#i also cannot distinguish between love admiration and friendship

[honeypirate]

Unfinished Letter

My personal headcanon for Kunikida is when he wants to understand his feelings he writes them down and just writes with his flow of thoughts.

Anyway I know I didn’t write this as well as I could but I had to get the idea out so I could stop thinking about it so hard lol

Kunikida x Reader

~These excerpts were taken from the last page of his notebook. ~

In a quickly written scratch above the meticulous writing it says “My love is yours alone”

I fell in love with your laugh. The sound floating down to me on the breeze one day when walking back to work. I stopped yelling at Dazai and had to turn, to find where that beautiful sound was coming from.

I fell in love with your eyes. I watched in horror that day when Dazai walked up to you. What was he doing? What gave him the right? I tried to stop him but I was unsuccessful. “My friend thinks you’re pretty” Daizai had said. He never ceases to be the bane of existence. (Don’t tell him, but I’m glad he approached you that day)

Your laugh, again, captivated me. Light, sweet, bringing an angelic kind of peace to my soul. My heart beat raced as your beautiful eyes met mine, glowing and such a deep color, I felt like I could fall into them forever.

“Is that so?” You had asked, a grin on your soft pink lips, a look that is forever ingrained in my memory.

I find that I cannot lie to you even if i wanted. Something about looking into your eyes compels me to tell you anything you may ask. “Yes” I had said “although I would have been more respectful about telling that to you” Your hand touched my shoulder and I felt a jolt in my heart “I’m flattered” you had said. You are so kind and gentle, your fingernails were shining with a new paint job and when you dropped your hand I felt you take a piece of my heart with you.

You gave me your name, y/n l/n, a name I am positive the angels gave you themselves. After you gave me your number I stared at those few symbols on the phone screen, desperate to call you the moment we parted but I waited, and it was torture.

From that moment on it felt like my world had expanded, opening up more doors in my soul than I thought possible.

You alone are the one that holds the keys to my soul.

I fell in love with your kindness and generosity, the way you give without being asked, willingly, happily. You seem to practically shine with goodness and light and it reaches the very depths and corners of my soul. I went from darkness and strict order to having light fill my cup to the brim, chasing away every shadow.

You surprised me when you developed an easy friendship with Dazai. Easily adding to his antics and energy just for your amusement, even offering up some creative ideas for his suicide mission. Sometimes I find it hard to be annoyed with him anymore, your unique perspective of him chasing it away.

I’m currently looking at you from my desk, watching as you are desperately trying to convince him that dying because you laughed yourself to death was the way to go because then you’d die with a smile in that warmth that laughter brings.

That’s the way I would like to go, laughing and beyond happy with you at my side.

(Thank you by the way for bringing lunch today, it was amazing. It made me realize that you remember the little things about me, my favorite pen, the hair products I use, my favorite meal… another reason I fell in love with you.)

The way you always seem to remember every conversation we have or everything I mention in passing, making it obvious how special I am to you. Making sure to regularly ask me about the books I’m reading or asking about Mom every once in a while. You even went to visit her in the hospital with me and now she calls you every Sunday to chat.

That means more to me than you’ll ever know.

Your thread of life is tangled and woven through every aspect of mine, every day it becomes harder to distinguish the difference between our fates. I am almost positive it is because our fate is the same.

From that first day you just fit so perfectly in my life it’s hard for me to remember my life without you. You’re not a real member of the agency but you’re helping behind the scenes so often no one ever thinks about the technicalities, even I don’t think about that specific technicality anymore (mostly)

Everywhere I find space where I’m lacking, you fill the gaps without me having to ask or without truly considering it. Seeming to be the easiest decision you’ve made, to offer your help or show up when I need you. I am convinced that you are my guardian angel.

I fell hard in love with your personality. You are always on top of things. Organized, disciplined, strong but you also radiate goofy energy and you genuinely care for everyone you meet. What a rare quality to possess, I really admire that about you.

I can see your insecurities, I notice the places you feel like you lack, I need you to know that I will do my best to fill your gaps as you fill mine. I will use my strength to build you up as you have built me up. I will strive to replace your shadows with light as you have for me.

There is one problem though

You do not know I feel this way

I must confess to you how I feel, soon. This seems to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do outside of work. I thought writing it down would be the way to go but I know when I look in your eyes tonight at dinner, I will know what to say. Thank you, thank you, for going out with me tonight.

Dazai is being a pain now so I have to end this note

-K

[warrioreowynofrohan]

The Four Loves - Eros

Lewis very specifically distinguishes eros (romantic love, being ‘in love’) from sexual desire (which he calls Venus). (This is, by the way, very helpful for my understanding the concepts of asexuality and aromanticism and the distinctions between them.)

