#bandwith

[momentsbeforemass]

It adds up

“Take care, then, how you hear. To the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.”

In a Gospel that says a lot of odd-sounding things, this is one of the oddest-sounding. At least to our ears.

But this is not some cryptic piece of vague nonsense designed to sound deep.

It’s actually very practical. And it has to do with how you and I work as human beings.

As St. Ephrem tells us, the key to understanding what Jesus is saying is that this is all one thought, and that “This is like ‘let the one who has ears listen.’”

That is, what we hear, what we take in matters. Why?

What we hear, what we take in is cumulative. It adds up within us. Whatever it is, whether good or bad, it will add to the pile of that same thing that is already within us.

If we’re hearing things that make us afraid? That will add to the pile of things within us that we’re afraid of.

If we’re taking in things that make us angry? That will add to the pile of things within us that we’re angry about.

That is what “To the one who has, more will be given” is all about. The things we take in add up. But that’s not the whole story.

Like St. Ephrem said, this is all one thought. “To the one who has, more will be given,” cannot be separated from “and from the one who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.” Which means what?

It means that when you and I are adding to one pile of things within us, the other stuff within us doesn’t just sit there. It starts to fade away.

Because the stuff within us (whether it’s our emotions, our spiritual well-being, our knowledge, whatever) is not static. It’s either growing or it’s fading.

And you and I have only so much bandwith, we only have so many spoons. We can only grow one thing at a time. Whatever we’re not growing? It’s going to be fading.

If you’ve ever wondered why getting a puppy and all the time that that a new puppy takes (both the fun stuff and the needful things like training and housebreaking) helps you deal with your grief over the death of your old dog? This is why.

So, if we’re hearing the word of God? That will add to the pile of things within us that bring us peace and strength. And the things within us that don’t bring us peace and strength will start to fade.

If we’re taking in the good things of God? That will add to the pile of things within us that we’re joyful about. And the things within us that we’re not joyful about will fade.

But it all turns on what we’re hearing, on what we’re taking in. Because that is what will be adding up within us.

Which is why Jesus is telling us – “Take care, then, how you hear.”

Today’s Readings

[deconstructthesoup]

If anybody has made a comprehensive map of all of the routes in Slay the Princess and how you gain the voices through that, that would be great

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

"Looks good!"

[zrllosyn-art]

Character introspection doodles that turned. uh. angsty

[sabertoothwalrus]

reminder that if we are mutuals you can

dm me to chat

add me on discord

ask me about my ocs (including the ones I don’t post about online yet)

ask to meet up irl if you are in the area!!

[fairycosmos]

lost my job 🙂 again

[sharkiethedork]

Wheeeee Art Fright! I used the "Tarot" prompt to put Thaddeus and Rory in tarot cards that I think fit them well.

As usual, Thaddeus is having the better time between the two.

(Link to Art Fright 2024 post)

[demi-pixellated]

Shez' found himself in a tangle 😓💦 --

Here's a preview of my piece for @/shezdiary(twitter).

Delighted to have been apart of the talented crew for this zine! Pre-orders were extended to Aug 8th, so if you haven't already, consider picking up a copy!!

📔✨: Buy Here

[dan-whoell]

When BIG dropped I was sitting in the passenger seat of my mother’s car. We were waiting for a red light to change. The youtube notification pinged and my I got goosebumps.

In all honesty I thought it was... not a joke exactly, but I thought for sure it was clickbait, that there was some kind of spin. I didn't believe it was actually happening. I went to twitter and saw some of the responses and I thought... I don't know what I thought. Everyone was (obviously) taking him very seriously and yet I still didn't believe it was actually happening. For some reason I just assumed it was being blown out of proportion. Still I was cautiously optimistic, thinking ok, maybe it’s real, but I never imagined Dan would explicitly come out the way that he did. 

An hour or two later I got home and watched it in my bedroom, alone, and cried. It was real. He was putting himself out there in a way that he could not walk back. I was so fucking proud of him. But more than that, I felt seen. Understood. The fear and the shame he talked about was so real to me. Specifically I remember that was a lot of stress about nothing and I didn’t think they’d reject me these days, but coming out is still a surprise and to anyone that isn’t out, it’s okay.

I was 23 and closeted to my immediate family and only just beginning to really accept my own gender crisis. I had so much fear about actually voicing my queerness to anyone in my family. I was out as a lesbian at work and had one friend that I even remotely said anything to about gender (which was mostly me shrugging and saying it was something I thought about, but not a whole lot.) But none of it was authentically me. I wasn’t living my truth, you know? I didn’t even know my truth because I didn’t do a lot of the work to figure myself out. I’ve always thought that I would never fully live my life until my family was gone, so I didn’t see the point in doing much exploring.

And then I saw this incredible person that I’d watched and looked up to for years had a courage that I didn't think I’d ever have. He gave words to the anxiety inside of me. I cried and I didn’t have anyone to hug but myself. 

