This is a daily journal! Some things I love: rakugo, kabuki, ukiyo-e paintings, verbally repeating stuff, mountain bikes, urban planning, underwater caves, the sound of other languages, physics paradoxes, weird instruments, hot weather, and animation.
492 posts
I'm Sitting Here In Silence With My Feelings And Wow It Hurts. Usually I Rush To Video Games, Books,
I'm sitting here in silence with my feelings and wow it hurts. Usually I rush to video games, books, or food to numb the sting. I haven't dared to noticed the silent pain.
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“As the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations to rise, but shines forth and is welcomed by all: so you also should not wait for clapping of hands and shouts and praise to do your duty; but do good of your own accord, and you will be loved like the sun.”
— Epictetus, Fragments
I'm grateful for my car not breaking down in the past few months (knock on wood!)
Daily Gratitude
March 7, 2024
What are you grateful for today?
Welcome to my gratitude support group! All are welcome to be a part of the gratitude crew. Re-blog, write a note or send an ask as often as makes sense for you (just once, every day, twice a year, a few times a month— doesn’t matter!)
I tag some of the crew several times a week. If you’d like to be on the tag list let me know.
All posts will be tagged ‘resiliencewithin’s daily gratitude group’.
Prompt (if you want): No prompt today.
Today is apparently ANGRY STABBY BIRB DAY.
I was taking a walk on the boardwalk out near Bolstadt in Long Beach, when I came across this western grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis) stranded on the path ahead of me. It looked alert and uninjured, so chances were just that it couldn't take flight off of the hard surface, but I called Peninsula Wild Care anyway to see if they wanted to bring it in for a checkup.
They quickly coordinated a couple of volunteers to meet me nearby, and I needed to get the grebe out of the way since a lot of people walk their dogs there and not all of them are on leashes. I figured okay, this is a relatively small bird, not as big as the muscovies I've carted around on the farm, and it seems calm, right?
NOPE. As I tried to gently reach for the grebe it turned from a calm, if confused pile of feathers on the decking to Stabby McStabberson, and I very nearly got jabbed and nipped a few times by a long, pointy beak attached to a surprisingly agile and very much NOT happy bird. I ended up having to take my hoodie off and dropping it over the entire grebe, and only when the lights were out could I bundle it up and carry it over to the meeting place.
Since it was pretty energetic, not obviously sick or injured, and its body condition felt decent (at least through the hoodie) I'm hoping it's going to get released soon enough after a checkup and a nice meal of fish. Many waterbirds have a lot of trouble taking off from hard surfaces because their feet are so far back on their bodies--which is great for swimming and water takeoffs, but not so helpful on land. If the bird had stayed stranded there they could have been injured or killed by another animal, or ended up dehydrated.
So let's hear it for Stabby the Angry Grebe, and wish them a good release back into the wild!
Be Comfortable With Being the Villain
In my country we have a saying: "I am not a golden coin to be liked by everyone". It doesn't matter how "nice", correct, and appeasing we may behave with others, there will always be those who will dislike us for no apparent reason. Learning to not only be ok with them disliking you, but going as far as to embracing it can propel you forward.
Many people will dislike you because you trigger something in them that makes them feel threatened, less-than, or jealous. That is a them problem. If those same people proceed to lie about you and attack you to try to take you down, you need to be prepared to be ok with being perceived in a negative light by them and the people who choose to believe them. At the end of the day their talking is just that, and it cannot affect you if you choose to rise above it.
Learning to embrace being hated means that you can stop trying to seem agreeable and nice to everyone and instead pursue respect. Someone doesn't have to like you to still respect you. Respect and status will allow you to rub shoulders with people who can improve your life in meaningful ways, and place you in spaces where you can flourish.
Being liked is overrated and at times useless. Instead, be a woman of influence, power, and good character. When your brand speaks for yourself, the naysayers become powerless and desperate, and others will be able to see right through their lies.