#MidnightThoughts

[sammygoesviral]

### Why Is ‘Modernity’ Constrained to ‘Sex’ in India?

— Samina Shaikh

#MidnightThoughts

India, a land steeped in culture and tradition, epitomizes unity within diversity. Yet, at various levels, it paradoxically contradicts its foundational beliefs. One such contradiction lies in the pervasive taboo surrounding the term ‘sex.’ This discourse transcends mere gender discrimination, which is a narrative unto itself.

In contemporary dialogues, the term ‘sex’ is often relegated to the realm of the ‘modern,’ rarely broached in everyday conversation. Despite being the cradle of the *Kamasutra* and home to a population exceeding 1.4 billion, societal perceptions frequently tether a woman's character and a man’s masculinity to their sexual lives.

It is commonplace to disparage single women for their sexual agency while simultaneously questioning a man’s masculinity if he remains a 'single virgin.' How is it that, despite the passage of centuries of civilization, a stigma persists around this fundamental aspect of human existence that affects every citizen of India?

Why is modernization, in its truest sense, not reflected in the mindset and cultural approach of our society, even as we remain connected to our roots? Why does ‘modern’ invariably connote an upbringing in an ostensibly ‘free’ environment, while we overlook that being ‘modern’ diverges from being merely ‘modest’? Should we assess an individual based on their attire or manner of speech, or, more significantly, their thought processes?

We often proclaim, “Never judge a book by its cover,” yet we routinely violate this adage. On a more profound level, do we genuinely feel an ‘urge to connect’ with someone following a few interactions based solely on their appearance, or is it their intellectual engagement and outlook on life that fosters this connection? We tend to evaluate one another based on superficial attributes; how many among us are willing to delve deeper, seeking to understand the mindset of an individual rather than merely their façade?

Before encountering someone new, we frequently inquire about their ‘character’ or ‘personality,’ yet we seldom make the effort to engage with them on a one-on-one basis, independent of external references. Is this reluctance a contributing factor to the erosion of genuine connection in our chaotic lives, as we persistently contradict our own beliefs or, simply put, judge before we know?

A person may embody a ‘modest’ demeanor while being ‘traditional’ in upbringing; however, this should not preclude us from assessing their credibility without first understanding the myriad experiences that shape them.

Returning to my initial premise, I often find that discussions surrounding the status of being ‘single’ are fraught with implications of misfortune in love or, conversely, the allure of a ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ existence. Yet, we seldom acknowledge an individual's essence as it stands, allowing it to exist without judgment. Why should discussions of ‘sex’ intrude upon the maintenance of interpersonal relationships? Does being ‘modern’ necessitate access to the intimate aspects of another's life? I implore you to reflect on this notion once more.

[beautifullittlefool96]

I just miss my breath being taken away by a kiss

[deliveren777]

Kaçıyorum kokundan, saçının beyazından, elinden, sesinden, gülüşünden kaçıyorum ne zamandır. Kendi aklımda kendimi soktuğum bu işten çıkıcam derken daha da büyük hatalara sürükleniyor adını bile unutuyor yine de kokunu unutamıyorum. Haftalardır hatta belki de aylardır kalbin kalbime değmemişti. Ne güzel gidiyorduk farklı yollarda gene de yan yana. Kabullendim ben bizi artık ama sanki her kalbime değişin o kadar sıradan bir olay ki. Bir sabah ayazında sıcak kahve dumanıyla ayılıp çam kokusunu ciğerime dolduruyor gibi hissediyor ve sanki evrende o an o yerden daha güvenli hiçbir yer yok gibi her anını binlerce kere yaşıyorum.

14.10.24// Deliveren

[gramnyesnotes]

[sarahrepohio]

kind of reflection...

Story: Ao No Flag It's near midnight and I cannot sleep after just finishing this manga. I don't know, I feel like I need to say about what I am feeling right now. I cannot explain how I am feeling about happiness. It feels lonely and it feels just right when I read the ending. I'm scared. Every character been doing their best at the end, it's not perfect but they tried to make their own path, trying to find their happiness, doing their own thing and being happy about it, even if it's not perfect. And it made me scared about my life, I didn't really think about what I wanted. What do I want to do in my life? Right now, I just want to do my best and survive at work, that's not kind of happiness I wanted. I want to make my own path and have someone I could share my feelings with. I want to change, and I need to take a step. I want to change and find my own happiness. I'm 22 and going 23 now, I'm still young, I need to change for myself. I need to start. I can draw my own path like the characters. This book is so good that I want to recommend it to people. Be entertained and learn a lesson from this book.

