Category: motivational

Posted in Canada, Chocolate, Fibromyalgia, motivational

Seems Breakin’ Up Was Easier in the ’90s

Posted on by D. Parker

It looks like you’re gettin’ over me,

faster than I’m gettin’ over you.

But hey, what you gonna do?

I’m sick of sittin’ in my brain,

sighin’ at my phone. 📱

Wishin’ I was somewhere I can’t be alone.

Try to let you go, but somethin’ always reminds me…

Seems breakin’ up was easier in the ’90s.

I’m tired of gettin’ tired, tired of bein’ me.

Tired of makin’ excuses about how I wanna be.

You’re everywhere, everywhere but behind me.

Seems breakin’ up was easier in the ’90s.

Back then, I could’ve convinced myself

it was you and not me,

though I said it the other way round;

love lost and found.

Could have made myself believe,

I loved you, just wasn’t in love with you 💌

(realistically, it’s you and me?).

Just the thought of it makes me blue…

Didn’t know then I couldn’t have

the bandwidth to deal with life

stress keeps cuttin’ at me

with an jagged online knife 🔪

Tryin’ to let you go, but somethin’ always reminds me…

Seems breakin’ up was easier in the ’90s.

I’m tired of gettin’ tired, tired of bein’ me.

Tired of seein’ pictures in my brain, 🧠

I don’t wanna see.

You’re everywhere, everywhere but behind me…

Seems breakin’ up was easier in the ’90s.

Modern love leads to modern hearts breakin’ 💔

Leads to a whole lot of social media fakin‘.

You’re everywhere, everywhere but behind me…

Seems breakin’ up with myself with easier in the ’90s!

Thanks to Sam Hunt for the inspiration.

I’ve broken up with myself before, at least once or twice a decade, but it seems to get harder every decade. My most memorable break-ups were in the ’90s. It all seemed like a good idea then. 💡 No awkward, “It’s not you, it’s you” conversations. I was young and thought being in love with myself was more important that just loving myself, taking care of myself.

Every time I try to make it work, but we’ve grown apart. The relationship just isn’t working for me…and me. This time I find myself feeling resentment. I resent myself for getting in my way.

Maybe it was age. My stage in my journey. Or maybe it’s those darn rosy nostalgia goggles 🥽 and it just seems breakin’ up with easier in the ‘90s. Either way, I think it’s time to take our relationship to a previous level…

Sometimes you gotta stop reflecting (I’m turning into a mirror here 🪞) and take the BS by the horns; I’m doing a year of chronic change...

Step 1: Move. Done, but not terribly settled, though I’m cutting myself some slack on my (lack of) progress. I;ve been vividly reminded that Fibromyalgia is a thief. It steals your energy. -Pilfers your time. -Loots your stability. -Filches your confidence. -Snatches your pride. -Purloins your social life. -Robs you of your hopes and dreams. -Breaks and enters your life, tossing the place and adding chaos, fear, loss, and uncertainty to every moment of your day and night. Living with chronic conditions means you have to change your expectations, accommodate, modify, and most of all, adapt. I’m trying to be kind to myself.

And remind myself of all the good/great/amazing things I have as well. My family, friends, my blog/readers/fellow bloggers/authors https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/05/21/how-i-met-your-author/, the ‘group’ I founded(?), “Chronic Not Hopeless” (all our Zoom activities are free, all are welcome, contact: chronicnothopeless@yahoo.com

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2021/01/30/chronic-not-hopeless/)…

Also, my happy places (on the page, in a screen, swimming in chocolate 🍫, chatting, laughing, in a cup of tea (or three). 🫖

Where else?

Happy on a gameboard or in the cards, among the trees 🌳, under the stars… ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And of course, the hopes and dreams the chronic suckage https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/12/06/chronic-suckage/ hasn’t yet managed to rudely steal – writing a novel, learning to podcast, code, organizing (sorry, staying organized – oh I can organize, I can organize till the cows come home, it’s keeping the organization, that’s the kicker), getting better and so much more…        

Step 2: Break up with myself. I’ll start slow with the simple but elegant, “I just need some space”. Then add the tried and true, “It’s for the best” and of course, “You and I should stay friends”. 🤝

Follow up with the classic, “We’re both looking for different things” and “I’ve figured out, we’ll cover more ground if we split up”.

If tears flow, I’ll pivot to the gentler, “We’re at different stages in our lives” and pop in, “I really need to work on myself right now”.

If I want to add some levity to the tense break-up situation, I can toss in a cheeky, “Our relationship is like my financial status: broke” 💸; or “I feel like I’m moving into a tunnel cause we’re breaking up” 📵; and/or “They say one person’s trash is another one’s treasure, I hope you find a pirate to love you”. 🏴‍☠️

Still not there yet?

Who can go wrong with a classic Star Wars break-up line? “I think I should change my name to Han cause I need to do this Solo”.

