I am a simple, flawed human, and part of the open sharing meant to nurture my own self-awareness that I started this thing to help with, is to look myself square in the mirror and admit that sometimes I have some really bad bed-head.
Of Privateers, Buccaneers, & Pirates
It refers to those of us out for their own aggrandisement, sometimes at the expense of others but not always, and using their own injuries and the resulting disorders that come from them as springboards, justification and earned street cred, to enterprises that are for profit, whether that fills their ego or their pocket.
Why I Say People Are Good
How can we explain the physical and emotional damage one person can do to another let alone to an entire people as we’ve done in our past as a species, and then still fit it into this framework of a preset nature imprinted into our genes?
Common Misconceptions About PTSD
There is a false assumption that someone suffering this, or again any mental health issue, will show it on their face like a rash (that spells “nutbar” across their forehead, maybe?) or in their general, casually observed behaviour.
The Nature of Inspiration
Inspiration comes from the oddest places, at the oddest times, and can lead to the oddest things. It’s almost a form of borrowed energy, as often lent without knowledge of the lender and meant to be passed forward in lieu of repayment.
I Refuse to Be Afraid of Smiling: An Open Letter to WSIB
I have smiled occasionally, and now even look specifically for things that will help me smile because I like smiling. I talk here about successes in my journey, rather than the horrors that put me on this path in the first place because it’s healthier for everyone, especially me.
Facebook Needs a Kick in The Ass
Facebook has a particular set of what it calls community standards that it has developed over the years as a way of harmonising the varied cultural ways and mores of its users, or so they will tell you if asked. It’s a work-in-progress they might say as well, evidenced most recently by their attempts to fight the onslaught of “fake news” and horribly partisan propaganda from both ends that we've all been drowning in lately.
Art Supplies & Good Company
There is a reason we are attracted to the various things we are attracted to, and it’s not always as basic as food, shelter, or the proliferation of our genes. There are almost 50000-year-old cave paintings in Spain and Indonesia, arguably done by someone as a hobby in his off-time.
Soul Soaking
Surrounding myself with creative people, people of like minds and similar ideologies, people I think of as smarter and more inspired than I am, is something I hope will help me nurture myself and the deeper things I’ve found myself exploring. I’ve come to call it soul soaking.
Scroll On By
Three things I scroll past in my Facebook feed: 1. First responder horror stories 2. Anything describing, or showing, an animal in distress 3. Nut-shot videos There’s probably more, but these are the big ones, the ones I consciously choose not to look at. That last one not because I find these offensive, but because … Continue reading Scroll On By
Patrick Riley 