Lewis starts off the chapter with noting that he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with people marrying without eros and in fact that’s been the nature of most marriages through history. (So we can conclud he’d be okay with ‘friends-with-benefits’ provided that it was committed, monogamous friends-with-benefits. In fact, he initially married Joy Davidman - in a civil ceremony, not a religious one - so she could retain her UK residency, when they were close friends but not yet in love, though given his convictions they probably didn’t sleep together at that time.) Nor is there anything inherently ‘right’ about eros, and it is certainly capable of leading to wrong and hurtful actions.

Lewis describes eros in this way (his entire discussion of the subject is from the male perspective):

Very often what comes first is simply a delighted pre-occupation with the Beloved - a general, unspecified pre-occupation with her in her totality. A man in this state really hasn’t leisure to think of sex. He is too busy thinking of a person. The fact that she is a woman is far less important than the fact that she is herself. He is full of desire, but the desire may not be sexually toned. If you asked him what he wanted, the true reply would often be, “To go on thinking of her.”...In some mysterious but quite indisputable fashion, the love desires the Beloved herself, not the pleasure she can give.

...The reader will notice that Eros thus womderfully transforms what is par excellence a Need-pleasure into the most Appreciative of all pleasures. It is the nature of a Need-pleasure to show us the object solely in relation to our need, even our momentary need [e.g., a glass of water when we are thirsty]. But in Eros, a Need, at its most intense, sees the object most intensely as a thing admirable in herself, important far beyond her relation to the lover’s need.

Without Eros sexual desire, like every other desire, is a fact about ourselves. Within Eros it is rather about the Beloved. It becomes almost a mode of perception, a mode of expression. It feels objective; sonething outside us, in the real world. That is why Eros, thoigh the king of pleasures, always (at his height) has the air of regarding pleasure as a by-product. Anyway, whose pleasure? For one of the first things Eros does is to obliterate the distinction between giving and receiving.

I’ve quoted the passage at length because I am trying to get a clearer understanding of the ideas here; it is less easily understood, to me, than the other forms (and not something I’ve personally experienced). But the last line draws me to something from George MacDonald’s writings that I’ve often applied to my understanding of romantic love and how it differs from others. Friendship, or philia, is the enjoyment of someone’s company because you share the same interests. Eros is the enjoyment of the Beloved’s interests because they are the Beloved’s. MacDonald expresses this in his short story “The Day Boy and the Night Girl”, about a boy who is raised to only ever see the day and never experience night or darkness, and a girl who is raised in darkness and never sees the day. They meet, they fall in love, and it concludes with:

Hardly had one [year of their marriage] passed, before Nycteris had come to love the day best, because it was the clothing and crown of Photogen...and Photogen had come to love the night best, because it was the mother and home of Nycteris.

In the story of Aldarion and Erendis in Unfinished Tales, their marriage falls apart because they don’t have this: each of them values their own pursuits, preferences, and desires more than they value being with the other (though I think Aldarion is far more to blame, as she makes many, many allowances for him, and he makes very few for her). Likewise with the Ents and Ent-wives, who both prefer being in the lands that they love over being together.

In contrast to that, Lewis says that the goal of eros is not happiness, but valuing togetherness over being happy:

Eros does not aim at happiness. To Eros all calculations are irrelevant. Even when it comes clear beyond all evasion that marriage with the Beloved cannot possibly lead to happiness - when it cannot even profess to offer any other life than that of tending an incurable invalid, of hopeless poverty, of exile, or of disgrace - Eros never hesitates to say, “Better this than parting. Better to be miserable with her than happy without her. Let our hearts break provided they break together.” If the voice within it does not say this, it is not the voice of Eros.

It is in this respect that Eros can give us a greater understanding of our relationship to God:

This love is really and truly like Love Himself. In it there is real nearness to God (by Resemblance [in its willingness to give up everything for the Beloved]). Eros, honoured so far as love of God and charity to our fellows will allow, may [also] become for us a means of Approach. His total committment is a paradigm or example, built into our natures, of the love we ought to exercise towards God and Man. It is as if Christ said to us through Eros, “Thus - just like this - with this prodigality - not counting the cost - you are to love me and the least of my brethren.”

...In one high bound [eros] has overleaped the massive wall of our selfhood; it has made appetite itself altruistic, tossed personal happiness aside as a triviality and planted the interests of another at the centre of our being. Spontaneously and without effort we have fulfilled the law (towards one person) by loving our neighbour as ourselves. It is an image, a foretaste, of what we must become to all if Love Himself rules in us without a rival. It is even (well used) a preparation for that.