End strong with, “You are going to make someone really happy someday”. The important thing is, be honest with myself, don’t sugar-coat it or ghost myself. 👻

Step 3: Rocky Road, Vodka Sangria, box of tissues, fluffy slippers, and emo movies…with “Say Something” playing softly in the background. Check. ✔️

Step 4: Write a blog post about it during my blog anniversary month – yes, I started emptying my brain into this blog in 2013!!! Wow! Thank you for joining me in the saga of my life! 🤗🤗🤗

Step 5: Write monthly update blog posts for the next year about my chronic change trip and other stuff that jumps into my brain. 🧠

Roses are red, 🥀

Violets are blue

You are dumped…

And so are you.

 

Posted in Books, Canada, motivational, Movies, Televison

I’m Still Standing (Yeah Yeah Yeah)

Posted on by D. Parker

     Oooooh, my little pathogen,
my pathogen!
Don’t be givin’ me germs, #Corona
Ooh, you make me petrified,
me petrified!
Got it coming off o’ the flight from #China?
My, my, my,
aye-aye, whoa!
M-m-m-my #coronavirus

Did you sing it to “My Sharona” by The Knack?
The original lyrics are actually scarier/creepier…
Pandemic, more like Pant-demic, am I right?

 

I thought we all deserved a break from the propaganda of pandemic shopping (what’s with the obsession with toilet paper? Will t.p. be our future currency? Will people years from now be telling their grandchildren, “I was there for the T.P. Wars of 2020, it was ugly, a real sh*tshow!”. Do people not understand COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, this is not the Crappocalypse…Every time someone says toilet paper I think of “Seinfeld”, “No, I don’t have a square to spare. I can’t spare a square.”  Really folks, are you going to be those type of apocalypse people who can’t even spare a square?

   Also, thinking of t.p. makes me want to sing, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, but that’s for a psychiatrist to figure out…). Pandemic shopping panic is spreading faster than any virus single-strandedly could…I have my pandemic panic shopping priorities straight, I stocked up on chocolate. You know what kills the most people?
Misinformation.
Ignorance.
And in the end, life.

Make no mistake about why these babies are here –
they are here to replace us.
~ Jerry Seinfeld

Finally watched “Rocketman”. As a writer, I adore Bernie Taupin’s mind (played by the delightful Jamie Bell), as a music freak fan Elton John (Taron Egerton, who also sings the part, bravo!) is a tapestry on the castle wall of music. This film is: over-the-top, brilliant and self-indulgent, so basically, Elton John. People compare this with “Bohemian Rhapsody”, DON’T!!! Like comparing the Hope diamond with a million tiny diamonds on a huge pair of glasses, completely different, both dazzling.


Don’t you know I’m still standing, most of the time.
Looking like a tightrope walker past their prime.
I’m still standing after all this time.
Picking up the pieces of my life, kinda like a mime (ummm, on a windy street)
I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah


I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah
Seriously, disequilibrium is discombobulating
and even spelling them makes me dizzy!!!

What have you all been doing to keep COVID-19 from spreading and to stave off that beast, boredom? Have you been supporting one another, reaching out to offer help, or a kind word? Email isn’t cancelled. Texting isn’t cancelled. Calls aren’t cancelled. Kindness isn’t cancelled. Smiles aren’t cancelled. Goodwill isn’t cancelled. Some people are complaining they can’t get out, false, walking, cycling, jogging, running, hiking, all safe distancing activity that keeps you moving isn’t cancelled, just stay, stay hydrated and practice safe distancing.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day – wear green, eat green food, drink green beer, smile, get lucky, laugh, share some laughter. Support each other. Stop looking at the negative side and think about all the “me” time you’ve been missing, maybe without even realizing it. Some people are complaining there are too many precautions, maybe, but if nothing comes of this, guess what, that’s the outcome we want, nothing to happen.

Here’s things that have been keeping me amused while Earth is cancelled.

 

“The Alice Network” (not to be confused with “The Alice Project” or “Alice Cooper” or “Alice in Wonderland” or “Alice in Zombieland”…what was I talking about?) “TAN” by Kate Quinn, suggested by a friend, “thanks” cause I couldn’t put this book down!!! Seriously, my eyes got tired, so I logged onto the library, got the e-audio of it and let my ears do some of the heavy lifting. Ever read a book where the movie starts playing in your brain? Stark. Poetic. Mesmerizing. Unflinching. So many books sit on shelves, unworthy, taking up space, this book deserves a whole section to itself.

 

Words cannot describe how happy “Avenue 5” made me…Hugh Laurie (reminds me of his “Blackadder-A-Bit-of-Fry-Laurie-with-a-smidge-of-Jeeves & Wooster-glory-days), Zach Woods, Josh Gad, Ethan Phillips and so many more. A delightful disaster you can’t stop watching…more please?“Star Trek: Picard” is a gift to loyal Trekkies/Trekkers. Patrick Stewart reprises his role as the iconic Jean-Luc Picard (please commence arguments about who’s the best Starfleet Captain now) and with a whole host of new and oldie (but still-in-our-hearts) spacies: Brent Spiner, Jeri Ryan, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Santiago Cabrera, Harry Treadaway, Alison Pill, Isa Briones, etc. Not already a “Star Trek” fanatic fan, probably not for you; for those who’ve spent a majority of their lives thrilling at: “Make it so”, “Set Phasers to stun”, “Engage”, “I’m a doctor, not a…”, “Resistance is futile”, “Highly illogical”, etc.…you get it, that electric energy zinging through you. And the cherry on top? Picard has a dog named Number One…wonder-filled.

