Posted in Canada, Chronic Conditions, kindness

Making Friends with Shadows on my Wall

I’m not crazy I’m just a little unwell (a little???)
I know right now you can’t tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you’ll see
A different side of me (Sides?)

See me
Singing to myself in public
And dodging glances from my brain
I know, I know they’ve all been talking ’bout me
I can hear them whisper (you know, when folks do that cool exaggerated whisper which is actually much louder than the average voice) And it makes me think there must be something wrong (define wrong)
With me

You may be hearing this song by Rob Thomas/Matchbox 20, but I’m hearing it as Mad Monster Scientist from Season 13 of The Masked Singer...I won’t tell you who it really was (just sayin’, I guessed who it was, what can I say, I have music in my head 24/7 so I recognize a lot of the voices in my head, oh hello!!!), in case you haven’t watched, or want to watch. I wouldn’t want to do “spoilers”.

Struggling to read, sleep, find words, stand (and stay standing), sit, write, blog https://yadadarcyyada.com/2025/09/07/how-can-you-miss-me-if-i-wont-go-away/, well, anything, as usual, and now all the while watching the world spiral. I’m not sure if the world is crazy or just a little unwell, but right now, right now I can’t tell. Up is down and down is up, it’s distorted, distended, diseased, disgraced, disappointing, discouraging, dishonest, and frankly, mostly, distasteful. It feels as topsy-turvy as though I’m Alice down the rabbit hole, but without the cute dress. So here I am just trying to figure out if there’s anything left to figure out in the world.

There’s a bright side. I truly believe many people are still good. They still do good. I also believe more people waking up to reality isn’t bad, or as depressing as they think/thought. As weird, bad, and scary as things are: The Epstein Files; the economy; wars; tariffs; unaffordable and completely unaccessible housing; sky high grocery prices; crime; horrible, horrible, distracted drivers; loss; fear; chaos; endless ads, subscriptions, verification codes to distract us (seriously, companies need to invest in cybersecurity, why should I be your administrative assistant for free?); the rise of AI (seriously, look up what AI is doing, nothing intelligent about using it, it’s not worth it), https://yadadarcyyada.com/2024/02/21/i-am-not-a-robot/ and the list goes on and on…sometimes I feel like giving up, but then I remember, there’s still good, there’s still hope.

Posted in motivational, Uncategorized

Umbrella

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/

Posted in Books, Movies, Political, Televison, Uncategorized

Maya Angelou Her Brave and Startling Truth

1maya9

Maya Angelou has gone from this world.

After living so many lives.

Who knew such terror, such hardship, and such horror, still recognized and chose joy, love, and hope. She choose courage and laughter.

She told us in words and deeds to live, not regret living.

Lent her voice to those in need until they found their own.

If you have given yourself the gift of her writing you will already know what you need to know. If you haven’t, be good enough to yourself to do so.

I urge anyone who doesn’t know the story of Maya Angelou to learn, for in her story you will find many brave and startling truths worth knowing…

There are no better words to describe the force of Maya Angelou and the light she shone on the world than her own words:

1maya4

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”

I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.”

And my all time favourite because this guides my life:
1maya5

We will never have to say goodbye because on the pulse of each new day Maya Angelou is with us to say, “Very simply With hope Good morning.”