[seeeayelluhhh]

Of attachments and detachments

I hate myself for being too attached easily. When it is just week of talk, a couple of calls, a week of midnight conversation, a check-in messages, imessages of funny memes and when you see me naked in my truths.

And how I wish I forget easily, too. Just like you.

[a-midnight-duel]

Anonymous typing

It's July 31st, 2023

As of late I've been trying to get some of my thoughts down on paper and I've found it so... difficult! It's been so intimidating!

It's like my brain heard my plea to get things done "properly" and automatically started malfunctioning! I've been struggling so much with perfectionism, AKA the grappling fear of FKCNG up. So much so, I've been too scared to even get started.

So this is me, typing at midnight, saying FCK it! I'll vomit my thoughts onto this page and not look back. I'll vent, scream and probably cry a little while typing my confessions in the anonymity (sort of) of the internet.

Whoever you may be, dear reader, you're welcome to join on this strange journey into the wordy unknown.

Wishing you the least number of nightmares as possible, I bid you good night!

Sincerely,

Your anonymous Typist

[poisonhearrrt]

Reflection Correction

I don't believe in the saying, "If things are too good to be true, they probably are." I believe that when there's doubt, it clouds seeing the full picture of lives that are blessed in those moments. Other times when things are truly good, they are ignored instead of being embraced. No time for regrets. Time to realize & reflect.

[prune-life]

Just a random doc I wrote up in the middle of the night

There is little to nothing at first. You could describe anything with such a sentence. The beginning of the universe, a rupture too great for a mundane mind working on evolutionary functions to understand. The various degrees of which something develops from nothing - yet ‘nothing’ may signify a broader unit. A seed. A word. A  thought. An idea. A feeling. Gravity. 

It lays heavy - this nothingness. So, we begin with an ‘it’. A girl or boy at some stage. A woman or man by another act. A fetus swarming within an acidic sea of bubbles and smooth tissue of hot flesh. A baby, a child, and eventually; death. Death, what is it? The end? The beginning? Is it something we are born with, a premonition of our end which is yet to come and take us elsewhere - else - where - where? When? How?

There is death, and there is life. Where there’s life, there is death, and vice versa. Can it be helped? Can death and life be conquered simultaneously? 

There are some which have done both; they live on the edge, tipping and scaling the thin thread connecting one and another, the black and white, the warm and cold. They face the music, dance to it, sing to it. They create the music; compose, conduct, control.

There are those who do the former; deliver to death. They speak to it, giving their souls up thoughtlessly with bliss upon their lips, bloody wine on their hands, and eventually - succumb to the drunkenness. An inebriation so grand that their minds fail to comprehend the grand of their offering - a life for momentary relief. So momentary it becomes permanent. 

And then, there are those who bear the burden of a life. A life so long, so dragging, so enormously connected that they can’t do much more than laugh at the sickness of its weight. They thrive in it, continuously taking shots at life with a willingness coming from the core of a survivor risking it in a satire; Russian Roulette. Will this be the end of me? Will this be the start of something? Will this be the moment the earth embraces me in its jaws? They run, they wait, they breathe. Breathe while their lungs let them.

[tmarshconnors]

Night Rambler

It’s 3:43 AM, and here I am, wide awake. Sleep and I have always had a rocky relationship. It’s like we’re exes who still occasionally cross paths but never quite see eye-to-eye. The world around me is still, yet my mind is anything but. Thoughts are racing, blending into a chaotic whirlwind of creativity, frustration, and exhaustion.

I’ve always hated sleep, if I’m being honest. It feels like a thief that steals precious hours from my life. Hours I could use to think, to create, or to just… be. Right now, though? I feel drained, like the battery of an old iPhone that never quite makes it through the day without needing a recharge.