“The Outsider” – I got chills, they’re multiplying!!! Watch the series, read the book by Stephen King and when your inner voice says “Don’t watch another episode before bed!”, listen to it, same goes for what your I.V. tells you about donuts (mostly, sometimes your I.V. is just bossy and should mind it’s own business!). Oh no, I have a scratch on my hand, yikes.

“Hunters” – weirdly reminds me of “The Watchmen” (the mind-blowing movie not the HBO series), but, like, hunting Nazis in the 70s…Al Pacino is still a master of micro-expressions. This is a reminder to trust government…seriously? Obviously kidding.

“Sex Education” on Netflix, there are no words, just watch (and learn?).

“Freaks” (isn’t this just sorta “Firestarter” again?).

 

  “The Stranger”, “The Five”, Safe” all adapted from Harlan Coben books – What? What? What? Oh, the UK sure knows how to do a mystery up right. 

Watched “The Hate U Give” and  “Where Hands Touch”, apparently Amandla Stenberg likes to make me keep-the-tissue-box-handy because, ok, I’m welling up now thinking about both films, so amazing.

 

Too many books to list (just when I think I’m getting caught up on my to-read book list, I’m…squirrel! Yes, that easily distracted), for now, yet “F*ck No! how to stop saying yes when you can’t, you shouldn’t, or you just don’t want to” by Sarah Knight (author of one of my favs, “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck”) stands out. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2020/01/26/aggressivesimplification/

So before we panic, er, even more (Don’t Panic! Be Cautious! Be Kind!)…

Frankly, I’m feeling a bit panicked about how upset people are about having to wash their hands! And asking how to wash their hands properly! Being put out at having to wash their hands more! Ummm, supergross…) and all the stockpiling hoarding toilet paper, masks, hand sanitizer, medications, water, etc.

Not to downplay the loss, it’s terrible, but to put this into perspective, approx. 500 people die each day to firearms worldwide. Not to mention: cancer, heart disease, poison, fire, flu, diabetes, suicide, murder, driving while: texting, drunk, high, tired, smoking, sleeping, watching TV, checking their phone, hair, make-up, eating, and wow, seriously people, just drive the car, sober, rested, it’s not a toy. 

 

I could go on. People die of preventable illnesses and “accidents” (is anything really an accident?). People are still starving, really, that’s still a thing in 2020? So before we continue to panic (which involves a lot of toilet paper I guess?),

I know this is bad and gonna get a whole lot worse, but let’s look back at all the things that went bump-in-the-night, the “scare-du-jour” that made us run out then and buy, buy, buy (currently residing in the “Where Are They Now?” files):


Ebola (since I was a teen I’ve been saying Ebola and other viruses are just a plane ride away, then again, I also wore a Hawaiian shirt every Thursday cause Magnum P.I. was on…so that happened).


Zika. Iran. West Nile Virus. Ozone Hole.
Y2K. SARS. Caravans. H1N1. Acid Rain.
Mad Cow (I simply can’t get a disease like Creutzfeldt-Jakob, I can’t even spell/say it correctly).
AI. Jellyfish. MERS. Sharks (landsharks?).


Global Thermonuclear War (seriously, watch “War Games” again, you’ll thank me).


Weapons of Mass Destruction (now plagued by Weapons of Mass Distraction).
Terrorism. UFOs. Comets.
Asteroids (also a cool video game).


Vampires. Pizzagate. FOMO. North Korea. ISIS. AIDS. Momo. Rickrolling.


Remember the world ending in 2012? Mayans must be having a right good laugh at us.
Evil clowns, sorry, that was redundant…I meant, clowns.


Chemicals in the water that turn the freakin’ frogs gay!


Swine flu (that’s some pig!).
Eggs. Chickens and other birds (which came first?).

And my all-time fav, Killer Bees from South America.

Where are they? Did they take a decades-long siesta? Are they still coming? I need answers!


Fear is used to manipulate the population,
to keep them docile and easily lead. Then again, how have we survived this long? Seriously…
“What, me worry?” Worry is a weird thing to do cause stress/worry hurt your immune system which leaves you open to viruses…see where this is going?


Risk is part of life (and a magnificent game).

Maybe we need relax, take a deep breath, calm down and have some tea and some chicken soup (gluten-free, GMO-free, organic with no chicken for our frightened souls). I have just the thing. A delightful friend and tireless blogger, Cher P. Garman https://thechicagofiles.com/ has contributed to “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive, Live Happy (101 Stories About Creating Your Best Life)” by Amy Newmark and Deborah Norville (CSS) and good news, none contain tales of rushing to Costco, pushing people out of the way to stockpile toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Cher’s inspirational story is #60. This ex-pat was a fish out of Canadian waters when her family moved to Chicago, but did Cher wallow? No, in the belly of the windy whale the blind taught her to see. Cher helped herself by helping others. You can’t feel alone or sad or frustrated when you give the gift of yourself to those in need.