Yet, as noted above, this is not to say that eros is intrinsically good. In fact, Lewis considers it one of the more perilous forms of love, precisely because it is so overpowering that it can lead lovers to think that everything they do for the cause of love is right or justifiable. If amor vincit omnia refers to eros, then Lewis disagrees with the assertion (and so do I). The rejection of it is one of the things I love about Jane Eyre, where in the scene after Jane finds out that Rochester has a living (and insane) wife, and Jan and Rochester are still as deeply in eros as they have ever been, she chooses to leave because staying and living as his mistress would be wrong, defying both his passions and her own. Lewis describes the destructiveness of unrestrained eros, “ready for every sacrifice except renunciation,” and with the particular danger that “temptations speak with the voice of duties” - to go against romantic love feels wrong even when it is right. This doesn’t just refer to love-affairs. We see it in Les Mis when Marius determines to detach Cosette from Valjean (whom he regards as a criminal and danger, and whose wealth he suspects is ill-gotten) for love of her, and Cosette is wrapped up in love for Marius enough to forget Valjean.

And despite the overwhelming demands that eros makes, it is “notoriously the most mortal of all our lives; the world rings with complaints of his fickleness.” People promise very sincerely to be in love forever, and the feeling fades shortly. Lewis notes that “Between the best possible lovers this condition is intermittent” - which is not the case for affection or for friendship. Between those intermittent times, a committment that goes beyond momentary feeling, along with affection, and (ideally) philia between partners must be able to sustain the relationship. (Lewis, probably thinking of his relationship with Joy, asks anyone who is fortunate enough to have true philia with their spouse, in addition to eros, and who had to choose between the two loves, which they would choose; I think the implication is clear that he would choose philia, which was the intial foundation of their relationship.) Which is to say that, if we mean eros (rather than nonsexual physical affection) when we say ‘romance’, almost all people are aromantic most of the time.

[hale-of-stiles-heart]

Mando Episode 6!!!!!

AHSOKA ALREADY!!! FUCK YES

THE DUAL WHITE LIGHTSABERS!!!!!!!

still bummed bc why do good roles happen to bad ppl???

I hate the actress but Ahsoka looks so fucking good!!!! love seeing live action Togrutas!!!!!

I can just tell this episode is gonna be full of gay excellence, between disaster bi Din and distinguished lesbian Ahsoka

ooooh dad!Din will forever own me

omg the way baby's sitting with his hands together!!! such a polite little boy

I also love that anytime there's a city or community in need of help Din's Mando spidey senses go off and he appears to help

baby just plopping down on the ramp, so cute

I really love the aesthetic of this planet tbh: the off green hue and fog, the big creatures in the woods, people being cagey

bro is that fucking space crucifixion?????

ok but Mando walking through the doors to see the magistrate and suddenly the air is clear and there's water and it's so nice: too real

Oh fuck are we gonna get a Din vs Ahsoka fight?!

the beskar spear! 👀👀👀👀👀

omfg Din basically calling the Child a good luck charm, totally deadpan, I love him your honor

stop just plopping the kid down and hoping for the best, honey, you make me anxious

AHHHHHH WHAT A GOOD FUCKING FIGHT EVEN AS SHORT AS IT WAS

Din pacing like the worried papa he is

wait can she understand him?! is he actually talking and not just babbling like babies do

the music is so good too btw

BABY'S GOT A NAME!!!!!!!!

AWW THE WAY HE RESPONDS TO HIS NAME!!!!

Jedi Temple survivor Grogu!!!!!!

awww poor baby

YODA NAME DROP!!!!!

I really love how they're trying it into the movies in a really organic feeling way, like it doesn't feel forced or retcon-y

Din just learning that the Child's powers and The Force are the same thing

like I'm sure he's like "wait that's what the Force is?! That's what it means when I've said 'may the Force be with you'?!"

is she gonna throw rocks at the baby?!

oh, no, this makes way more sense, I thought she was gonna start chucking rocks at him to see if he could stop them jfc

oh no he looks so sad 😭

omfg if he listens to Din and only him I'll fucking cry

ngl it really is weird hearing him call the baby by name

THE BALL INSTEAD OF THE ROCK!!!

"Good job, kid!"

oh my god, is this the Jedi equivalent of playing catch with your son?