I’m 28 now and I’m still not out to my family. It’s still scary to me. But I’ve looked inside myself a lot, and I’ve accepted the truth about who I am. I am queer. I am trans. That doesn’t change no matter who I do or do not tell. And I only have courage to accept myself because of Dan, and Phil, and entire community of people who are unapologetically themselves. 

Five years ago BIG gave me the courage to be honest with myself, and I will forever be grateful for that.

[starlit-supposedly]

I just read the phrase “grinch in the sheets” and I am so close to laughing and crying in abject confusion-

What does that even mean I just😭

[askthehylianchampion]

Link! Link! I have a few gifts for you! Have some fifty gallons alcoholic cider, ten large roasted hogs cooked in fruit gravy, twelve bowls of simmered fruit, and five bowls mushroom stew! I heard you like to eat a lot, but if it's too much you can share with friends!! Or eat later! I had something known as Thanksgiving recently and tradition in my place is to eat quite a lot, sometimes get drunk too! These aren't leftovers, I made these fresh for you! I really hope you enjoy them :)

I think he’s trying to kill me

[satancopilotsmytardis]

These idiots can't drive❤️ is funny but true and motorcycles require alot of weaving dabi is sick 30 seconds in. Boy won't survive the motorcycle.

Even if they could drive.

But anyways why do you give me a stroke everytime I read a little drabble?. Like dabi coming back and misbehaving getting punished then having to behave to be noticed this poor boy....

You're so right about the motion sickness!

Lol I'm not trying to give anyone psychic damage, I'm trying to mend my exhausted brain with some saucy little tidbits :3

[deconstructthesoup]

Stories that Midnight Burger could absolutely cross over with, and how that would go:

Dead Boy Detectives: Either Midnight Burger's been bouncing back and forth between various places in the DBD/Sandman universe and the agency is charged with investigating it, or they just randomly appear to help them with a case that they're stuck on. Ava wants to know literally everything about how ghosts work, Leif makes the mistake of introducing Charles to all of his insane alien gadgets, Niko befriends all of the wolves in the deep freeze, Crystal gets advice from Caspar about becoming a better person, and Effie and Zebulon take one look at Edwin and decide that they have to give him some advice and kind words.

The Magnus Archives: Midnight Burger appears right outside the Institute---during which season? Who knows! All that matters is that they're there, and they are very eager to help these depressed academics navigate the horrors. Gloria takes advantage of Jon's Eye powers to ask him about all the great unsolved mysteries of the world, Caspar goes to sit in the deep freeze the second he learns about The Lonely, and Melanie and Ava immediately bond over some very heavy drinks. If Sasha's here, she and Gloria become fast friends, and literally nobody knows what to make of Effie and Zebulon. Tim and Leif unsurprisingly get along pretty quick.

Dimension 20: A Starstruck Odyssey: Midnight Burger appears inside The Wurst, and pretty much everyone goes "yep, this might as well happen." Leif is very eager to meet every single one of the corrupt organizations out there, and he and Skip are almost immediately fighting for custody over Gunnie. Sundry Sydney and Gloria become BFFs on sight, and Margaret spends the entire time subtly flirting with Ava. Also, Effie and Zebulon are a hit with Gnosis.

Leverage: Midnight Burger pops in and winds up accidentally interfering with a job, and they've gotta scramble to help out the Leverage crew before it completely falls apart. Hardison---and Breanna, if we're going by the Redemption crew---geek the fuck out over all of Leif's weird shit, Parker and Ava quickly realize that they match each other's freak, and Eliot and Leif end up trading weird stories while Caspar slams his head on one of the tables in the background. Gloria uses her "I started a revolution" skills to the extreme.

Hatchetfield: Midnight Burger shows up, fixes the timeline, and leaves. The Lords in Black are befuddled and incredibly pissed. Also, Miss Holloway and Duke wind up sticking around.

[thelivingautomaton]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Silent Hill (Video Game Series) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Mary Shepherd-Sunderland/James Sunderland Characters: Mary Shepherd-Sunderland, James Sunderland Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Role Reversal, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Silent Hill 2 is the red universe to this piece's blue universe. iykyk. I will not be elaborating, Disabled Character, Chronically Ill Mary Shepherd-Sunderland, One-Sided Flirting, Vignette, May or may not be expanded into a larger fic, largely modeled off of SH2R, gratuitous inclusion of leather pants Summary: “Sweetheart,” he said, “if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’d just seen a ghost.” (Or: Mary gets sick. James disappears. Then she gets a letter.)

OOPS IT HAPPENED AGAIN. also ignore how this was actually posted on ao3 yesterday, ty <3

[rose-of-pollux]

You BETTER make this a good Robert Francis Friday because this Friday is his birthday

I always do 😎