“Chicken Soup” books are oft mocked as ‘corny’ or ‘cheesy’ (both corn and cheese taste good in soup, by the way), but they’re meant to remind us to see past the doom-and-gloom headlines and “if-it-bleeds-it-leads” stuff because it sells, sells, sells!!!

That the “Breaking News” crap and social media frenzies aren’t meant to motivate you, or to make you content or grateful or happy, they’re meant to disrupt, disturb, depress so you’ll be desperate and despairing.

I’m not dismissing the loss, the horror, the fear…germs are super scary, they’re a killer we can’t see, but really, so are a lot of things,  Mother Nature is always trying to kill us and we’re doing the same to her. How about a truce?

Anxiety is my brain telling me to be careful, except fear isn’t using it’s inside voice. Panic, anxiety, worry, grieving, frustration, depression, etc. during these situations is normal, but if we amplify, then fear wins.

I feel sad for so many people in this crisis, including those told to stay home when they have no home. I’m going to rely heavily on science, I know, not popular in some circles, but it’s one of the few things in life that’s always tried to be honest with me.

My thinking is: stay home more, “social distancing” (hmmm, people with Autism were born for this), help “flatten the curve”, stay calm and we can do this…

Also, keep your risk perception under control, toilet paper will not keep you safe from COVID-19:


1) Wash your hands w/ soap often for 20-30 seconds. Use hand sanitizer when you can’t wash your hands. Stop touching your face so much! Seriously! Stop! Humans touch their face anywhere from 15-50 times/hour (what?!?). And clean your phones, they may very well herald the zombie apocalypse.


2) Human contact is important, but again, be cautious (a good general rule). Animal/human is also important, but this is zoonotic, again be cautious and be kind. Stop blaming bats, if we weren’t stomping all over their ecozones, their homes they’d just continue to hand around and be batty.


3) This is a good time to educate people on the risks (“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” Mark Twain would tell you 100x and more goes for the internet) and how to combat them.
Don’t Panic! Be Cautious! Be Kind!


I’m going with what the doctors/scientists/experts say, wash your hands. #WashYourHands #SafeHands

 

The world is a ball of wonder, don’t let the latest storm be your whole life’s weather forecast. Don’t just learn to dance in the rain, learn to dance like you’re in the rain, in a “Wham!” video!

 

Posted in Books, motivational, satire

How To Be A Bestselling Author in 3 Days or Less

Posted on by D. Parker

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

There’s a lot of noise out there about how to write a bestseller.

Why don’t we break it down.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Let’s simplify the process and get you to bestseller status in 3 days or less!

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

1. Write a book.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Use as many words as you think you need.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Plots are plots (it’s all been done/redone/overdone; characters are key).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Use a computer…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

typewriter…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

pencil or pen…

None of it means anything if you don’t use your heart.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

2. Edit.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Do not try this at home.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Being your own editor is like trying to cure your own cancer.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Don’t mistake skill or intent for reality.

A friend, family member, professional editor, a dog or cat (if the communication is clear) – anyone (and I mean anyone) but you, unless you have special skills.

3. Get published.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/
Big fancy publisher, self-publishing, blog it in serialized form, print them out and hand them to the masses on a street corner, just get it out there. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/06/21/how-to-get-your-book-published/

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

4. Do a book tour.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/
Sign books, shake hands, meet your fans, hope they don’t want to steal your kidney as a prize.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

5. Become rich and famous.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Yes, become so rich and famous you’ll forget all the hard work…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

all the anxiety, rejection, doubt, derision.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Don’t forget not to be a scummy rich and famous person.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

6. If 1-5 don’t happen, no worries.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/
No one wants to publish my should-be bestsellers (https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/),

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

but don’t stop me now (https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/02/06/dont-stop-me-now/)!

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

I’m going to keep on writing, reading, researching, submitting, getting rejected, being ignored, and only slightly feeling the stings of all the subtle and not-so-subtle scoffing and mocking.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Repeat again and again.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/Why? I have to get it all out of my head.

As for would-be authors of a ‘certain age’, don’t despair, many famous authors didn’t kick-start their written legacy until later in life, not always for lack of trying:

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Anna Sewell, Bram Stoker,

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Alex Haley, Charles Bukowski, Laura Ingalls Wilder, William S. Burroughs, 

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Raymond Chandler, Frank McCourt, Marquis de Sade (don’t be that guy).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Even J.K. Rowling and Dr. Seuss

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

weren’t spring chickens…oh the places you’ll go (er, Hogwarts?).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

My point? 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months, 3 years or 30…Write, draw, sing, dance, sculpt, design video games, whatever, creativity doesn’t come with an expiry date, a time stamp – as long as you live you can create.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/07/07/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author-in-3-days-or-less/

Posted in Chocolate, kindness, motivational, social media

Welcome To Your Life

Posted on by D. Parker

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/Welcome
to
your
life
there’s
no
turning
back
Even
while
we
weep
You will find us
acting on our worst behaviour
turning our backs on Mother Nature
Everybody wants to rule the world

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/08/16/everybody-wants-to-rule-the-world/https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/So glad we almost made it

So sad we have to face it

who is really ruling our world?https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

Say that you’ll never never never need it

One headline – why believe it?

