening???

by Charlie ~

Rated: GC · Book · Emotional · #2181458

A journey of self-improvement - or not.

Sup? I'm Char.
You may know me from timeless classics such as

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and

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I blog for things like

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FORUM

30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS

(13+)
WDC's Longest Running Blog Competition - Hiatus
#1786069 by Fivesixer

FORUM

JAFBG

(XGC)
Because real life isn't always roses and sunshine...
#2094931 by Elisa the Bunny Stik

[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]
Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya
They say jump and ya say "how high?"
Ya braindead, ya got a fuckin' bullet in ya head

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

intuey

Jul 22, 2023 at 8:05am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Hey Char, It's been a while since I've touched base with you. I'm so sorry for your loss. The last thing people should say is everyone loses their grandparents eventually, or it will get better with time. It's the last thing you want to hear when you're hurting. Death sucks, long-lasting illness sucks! Having to decide to let the person go to keep them from suffering REALLY SUCKS! I think the only ones who can understand truly just how much are those who have had to make that decision. My heart breaks for you.

I'm not religious, but I do have a strong faith in God. I call myself spiritual because I don't agree with all the rules and regulations of religion. I do know I will see my family and friends again, and this is a great comfort. I can only imagine how much more painful the death of loved ones is without this belief. But you're right, it can't be faked. But it is a beautiful thing.

Having mental health issues during times like this makes it even harder to go through. I know what you mean about seeing things that aren't there. I'd walk into a room, and say, "Where's Star?" and she would be sitting right in front of me. When I looked, I swear I saw an empty chair. The mind is crazy. It gives new meaning to a mind of its own

Some time has passed since you wrote this. I don't know when you'll see this but know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I'm sending good energy your way. I hope you're doing better. I look forward to hearing from you.

Aiva Raine

Mar 28, 2023 at 9:40pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'm sorry for your loss. I know they are shitty sounding words that don't even attempt to fill or fix, but they're meant in sincerity.

Having lost several people the best advice I was ever given was when life gets too hard- take it at your own pace. If a day is too much- cope with an hour at a time. If that's too much, take it ten minutes at a time. If that's too much- then you deal with one minute at a time. Work through life and grief at your pace. And don't ever feel guilty because you feel sad. And if you can- find one positive in each chunk of time- even if it's something as little as the beauty of sunlight on a leaf or the softness of your shirt. And ask for help if you need it.

Elle - on hiatus

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:29pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Aw, Charlie, I'm so sorry. It's a shit thing to go through whether it's sudden or not. And just because everyone goes through it, doesn't make it easier. It also doesn't take into account that you were closer to them than your parents. Nobody says 'Oh, everyone loses their parents eventually' do they? Surely not. And that's what's happened here really. I'm actually glad you've got an appointment with a professional tomorrow, because they might be able to help you with getting through that initial devastation.

When my dad lost his mother, he really struggled with his own lack of religion. As you say, there is some comfort in believing they've gone to a better place, been reunited with loved ones, that you'll see them again, and so on. For most of my life, Dad would say 'Religion is a crutch for the weak', but I definitely saw him struggle with the finality of it when he lost his mother, the person he was probably closest to.

My thoughts are with you.

1 Like

~Minja~

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:21pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Crazy stuff, grief. If you want to talk about it, message me always.

1 Like

QPdoll

Mar 7, 2023 at 6:21am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I understand what you mean about wanting to tell your grandmother something. I did the same thing after my grandmother passed. I was at home and the first thing I thought was to call grandma. I picked up the phone and realized that she wouldn't answer. It's so tough losing your grandparents, especially as close as you were. I don't have any magic words, but take care of yourself. It's what they would want.

1 Like

Robert Waltz

Mar 6, 2023 at 10:31pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Take care of yourself during this difficult time.

1 Like

Anni Pon

Mar 6, 2023 at 9:06pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I know it doesn't help any, but I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine much worse than losing a parent or parental figure. They represent stability and safety, you grew up with them, and you've relied on them for most, if not all, of your life. You're right, the initial devastation will fade and things won't feel so fresh. But, as you know, grief never really goes away. It just becomes a permanent part of you.