I forgot how much I hate the whole Jedis can't have attachments thing

this burgeoning friendship with Din and Ahsoka is peak mlm/wlw solidarity

YES ALSO MANDALORIAN/JEDI SOLIDARITY I FUCKING LOVE IT

I cannot wait to watch them fuck shit up

feel like I gotta fan myself while watching this bc damn Ahsoka

ooooh I'm loving this setup with the bit of Din's armor like fuck yes

I ADORE THIS CITIZEN GUY

WAS THAT A LOTH CAT?!

oh jeez for a second I thought that lovely random citizen was gonna end up caught in the middle and die and I was gonna cry

I love the set up for these fights!!! the Ahsoka vs the Magistrate it's very old time samurai vibes and Din vs what's his nuts has a ton of Western standoff vibes

I just really love this show, y'know

yo there's something very intriguing about this second in command guy h

GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN

yay my random citizen guy got the recognition he deserved

DIN WITH A SPEAR!!!!! BI RIGHTS!!!!

she's just gonna take off before he gets back with the baby, huh?

he just called him buddy😭

"time to say goodbye" don't fucking do this to me

OF COURSE HE'S LIKE A FATHER TO HIM, HE IS HIS FATHER

"A Jedi may come searching for him" oh like Rahul Kohli as Ezra Bridger perhaps???

maybe a Mandalorian and a Jedi like Sabine Wren?

that kinda sad kinda hopeful longing look on Ahsoka's face as they leave, with the music in the background 😭

[doomedandstoned]

Italian Doomers BRETUS Tell Ghostly Tales on New LP, ‘Magharia’

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Artwork by DamianaMerante

Hailing from the City of the Two Seas, Italian doomers BRETUS return with a new album of ghost stories. Longtimers know that Bretus and Doomed & Stoned practically grew up together. Though the band has been active since the turn of the century, our first exposure came with their debut full-length 'In Onirica' (2012) and subsequently we formed a friendship with the Catanzaro doomers that continues to this very day. It's hard to believe they're already over two decades old (okay, 20 years young, if you like). And what do they have to show for it? A handful of LPs, an EP, and a split with fellow Italianos Black Capricorn.

If you're as much a fan of vintage horror movies, H.P. Lovecraft lore, mysticism, and the occult as Zagarus (vox), Ghenes (guitar), Janos (bass), and Striges (drums), there's a whole world of story and sound awaiting your deep dive into the Bretus catalog. Adding to their already excellent discography, a fifth album now reveals itself: 'Magharia' (2021).

I won't spoil my interview with the band (see below) if I tell you that the album concerns, shall we say, several tales of the supernatural variety. An ominous gong is struck to the backdrop of monastic chant as Magharia opens in epic fashion "Celebration of Gloom," a song characterized by a chugging proto-trash tempo, trve metal stylings, and Gothic vocals appropriate to it's subject. It's a rather grim account of a certain sacrilegious priest and his daliences with young women of the church. As a preacher's kid, I've seen this kind of thing play out a hundred times and can assure you these sweeping romances between clergy and laity never end well. In this case, it winds up with a ghoulish rite and a victim's vengeance.

"In the sky lightning strikes...wicked laments rise from the ground." Welcome to "Cursed Island." True to the spirit of the lyrics, this track really let's it all hang out, with quasi operatic vocals that occasionally erupt in maniacal laughter (reminding me vintage Reagers-era Saint Vitus, with its lusty swagger). And why not? This is after all about the mystery that surrounds one of the most haunted islands on earth.

Thus far, the record's been sporting a pretty up-beat pulse, so surely you're ready for some good old fashion doom? "Moonchild's Scream" concerns a albino girl accused of being possessed by the devil for her appearance. One day, she disappears in the dungeons of a castle and legend has it that her cries can still be heard every five years during the Summer Solstice. Doesn't get more doom than that, folks!

After a brief interlude ("Necropass"), we arrive at my favorite track of Magharia. "Nuraghe" concerns the spirit of a woman judged and condemned for a crime she was innocent of still roams among the ancient stones. Boy, the ancients sure did have a hang-up with free-spirited, independent women, didn't they? The song itself is possessed by the spirit of Pentagram in its biting guitar work and rhythmic attack. Love the riffage on this one! Some of it could have been played out just a little more for my taste, like the all-too-brief Soundgardenesque motif at the two-minute mark. It returns a minute later, again in brief. C'mon Ghenes, let your inner Kim Thayil loose! Maybe we can convince them to improv at this point with a bitchin' guitar solo at their next festival appearance. Then again, perhaps this fits artistically with the song, which speaks of obscure "grim dancing bats" and a ghost that haunts through swift shadows passing over glimmers of light. Once again, Zagrus expressive song style comes through to distinguish this as a gem of the genre. I shall be revisiting it on my personal playlist often.