Stop letting our world be ruled…https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

Stereotyping is the scourge of our time. All women are this, all men are that, good guys always win, life is fair, fat people are lazy…religion, race, wealth, poverty, sex,diets, politics, illness – everything is painted with the stereotype brush…wait, did I just stereotype stereotyping? https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/Make no mistake, hate is the easy way. Different = Hate. Don’t agree with you = Hate. Blame everyone for your problems. Don’t change, just dig in. Lies, make them big, no, small won’t do. Feed them what they want to hear, while they pretend to care about those they hold dear.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
You must remember this
A kiss is just a kisshttps://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/A lie is still a lie
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when politicians woo
They still say “I love you”
On that you can rely
No matter what the future bringshttps://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/As lies goes by
Promises of jobs and tax cuts
Never out-of-date
Tapping into bias with a passion

Spilling jealousy and hate
It’s an age-old story,
sensationalism wins
over love and glory.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
We pick and choose
what truths to hold self-evident…
her truth, his truth,
my truth, your truth, the truth…
flippity-floppity, they can’t all be true.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
That no one can deny
It’s still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome liars
As time goes by…https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
Storytelling, once used to pass along useful information, to keep people safe or make their lives easier. Cavegal/Caveguy didn’t recount that story about almost being eaten by a Saber Tooth tiger to get Retweeted, or get Likes on Instagram. Nor did they stop to film it, or get a Selfie #catscratchfever  https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/No, she/he told exciting tales, not to get attention, to influence, to build her/his brand, but to warn others not to go picking berries on that path where those tigers live #berryscary #noyabbadabbadooforyou https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
We’re addicts, we need another fix. Oh we can stop anytime, we don’t need it, then a ping, a new text, email, tweet, update, tag, post, whatever. We’re all about the yarn, the tale, the story…https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/We crave all the grimy little details, especially the ones that sound like they could be real, the facts say otherwise, but they’re boring, tell us more about the lies, fraud, sex, the scandal of it all, no matter how insane or impossible it seems…tell us more, more, more! https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/Is it true? Who cares? Jump on that bandwagon wherever it may take you. Why worry, got to get another hit. As long as we get our momentary rush, who cares about the consequences? https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
Do people even want to rule the world anymore, or are they content to just stare at a screen and watch the world burn, as long as they can feed on the flames of the story as we crackle? Remember the good old days when there used to be a line-up to rule the world: aliens, supernatural beings, crime lords, hackers, scammers, Dystopian Future leaders seem especially bent on keeping control (time is fleeting…), https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/megalomaniacs with delusions of grandeur, terrorists, corporate terrorists, politicians, super villains (better than average villains or just wearing capes?), Huns, Hordes (so many Hordes), https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/puppets, paupers, pirates, poets, pawns and kings (they’ve been up and down and over and out and they know one thing, each time they find themselves flat on their face, they pick themselves up and get back in the race), and who can forget Vikings, evil scientists, and laboratory mice whose genes have been spliced (sounds painful and wrong – free Pinky and The Brain!).
https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
But for those who still have an interest in ruling the world, here’s an Easy Peasy guide:
  • Make someone’s day with a smile or a kind word. Do something they need, not just someone you think they need. Help them as they need help.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Be part of the good, even if it means not taking that tempting/way-too-easy dig at someone (just as a completely random example, Donald Trump).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Jump rope, Jump Force, Shonen Jump, Jump Jump Jump Around (I Came To Get Down), Jump Up and Down for Joy, jump-start your day, jump-start a car – just don’t jump to conclusions.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • See the world from someone’s else point of view, even on their worst day. Then someone else. And someone else. The sky’s the limit and maybe not even then.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Care. Don’t just pretend to care. Do it, surely it must take the same effort, right?

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Don’t attack, don’t react – act on your best instincts.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Do something you didn’t think you could do. Except murder. Don’t do murder. Or anything else bad, let’s start again, do something good you didn’t think you could do.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Grow food instead of a portfolio.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Be yourself. Unless you can be Groot, then be Groot (I am Groot).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Don’t try to control, be a part of something. Join a club (not a gang), volunteer, find people with common interests, goals, and values (beware of diving right in, some groups and people can be intense, hey, I didn’t directly mention Game of Thrones fans https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/04/07/you-know-youre-obsessed-with-game-of-thrones-when/), find time to find others.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Laugh (I’ll help, Jann Arden has a comedy series, Jann – watch, laugh, repeat). Cry (or laugh and cry thanks to Ricky Gervais, his Netflix series, After Life may just change your life, it changed mine). Dream, wonder, rejoice – seriously, if you’re still not watching The Orville, I, I, I just don’t…So go ahead and feel, feel frustrated, sad, lonely, happy, hopeful, hopeless, scared, joyful, jealous, disappointed, angry, but don’t think those feelings are facts; just to reiterate, feelings are not facts.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Show and share compassion, patience, empathy, understanding – all the money spent on piles of flowers, stuffed animals, balloons and candles, the endless moldering memorials – give that money to those in need. Isn’t that a better way to remember those who have been lost?