It's horrible that you only got a couple days worth of bereavement! That's not even long enough for the shock to wear off enough to START grieving. I hope you have the support of someone else in your life to help you through this dark time. Take it easy on yourself in the mean time, that's all you really can do. Taking care of your physical self, eating and sleeping, is critical. Sleep deprivation and hunger will make things feel a million times worse than they actually are (which, for the record, is already pretty bad).

1 Like

Harlow Flick, Right Fielder

Mar 6, 2023 at 8:56pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

This is such a very human thing, isn't it.

“I think there is nearly an overwhelming sadness to the human predicament.” - Skinny Boy Hill

BOOM! This ain’t no whipped cream pie I’m tossing.

1 Like

Cinn

Feb 20, 2023 at 9:34pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I actually pretty much love this one. Nice, man...

Cinn

Feb 19, 2023 at 11:07am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'd say that more freedom for participants would attract more people. One obvious example that I've never understood is fiction vs poetry. If it's an activity, not a contest, why not allow people to explore whatever the theme of your activity is with whatever type of writing that want to do?

I've actually written for countless contests/activities over the years but never entered... because they inspired me, but I don't fit within the guidelines. Max rating too low, items required (book entries only over here), no poetry accepted, etc.

I know well why people restrict writers' freedom, but they're also restricting the number of participants they'll get. I still just take the inspiration where I can get it.

November 6, 2020 at 1:11am

#997757

On the grid and exhausted

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt: Would you ever take a trip to a place "off the grid?" Where would you go?

After the week I've had, I would gladly go off the grid for a while. I've been so stressed out/anxious this week that every possible chronic pain issue I have is at maximum flare up.

I know people are like, "Oh, just forget about it. Just ignore it." But, like, it's highkey kind of difficult to ignore the president of your country trying to de-legitimize your voting process only in places where he's losing.

Stop counting where I'm winning.

Keep counting where I'm losing.

It goes beyond a "sides" thing. I would never, regardless of party affiliation, defend a candidate screaming voter fraud only in places where they're losing with absolutely no evidence to support the claim whatsoever.

It is disturbing. If our country had any soul left, we would all agree that mail in and absentee ballots are not "illegal" votes. We would all agree that every person's vote matters.

What happened to the country that adults told me to be patriotic about as a child? The country that was presented to me then would never stand by a presidential candidate calling on his supporters to reject our democracy.

Trump supporters can feel free to take their U.S. flags down any time now because they're just about as anti-American as I can imagine.

I know this isn’t what I’m supposed to be writing about. It’s hard because I’m not sleeping (even before the election), my pain level is like a 7 on the pain scale most of the time, and I’m desperately trying to reconcile between what I was told this country was and what it has actually turned out to be. I just want to be able to make sense of things.

But I swear, as soon as the election results are finalized and the loser and his supporters take the L and move on, I’ll at least try to mentally get off the grid. I’ll try to check out from the news and everything related to it for a while. It’s tough with the pandemic. It’s funny because I had people tell me that covid would magically disappear after November 3rd. Woke up bright and early this morning to the news: “Over 100K new covid cases in the U.S. for the first time ever yesterday.” Along with a map of pretty much the entire country in dark orange and red territory. New record cases in my state too.

I’m not trying to control things that are out of my control. I’m just in the process of learning to accept them for what they are. There’s a difference, I think. And also, some things no matter how out of your control shouldn’t simply be accepted. There’s a thin line there too.

It will be nice, hopefully in the near future, when the news is boring again and you’re like, “How is that news? Must not be much going on today.” I’m looking forward to not having to hear, “Did you see what the president said on Twitter?” sixteen times a week. Just being able to check out mentally from all of that is about as off the grid as I can imagine for the time being.

Though as I’ve mentioned before in my blog, I’d love to visit the countryside of Italy after the pandemic. My in-laws go every summer and actually intended to take me along this summer as a graduation gift until the virus ravaged everything. But I hope there will be future opportunities to go off the grid there with a good book and a glass of water because that’s all I really want right now.

I just want peace of mind and I think we all desperately need that after this year.

Stoic Thought of the Day: "The soul does violence to itself when it is overpowered by pleasure or by pain." -Marcus Aurelius

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