"Headless Ghost" strikes graceful Goatsnake groove as the yarn is spun about the restless and tormented soul of an ancient Roman warrior who has risen from his place of rest. All he wants is the skull that was looted from his place of burial. Give it back to him! "No one will be spared tonight," the lyrics warn, as the song shifts down to a dire doom dirge as the night unveils a strange moon and the wanderings of a cursed soul, seeking his head and not more. "He is living again in this hell."

"The Bridge of Damnation" is one of the creepiest of the record, said to be about "a bridge, a young boy, and his three torturers." The mood is quite dark, with esoteric atmosphere, reverberating vocalizations, guitar and bass trading off notes. Oh, and did I mention this tale from the crypt involves death and resurrection, as well? The riffmaking and drumming are absolutely on point, as is the singing -- which by now in the record I'm not only am accustomed to, but have grown to admire. Another keeper!

"Sinful Nun" winds and grinds as Zagarus croons about the inner torment of a Sister who has never gotten over her beloved, who died under such unspeakably tragic circumstances that she decided to consecrate herself to God in celibacy. However, her vows are in vain as she still pines for her long lost lover. The verses are sung to the accompaniment of a galloping tempo, which seems to represent the fevered anguish of a soul forever stricken by grief and the haunted memories of lost love. This is juxtaposed in the chorus by a cursed riff that seems to speak as the Hand of Fate itself. "Farewell to this life," are the Sinful Nun's final words.

At last, we reach the album's namesake and though "Magharia" is entirely instrumental, it would be a mistake to assume you know what it's going to do. Around the four-minute mark, I had to check and make sure I was listening to the same album, as dark synth busted out a metronomic rhythm, leading to a declamatory section of keyboards to accompany the math-like guitar play and an improvisation of almost creepy seventies-sounding prog, which after its playful fit dissipates suddenly in a bluesy collapse.

Bretus have cooked up a remarkable horror soundtrack that, though it speaks of ancient lore, is very much a fitting backdrop to the unreality of our own times. Fitting somewhere on the stylistic spectrum between Candlemass and Paul Chain, Reverend Bizarre and Cardinals Folly, Margharia may be the band's finest effort to date. Certainly, it rewards repeated listens, and will haunt you for many years to come. Look for the record to drop this weekend (pre-order here), with multiple physical formats releasing via The Swamp Records (compact disc), Burning Coffin Records (cassette), and Overdrive Records (vinyl). Until then, you can stream it all, right now, right here!

Give ear...

Magharia by BRETUS

An Interview with Bretus

What is the concept behind the new album and what themes do you explore?

Musically the new record is most "in your face" than the previous album. Also our approach to the recording was different. We rehearsed and arranged together more than before. The result is an album more raw to us. It is a concept album born around different italian old ghost tales. Some of these is supposed to be legend or myth, who knows.

When did you write it? Was it during the pandemic lockdowns?

We had more ideas about new stuff long before the pandemia arrived. We spent this time working on the pre-production of the tracks.

Can you give us a track-by-track explanation of each song on the album?

For sure!

"Celebration of Gloom" is a strange song because there are many influences in it. Including a solo flute in the middle of the track. However is a very loud and gloomy song.

"Cursed Island" probably is the most rock 'n' roll song of the album. If you know what I mean. Rock in the attitude. Also the first video of the album.

"Moonchild's Scream" is 100% pure Doom with a heavy mid-section.

"Necropass" is like Caronte travelling the damned souls across the Stige River.

"Nuraghe" is a heavy oriented track with a very dark feeling.

"Headless Ghost" has a more stoner trend than the others and in the end there is a psycho riffing.

"The Bridge of Damnation" includes our '80s dark influences into our sound, probably the most haunted track of the album. The story is based upon an old weird story that happened in our native city, Catanzaro.

"Sinful Nun" is like an experiment and neither of us can explain really what it is... ah ah aha! For sure the most heavy track of all.

Finally "Magharia." You cannot believe it but the idea comes from a Who's album, Quadrophenia. Either of us wrote a part of the song. The result is a kind of horror soundtrack.

Magharia by BRETUS

How do you feel that your basic style or approach to song composition has changed since you first started writing songs in the early days?

You already know a lot of things about us, we know you from so long ago! Please don't ask how old we are. (laughs) Basically our approach is the same from the beginning. Of course we listen to a lot of new stuff during these years so every album brings different "colors."

Where are you most looking forward to playing live once pandemic restrictions are eased?