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Offer your support and some Random or Not-So-Random Acts Of Kindness, but try something different, if you’re in line for coffee, you can afford a coffee (or think you can, that’s a whole other issue), the only kindness you’re giving is to the coffee place. Give that money to those in need, not just in need of a caffeine fix.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Comfort, inspire, don’t require something in return.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Anger, greed and fear are so tempting, calling a siren’s song, ‘give in to me, it will feel soooo good’ and it could, briefly, but it hurts others; if that makes you feel good, you need some serious help.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Share something you want to keep all to yourself, for me, chocolate (they’ll have to pry it from my cold dead hands, then again, if I share, we’ll both be in bliss).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Answer a child’s toy phone instead of your phone. Be there, in the here and now, tomorrow isn’t certain, but I’m certain we should be enjoying today. Welcome to your life, there’s no turning back so let’s enjoy a world where there’s enough for everyone – enough food, enough shelter, enough kindness, enough hope, enough compassion, enough love.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

This blog post brought to you today by Donna’s Brain, now filled with 100% more:

  • Tears For Fears.
  • Politics/politicians/political machinations.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Casablanca.
  • Toy Story (4, 5, 75, whatever, just keep ’em coming, we’ll watch, we promise).
  • Frank Sinatra (anyone else feeling a Rat Pack vibe these days?).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • The Walking Dead (more Negan please, gots to get me a Jeffrey Dean Morgan fix).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Agatha Christie – the new Ordeal By Innocence – go catch some red herring.
  • Organization (shouldn’t that be a four-letter word?).
  • Buffy (RIP Luke Perry).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • The Orville (stop taking breaks, work 24/7 365 please and thank you).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Kindness (it really does matter).
  • Harry Potter (I don’t know if the Sorting Hat could figure me out right now).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Hope.
  • Avengers (and of course, Guardians of the Galaxy – I get it, I still listen to my Walkman).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • E.T. (Text home?).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Love.
  • Struggles.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Supernatural (300 has a whole new meaning, they get my jonesing for some JDM and pizza).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Poverty.
  • Passion.
  • Peace.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Pests.
  • Pizza.
  • The Handmaid’s Tale (as we start to live it we should accept that good people don’t always win, but that doesn’t mean they should stop being good and yes, some rich people believe the ‘screw the rules I have money’ motto, but money doesn’t equal right just right now).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Exhaustion (is there a place past exhaustion, like mega-exhaustion?).
  • Secret City (is this a series or a documentary, it’s so difficult to tell anymore…).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Books (more on that later).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

  • Why is it every Spring I feel (doesn’t make it true) like I need more socks, pizza (did I already mention pizza, it’s worth another shout out, right?), donuts, Gilmore Girls, maybe Easter eggs (only the chocolate ones, I can have eggs anytime) and cake. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Loss.
  • Thinking of how fix the root causes of all the anger, hate, loneliness, trauma;
    compassion.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Game of Thrones (anyway to get Jason Momoa back in flashbacks, time warps, something?).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Earth Day         https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/04/22/all-the-ways-im-told-im-stupid-everyday/                                                                    https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/04/15/tra-la-la-tra-la-la-la/https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Psych (why aren’t they bring this show back, at least a movie or limited run series, come on, I’m desperately in need of a happy place!).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Change (not all change is good, not all change is bad).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Laughter.
  • The Good Fight (keep it up). https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • SEO, streaming, dreaming, superheroes, raw water, CBD-infused anything and everything, detox, botox, Cheetos dust (is that a must?), ruffles, truffles, bigger phones, smaller minds, ALF, BTS, Bill and Ted (what’s the newest Excellent Adventure, finding their dentures?), cryptocurrency, Wikileaks (maybe they just need WikiDepends), Julian Assange, rading #Area51 (#StormiArea51), self-driving cars (scare me less than drivers driving cars), flying cars (still not as scary as people driving cars on the ground), goat yoga (yoga goat?), inflated lips, inflated hips, inflated prices, fanny packs are back (what?!?), Momo, CYA, Apple (is it really an #AppleEvent without Steve Jobs? Maybe Tim Apple will be there, would Tim Cook be a cooked apple, but I digress.), FOMO, Snapple, GMO – oh no, my brain is melting;
    https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Storms.
  • Ultravox and pancakes and not necessarily in that order.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • SpaceX.
  • Boomtown Rats and Queen (feeling a Live Aid vibe here).
  • Aurora Borealis.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • U2 (What if I found what I was looking for and didn’t know that’s what it was?).
  • Downton Abbey followed by the urban sequel, Downtown New York Abbey.
  • Stranger Things (welcome to my life).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Food waste.
  • Murder (not doing it, writing about it or reading about it or watching it, wait, I’m sensing a theme).https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
  • Why the birds are conspiring to sing their ‘songs’ outside my window, exactly what subliminal messages are they putting into my brain…https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/
    I’ve been going through some stuff as you see from my ‘slow blogging’, but not slow braining, but I keep bouncing back, Don’t Stop Me Now
    https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/02/06/dont-stop-me-now/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/I guess the biggest thing I’ve been struggling with, concerning blogging and social media is, am I part of the problem, am I an enabler? Am I feeding the beast? I try not to, but readily admit, I’ve had varying degrees of success. I move forward with a new resolve…I hope.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

Glad to be back and always to be here with all of you. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

Big bloggy hugs and welcome to your life, young, or old, or in between, the rest is up to you.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/03/25/welcome-to-your-life/

Posted in Canada, motivational, social media

Your Genius Is Showing!

