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Wednesday, May. 8, 2024

1:08am EDT

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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 GoT Survivor!

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.

September 17, 2020 at 12:02am

#993536

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

Artist: Fall Out Boy
Song: Suger We're Goin Down
[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt: What life lessons have you had to learn the hard way?

I'm saving everyone's responses to my last entry for future reference when I feel invisible at work because I'm sure that's bound to happen at some point. Not so much right now because we've all been working from home for almost my entire time with the company. But, in the not so distant future (maybe)...

Before I answer the prompt, if you're planning on doing NaNoWriMo or OctoPrep this fall, you can add me

on the official NaNoWriMo site. I decided to do OctoPrep next month, but I'm planning on handwriting all of it on my tablet and then I'll convert it to text and organize it ahead of November. I haven't tried NaNo since I completed it in 2015. Which brings me to my first lesson of this entry...

You should do most things how you want and when you want.
I'm focusing right now on participating in things how I want to participate in them. I have a long track record of trying to appease the leaders of any given group of people (work group, family group, WDC community) and it actually tends to diminish my personal experiences.

Instead of growing as a person/worker/writer, I try to meet the expectations that have been placed onto all of us and it doesn't really seem to pay off that frequently. At the end of the day, I'm often like, "I could've used that time to do X, Y, Z and gotten the same result."

That sounds more negative and bitter than it's intended. It's more like I'm reminding myself now that I have every right to experience things at my pace or in my own way whether or not that aligns with what someone else wants me to do. And even doing so, I'll likely still be received the same way.

You don't have to be friends with everyone.
Oh, hey, this is a recent revelation. I'm so friendly and used to getting along with people that really only in the past couple years have I realized that, not only do you not need to be friends with everyone, you also can't be friends with everyone.

See, what I used to do is I'd let people push me around and talk down to me as much as they wanted. While I'd be thinking, man, this person's kinda a dick, what I'd say would not align with my thoughts. What I'd say is, "Well, different strokes." Or, "I respect your opinion even though it's different than mine."

But something changed, and I can remember the exact second it changed. I was talking to someone who was claiming to be persecuted for their opinion. Of course, I thought damn, that sucks. Everyone has a right to their opinion even if I might not agree with it. So I had them elaborate and it turns out their "opinion" was something egregiously hateful against an entire group of people.

That's when I realized that we can still be friends if you eat meat and I don't, or you like Microsoft and I like Apple, or you prefer structured poetry and I prefer free verse.

We cannot be friends if you're homophobic and I'm not, or you're sexist and I'm not, or you're racist and I'm not.

These are not things that can be compromised, nor should they be. These "opinions" have no place in 2020 society. It's like earlier in the year when I think Robert Waltz

had a great entry about how anti-science opinions are not comparable to scientifically proven facts and shouldn't be given the same weight. There are no "two sides" about it, and I won't try to get along with someone who subsists on hatred and anti-intellectualism.

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

8 Like • Comment • View 7 comments

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