Everywhere! We are angry for live gigs or simply to drink beers with friends.

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[gettin-bi-bi-bi]

Do you have any tips for distinguishing the feelings of “Do I wanna be her or date her?” and also “Do I wanna be her friend or do I wanna date her?” Cause sometimes I get really confused

Sorry that I have been ignoring this ask for a while. I have been a bit overwhelmed with other stuff.

Having problems to distinguish between “do I wanna be her or do her?” is a very common experience for many queer women because it can be hard to clearly identify your attraction to someone of your own gender when that’s something you have only been exploring recently and/or have just not been socialised into knowing that’s an option. I personally don’t remember ever having been in such a situation regarding other women but I’ve been in the “friendship or romance” limbo for a little while before I got together with my boyfriend so I can talk about that.

I know that ~feelings~ for another person aren’t always super clear. And they don’t have to be. For a long time I saw my boyfriend as nothing but a fatherly friend (yes, I know, sometimes life is kinky on accident) and then when I realised I might have some kind of romantic and/or sexual feelings that was confusing as fuck bc I’ve never considered him as a potential partner at all. And likewise, there can be situations where you feel uncertain if your feelings for a woman are pure admiration or maybe even envy or platonic, romantic, sexual. Because often feelings for someone are not just one thing. I have a very close friend whom I also find very attractive and under different circumstances in some parallel universe I would probably try to make a move - but not in this one. Our lives turned out differently but I don’t find it hard to imagine that there’s a version of us out there where she and I are dating. We’d vibe well together.

So, sometimes you cannot really find the answer to those questions unless you make a choice for one possibility and then act accordingly - even if you then later realise that this wasn’t the right choice, you may need to make an assumption about your feelings first and then go on a cycle of repeated self-reflection and course-correction until you’ve got it at least somewhat figured out. Or not. Again: sometimes things are confusing and that’s okay.

To go back to my loosely related personal experience example: when I wasn’t sure if those new and weird feelings for my now-boyfriend were really becoming romantic I thought about it for a while, I tried approaching the subject with him and hear him out on his feelings for me to see if that would spark something in me. And then eventually I just said to myself “the idea of falling on love with him seems very nice so maybe I’ll just run with that for a bit and see what happens” and well.... I’m still running with it 3 1/2 years later and have no intention of slowing down. But there was no guarantee it would work out like this. It could’ve also been that after a couple weeks I would’ve realised my feelings were only ever platonic and then we would’ve dealt with that accordingly and I’m sure the friendship would’ve survived that.

I guess a few things you can ask yourself to help the self-reflection is stuff like: if you could just make any kind of relationship ~happen~ with that person - what would it be? like, if you could fast-forward to a point where the getting-to-know was already behind you - do you see yourself as their friend or as their partner? maybe also ask yourself what to you makes the difference between friendship and romantic relationship (and likewise, difference between sexual and romantic) and when you’ve found some answers about that then is there one clear corner in which you wish this person to be? And note that someone can (and often is) in multiple corners at once.

At the end of the day those are questions that you can only answer for yourself and that might even change as you get older, make different experiences, meet other people. So don’t be afraid of exploring your own feelings and of making a wrong assumption about the nature of your feelings. As long as you are open and honest about that and approach it with good intent, you don’t do anything wrong.

Maddie

[lightinhersmile]

PERSONALITY TYPE: ENFJ-A

[ For more detail, click READ MORE. ]

Introduction

Everything you do right now ripples outward and affects everyone. Your posture can shine your heart or transmit anxiety. Your breath can radiate love or muddy the room in depression. Your glance can awaken joy. Your words can inspire freedom. Your every act can open hearts and minds.

Protagonists are natural-born leaders, full of passion and charisma. Forming around two percent of the population, they are oftentimes our politicians, our coaches and our teachers, reaching out and inspiring others to achieve and to do good in the world. With a natural confidence that begets influence, Protagonists take a great deal of pride and joy in guiding others to work together to improve themselves and their community.

Firm Believers in the People

People are drawn to strong personalities, and Protagonists radiate authenticity, concern and altruism, unafraid to stand up and speak when they feel something needs to be said. They find it natural and easy to communicate with others, especially in person, and their Intuitive (N) trait helps people with the Protagonist personality type to reach every mind, be it through facts and logic or raw emotion. Protagonists easily see people’s motivations and seemingly disconnected events, and are able to bring these ideas together and communicate them as a common goal with an eloquence that is nothing short of mesmerizing.