Posted on by D. Parker

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/“I’m a misunderstood genius.”
“What’s misunderstood?”
“Nobody thinks I’m a genius.”
~ Bill Watterson

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Social media can make people feel inadequate, but true genius is believing in yourself, not worrying about what others think, what others do, or what others have.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Genius, defined many ways by many people. To me, something or someone is genius if they give of themselves. Everyone is talking about the #TrumpShutdown of the U.S. government to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S., instead, why not talk about why so many people are living paycheck to paycheck? Talk about people not having enough for food, chemo drugs, etc. when the rich are buying multi-million dollar houses and apartments. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/Jewels, homes, cars, clothes – how can these mean more than lives? That’s the opposite of genius, even cruel. Celebrities, don’t peddle expensive drugs on TV and the internet, instead, pay for drugs for those in need. You’re making me regret liking TV and movies…https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/Canada has come up with a genius plan to build our own walls on the Canada–United States border (frontière Canada–États-Unis). This International Boundary (Frontière Internationale), is almost 9,000 kilometres (over 5,500 miles) long, including the border with Alaska (we can almost see Russia from our porch), the longest international border in the world between two countries.
Prime Minster Justin Trudeau (seen in the photo demonstrating what the wall might look like)

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/has commissioned esteemed Canadian Engineers, Scientists, and Zoologists to work with CUB (Canadian Union of Beavers) to put Canada’s National Symbol, the beaver to work.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

They will temporarily stop building dams and looking so dam cute to build us border walls to stop an invasion of American immigrants trying to come to Canada. Sorry. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/07/15/see-you-again/ Not Sorry.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

The Great Wall Of Canada will be eco-friendly using only reclaimed Canuck mud (from facials and mud wrestling) and wood from: basement paneling, square TV units, barns/farm houses (who needs farming anymore, we can just eat from restaurants, er, right?), driftwood, also, celebrities like Robert Pattinson, Matthew McConaughey (alright, alright, alright), Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Drake have agreed to donate their extensive toothpick collections (and to only interact with women, not girls).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Of course, there will be Tim Hortons (Timmies) stores set up every 10 klicks, 1 kilometer is approximately 0.6 miles, so that’ll double-double our protection, eh.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Every border crossing will have clean washrooms, contain a beer store (get yer 2-4 and gain some Molson Muscle, even while waiting to cross the border) as well as shops selling, among other things: Poutine, Butter Tarts, maple syrup, Nanaimo Bars, chocolate bars, flannel plaid shirts, a Mickey or six, Toques, pop, hockey jerseys, KD, and Canadian Tuxedos, eh.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Currency exchanges where immigrants can get their Loonies and Toonies, and Snowbirds can cash theirs in to spend their money in America.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Crossing the Canadian-U.S. borders illegally will become impossible, we’ll have drones, dog sleds, ice skaters, toboggans, The Great White North Zamboni and Ski-Doo fleets, and Canadian police waiting to politely chase you down and say sorry for taking you into custody.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

The beavers aka National Symbols will work for a few simple demands:
1) Dental coverage;
2) Carnival and Fair favourite dessert, known as “beaver tails” must be renamed National Symbol Tails (Beaver is their Colonial name);
3) The Canadian government is too pay for limited series reunion of Bob and Doug Mckenzie on Netflix. Take off eh, you hosers! https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/04/28/well-cream-you-with-our-tim-hortons-donuts-you-hosers/

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

These industrious National Symbols are willing to work night and day, in the snow and rain, to help peace-loving Canadians avoid any further kerfuffles with our Southern neighbours. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/17/all-were-asking-is-for-a-little-respect/https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/We’d offer our busy little workers (legally of course) to the U.S., but we know America has its heart set on a ‘big beautiful concrete wall’ or steel slates, or using American Bald Eagles to patrol the border, swooping down to pick up immigrants and return them to their homeland. So you do you, America, simple as A to Zed.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Maybe the best definition of Genius – enough for all, equality for all, safety for all, hope for all, love for all. 

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

George Bernard Shaw reminded us,“The most tragic thing in the world is a man of genius who is not a man of honor.”  Especially an alleged Very Stable Genius.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Spongebob Squarepants told Patrick Star his genius was showing, Patrick being Patrick was confused and thought Spongebob was talking about something a bit further South than his brain. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants died (age 57, ALS) in 2018 soon after another cartoon genius, Stan Lee – FYI, Lee was in the same Army division in WWII with: Charles Addams, Frank Capra, William Saroyan and Theodore Geisel aka Dr. Seuss, how cool is that? Both Lee and Hillenburg helped children envision all futures and let us adults keep adulting while glorying in the joy and wonder of childhood.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/We’re so lucky, they are gone, but we are left with astonishing gifts – swimming in Bikini Bottom and finding truth, justice, and honour with: X-Men, Groot (I Am Groot), Deadpool, Black Panther, Thor, Daredevil, Guardians of the Galaxy https://yadadarcyyada.com/2017/06/02/nobody-puts-bloggers-in-a-corner/, Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Doctor Strange, Avengershttps://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/ https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/05/02/the-avengers-age-of-oldtron/  Punisher, Wolverine, Black Widow, Loki, Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, Captain America, Iron Man https://yadadarcyyada.com/2014/03/28/iron-man/ – hmmm, truth, justice, honour – things in short supply in the ‘real world’. OMG, maybe Trump thinks he’s Tony Stark – genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and he’s actually Thanos (seriously dude, you have the ability to create not just destroy, use your powers for good).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