But you know what? Forget it. I’m done trying to wrestle with sleep tonight. It’s a losing battle, and I’d rather not waste the energy. Instead, I’m reaching for my earphones. There’s something almost magical about music in the dead of night—how it fills the silence, becomes the soundtrack to your insomnia, and takes you to a place where time doesn’t matter.

So, I’m zoning out. Floating away on a melody, letting the basslines carry my thoughts to another dimension. Somewhere in this sleepless void, I find a kind of peace. Maybe it’s not rest, but it’s enough for now.

Catch you on the other side of whatever this night brings. If sleep won’t come to me, at least I’ve got music and the stars.

Stay restless, TMC

[gearcrow]

I try to be nice, but more importantly, I try to be kind. I try to say and do things that uplift me and my friends. It's not some yes-man manifestation positivity bullshit, I just try to be nice to my friends the same way I want people to be nice to me. Sometimes there's nothing nice you can say that helps and you just have to acknowledge the pain or the struggle and say to people "I see you, and I get it" or even "I don't really understand what the problem is or how to solve it, but I care about you." I always want to help if I can, but it's hard to do sometimes. I'm not great at reading people always or knowing what the right thing to say or do is, and it's harder with those of my friends I don't know as intimately as I wish I did.

But know this, if I was granted omnipotence and omniscience, I would step across the world to where you are, and I would reach into your heart and your mind and pluck out your doubts and self-loathing, all the evil whispers that tell you you aren't good enough, that the things you're doing, the way you're living, isn't good enough, and I'd burn them in the palm of my hand. I would cut you free from the ropes of expectation that bind you to the ground. I would sit with you and nurse the bruised and pained things inside of you, the parts of you that cower and hide, wail in anguish, or weep quietly, until they are welcomed back into the wholeness of your body.

But I can't do any of those things. All I can do is say "You matter. Your smile brings me joy, and your peace is my own." All I can say is "I love you" and hope you understand.

[eyeofzeus]

Stop wishing you had what you want and go get what you want.

[beautifullittlefool96]

We could of had it all you and I.

We could of been end game, our happy ending.

We were so good on the good days but I hated the storms that would come on the bad.

We should of been able to fight through and figure it out.

We should of made it. We should have FUCKING made it.

But we got lost. The sunny days turned cloudy. The laughs turned into screams. The kissing and hugging all went away. We went away. The I love yous turned into hate yous and go away. The trace of kisses on my body turned into tears.

Now all we have are pictures, memories captured of the good days. Of the smiles we used to have, of the inside jokes and the love that once bloomed and grew.

We should of kept on watering our love, why did we neglect it. Why did we let it die?

We should of made it….but we didn’t….we went from us to you and I.

I wish I would of known we would end so I could of held you tighter, loved you harder, laughed louder, cherished every touch more.

If our chapter, our book was going to end I wish I would just enjoyed it a bit more, lived in the moment longer.

We were perfect. We burned bright…maybe that was the problem. We burned way to fast.

We should of been end game but we just came to an end.

[deliveren777]

Göz ucuyla fark ederdim o an onun da hissettiğini. İkimizin de susmaya yemin ettiğine hala sustuğunu gördüm, sonra gene sustum. Sustuk. Dumanı yüzüme üfledi, mühürlendik, sustuk.

Orda o dumanı tuttum, şimdi nefes veremiyorum.

11.10.24// Deliveren

[anincompletelstory]

Zindagi ki reet k Utaar Chadav mai.."Waqt" ka maayna kya hai?

"Waqt" - Utaar ka anubhav karata hai, saath he Chadhav ka bhi..

Wahi Waqt kisi ko apna banata hai, aur us he ko anjaan bhi..

Sawaal yeh hai ki, kya yeh brahmand ka sabse amuly "Waqt", wahi anjaan ko wapas apna bana payega ??

[laifoflai]

not okay but it’s okay.

i don’t what to feel right now. tomorrow is christmas but still sad. i just want to spent christmas alone ( i mean, i will not cooperate with my family activities if they have) to have peace of mind. and i dont want to spread my negativity and anger with everyone else. i need space from anyone. i dont want to socialize because im tired of being myself.

i noticed that they okay without me. they are fine i guess. so let’s see what will happen.