The interest Protagonists have in others is genuine, almost to a fault – when they believe in someone, they can become too involved in the other person’s problems, place too much trust in them. Luckily, this trust tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Protagonists’ altruism and authenticity inspire those they care about to become better themselves. But if they aren’t careful, they can overextend their optimism, sometimes pushing others further than they’re ready or willing to go.

Protagonists are vulnerable to another snare as well: they have a tremendous capacity for reflecting on and analyzing their own feelings, but if they get too caught up in another person’s plight, they can develop a sort of emotional hypochondria, seeing other people’s problems in themselves, trying to fix something in themselves that isn’t wrong. If they get to a point where they are held back by limitations someone else is experiencing, it can hinder Protagonists’ ability to see past the dilemma and be of any help at all. When this happens, it’s important for Protagonists to pull back and use that self-reflection to distinguish between what they really feel, and what is a separate issue that needs to be looked at from another perspective.

...The Struggle Ought Not to Deter Us From the Support of a Cause We Believe to Be Just

Protagonists are genuine, caring people who talk the talk and walk the walk, and nothing makes them happier than leading the charge, uniting and motivating their team with infectious enthusiasm.

People with the Protagonist personality type are passionate altruists, sometimes even to a fault, and they are unlikely to be afraid to take the slings and arrows while standing up for the people and ideas they believe in. It is no wonder that many famous Protagonists are cultural or political icons – this personality type wants to lead the way to a brighter future, whether it’s by leading a nation to prosperity, or leading their little league softball team to a hard-fought victory.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Protagonist Strengths

Tolerant – Protagonists are true team players, and they recognize that that means listening to other peoples’ opinions, even when they contradict their own. They admit they don’t have all the answers, and are often receptive to dissent, so long as it remains constructive.

Reliable – The one thing that galls Protagonists the most is the idea of letting down a person or cause they believe in. If it’s possible, Protagonists can always be counted on to see it through.

Charismatic – Charm and popularity are qualities Protagonists have in spades. They instinctively know how to capture an audience, and pick up on mood and motivation in ways that allow them to communicate with reason, emotion, passion, restraint – whatever the situation calls for. Talented imitators, Protagonists are able to shift their tone and manner to reflect the needs of the audience, while still maintaining their own voice.

Altruistic – Uniting these qualities is Protagonists’ unyielding desire to do good in and for their communities, be it in their own home or the global stage. Warm and selfless, Protagonists genuinely believe that if they can just bring people together, they can do a world of good.

Natural Leaders – More than seeking authority themselves, Protagonists often end up in leadership roles at the request of others, cheered on by the many admirers of their strong personality and positive vision.

Protagonist Weaknesses

Overly Idealistic – People with the Protagonist personality type can be caught off guard as they find that, through circumstance or nature, or simple misunderstanding, people fight against them and defy the principles they’ve adopted, however well-intentioned they may be. They are more likely to feel pity for this opposition than anger, and can earn a reputation of naïveté.

Too Selfless – Protagonists can bury themselves in their hopeful promises, feeling others’ problems as their own and striving hard to meet their word. If they aren’t careful, they can spread themselves too thin, and be left unable to help anyone.

Too Sensitive – While receptive to criticism, seeing it as a tool for leading a better team, it’s easy for Protagonists to take it a little too much to heart. Their sensitivity to others means that Protagonists sometimes feel problems that aren’t their own and try to fix things they can’t fix, worrying if they are doing enough.

Fluctuating Self-Esteem – Protagonists define their self-esteem by whether they are able to live up to their ideals, and sometimes ask for criticism more out of insecurity than out of confidence, always wondering what they could do better. If they fail to meet a goal or to help someone they said they’d help, their self-confidence will undoubtedly plummet.

Struggle to Make Tough Decisions – If caught between a rock and a hard place, Protagonists can be stricken with paralysis, imagining all the consequences of their actions, especially if those consequences are humanitarian.

Romantic Relationships

People who share the Protagonist personality type feel most at home when they are in a relationship, and few types are more eager to establish a loving commitment with their chosen partners. Protagonists take dating and relationships seriously, selecting partners with an eye towards the long haul, rather than the more casual approach that might be expected from some types in the Explorer Role group. There’s really no greater joy for Protagonists than to help along the goals of someone they care about, and the interweaving of lives that a committed relationship represents is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

I’m a Slow Walker, but I Never Walk Back

Even in the dating phase, people with the Protagonist personality type are ready to show their commitment by taking the time and effort to establish themselves as dependable, trustworthy partners.