If someone tells you, Your Genius is Showing, don’t cover it up, don’t try to hide it…show it off, share it. Do you have to be a famous artist, writer, musician, doctor, lawyer, politician, reality star, astrophysicist (enjoying Project Blue Book so far), astronaut, athlete, actor/actress to be a genius? No. You don’t have to be a famous anything, just be kind, caring, loving, giving, and honest, the world needs way, way, way more of those things. Did I mention way more?

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.” ~ Woody Guthrie

Let your genius show!

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2019/01/14/your-genius-is-showing/

Posted in motivational, Uncategorized

Umbrella

Posted on by D. Parker

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Dr. Seuss was correct (always, even if he might not have said this one, who knows, but he makes me smile).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Nothing can protect you from the storms of life, not enough the biggest umbrella (thanks Rhianna/Jay-Z, I’ll never get that song out of my head).

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/Put on those rain boots, galoshes, rubbers, overshoes, Wellies, whatever and go out and dance in the rain. Stand in it. Sit. Sleep.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

Those storms are going to come, whether you fear them or not.
Change is going to come whether you fear it or not.
The lightning strikes of technology.
The rumbling thunder of racism. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
The pelting hail of misinformation.
The sleet of corruption.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

The hurricanes of hate.
The tornadoes of greed.
The slapping winds of regression.
Face them. Fight them. Survive them. But you can’t avoid them.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

Ignoring something never made it go away. Get stormy, let your inner Mary Poppins out, and get on with it.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

Too often in my life I’ve missed out on good, hell, amazing things because I was afraid. My fear stopped me. Siting on my shoulder, claws curled into my trembling flesh, cackling in my ear about how I was going to fail, how it wasn’t going to turn out anyway (it rarely did), I was going to get hurt, I was going flounder, or goof…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

I was going to ruin things, even ruin my life https://yadadarcyyada.com/2015/01/04/so-youve-ruined-your-lifenow-what/ I listened, avidly, to the voice of fear, so I missed out on smiling because it happened.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

Much of what we fear stems from what we’ve learned, consciously or subconsciously.
Fear is actively used in: child-rearing, schooling, work, play, sports, politics, science, religion, movies, TV, books, business, and well, everything – then we’re shocked/surprised that fear rules us? Sometimes those fears are irrational and sometimes: “be afraid, be very afraid”.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

So many fears…Fear of the dark comes from fear of the unknown (what’s out there I can’t see?).
Fear of strangers, immigrants, different races?  Just people you don’t know yet.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

Fear of snakes?  Boo, hiss!
Fear of antiques? That gets old fast.
Fear of spiders?  Sorry Charlotte, you know I love you (and your web), but you’re super creepy looking.https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear of bananas?  That’s bananas!
Fear of time?  But it’s so wibbly wobbly timey wimey.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear of falling asleep?  Probably good away after a good night’s sleep.
Fear of Trump?  Well, duh, that’s rational.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear of failure? It has all happened before and it will all happen again.
Fear of success?  I could live with that.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear of heights?  You never want to get to the bottom of things with that one, but I could fall for that fear.
Fear of planes, trains, and automobiles?  Really, it’s a hilarious movie.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear of books?  What?!? The?!? No, just no.
Fear of fear?  Nothing to fear but…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

Yoda got it so right, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering”.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” ~C.S. Lewis
Some days I feel I’ve lost something, or am missing something. In those times, I go about my life with a weird, niggling feeling gnawing at the base of my skull.
Slowly I come to the same conclusion, it feels like fear, but it’s grief. Loss of loved ones, loss of health, loss of what could have been, loss of civility, loss of decency, loss of honour, loss of dreams as they fade into changed expectations.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Yet, at these moments, “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”  Jane Austen, my courage hasn’t always risen – I’ve been intimidated, dispirited, badgered, ruffled, browbeaten, disheartened, constrained…But sorry not sorry that’s a thing of the past (and it can stay there) https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/07/15/see-you-again/

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
Fear is likely even part of my procrastination issues https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/02/07/after-all-tomorrow-is-another-day/. I’ve made a promise, to myself, to let my courage flag fly, I can’t always let them grind me down…

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/

I used to believe if I tried to control everything I could control, even conquer my fear. That I could stop bad things from happening. Nope. The only thing I can control is how I react to fear. How I react to the bad things.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
I’m out of control and loving it (when I’m not terrified beyond words).
Trust yourself. Respect yourself. Not the Fear. https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/17/all-were-asking-is-for-a-little-respect/

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/
And I hope you know, you can always stand under my umbrella (not with the Umbrella Corporation, they suck), or dance with me in the rain.

https://yadadarcyyada.com/2018/08/22/umbrella/