Their Intuitive (N) trait helps them to keep up with the rapidly shifting moods that are common early in relationships, but Protagonists will still rely on conversations about their mutual feelings, checking the pulse of the relationship by asking how things are, and if there’s anything else they can do. While this can help to keep conflict, which Protagonists abhor, to a minimum, they also risk being overbearing or needy – Protagonists should keep in mind that sometimes the only thing that’s wrong is being asked what’s wrong too often.

Protagonists don’t need much to be happy, just to know that their partner is happy, and for their partner to express that happiness through visible affection. Making others’ goals come to fruition is often the chiefest concern of Protagonists, and they will spare no effort in helping their partner to live the dream. If they aren’t careful though, Protagonists’ quest for their partners’ satisfaction can leave them neglecting their own needs, and it’s important for them to remember to express those needs on occasion, especially early on.

You Cannot Escape the Responsibility of Tomorrow by Evading It Today

Protagonists’ tendency to avoid any kind of conflict, sometimes even sacrificing their own principles to keep the peace, can lead to long-term problems if these efforts never fully resolve the underlying issues that they mask. On the other hand, people with the Protagonist personality type can sometimes be too preemptive in resolving their conflicts, asking for criticisms and suggestions in ways that convey neediness or insecurity. Protagonists invest their emotions wholly in their relationships, and are sometimes so eager to please that it actually undermines the relationship – this can lead to resentment, and even the failure of the relationship. When this happens, Protagonists experience strong senses of guilt and betrayal, as they see all their efforts slip away.

If potential partners appreciate these qualities though, and make an effort themselves to look after the needs of their Protagonist partners, they will enjoy long, happy, passionate relationships. Protagonists are known to be dependable lovers, perhaps more interested in routine and stability than spontaneity in their sex lives, but always dedicated to the selfless satisfaction of their partners. Ultimately, Protagonist personality types believe that the only true happiness is mutual happiness, and that’s the stuff successful relationships are made of.

Friendships

When it comes to friendships, Protagonists are anything but passive. While some personality types may accept the circumstantial highs and lows of friendship, their feelings waxing and waning with the times, Protagonists will put active effort into maintaining these connections, viewing them as substantial and important, not something to let slip away through laziness or inattention.

This philosophy of genuine connection is core to the Protagonist personality type, and while it is visible in the workplace and in romance, it is clearest in the breadth and depth of Protagonist friendships.

All My Life I Have Tried to Pluck a Thistle and Plant a Flower Wherever the Flower Would Grow...

People with the Protagonist personality type take genuine pleasure in getting to know other people, and have no trouble talking with people of all types and modes of thought. Even in disagreement, other perspectives are fascinating to Protagonists – though like most people, they connect best with individuals who share their principles and ideals, and types in Diplomat and Analyst Role groups are best able to explore Protagonists’ viewpoints with them, which are simply too idealistic for most. It is with these closest friends that Protagonists will truly open up, keeping their many other connections in a realm of lighthearted but genuine support and encouragement.

Others truly value their Protagonist friends, appreciating the warmth, kindness, and sincere optimism and cheer they bring to the table. Protagonists want to be the best friends possible, and it shows in how they work to find out not just the superficial interests of their friends, but their strengths, passions, hopes and dreams. Nothing makes Protagonists happier than to see the people they care about do well, and they are more than happy to take their own time and energy to help make it happen.

We Should Be Too Big to Take Offense, and Too Noble to Give It

While Protagonists enjoy lending this helping hand, other personality types may simply not have the energy or drive to keep up with it – creating further strain, people with the Protagonist personality type can become offended if their efforts aren’t reciprocated when the opportunity arises. Ultimately, Protagonists’ give and take can become stifling to types who are more interested in the moment than the future, or who simply have Identities that rest firmly on the Assertive side, making them content with who they are and uninterested in the sort of self-improvement and goal-setting that Protagonists hold so dear.

When this happens Protagonist personalities can be critical, if they believe it necessary. While usually tactful and often helpful, if their friend is already annoyed by Protagonists’ attempts to push them forward, it can simply cause them to dig in their heels further. Protagonists should try to avoid taking this personally when it happens, and relax their inflexibility into an occasional “live and let live” attitude.

Ultimately though, Protagonists will find that their excitement and unyielding optimism will yield them many satisfying relationships with people who appreciate and share their vision and authenticity. The joy Protagonists take in moving things forward means that there is always a sense of purpose behind their friendships, creating bonds that are not easily shaken.

Parenthood

As natural leaders, Protagonists make excellent parents, striving to strike a balance between being encouraging and supportive friends to their children, while also working to instill strong values and a sense of personal responsibility. If there’s one strong trend with the Protagonist personality type, it’s that they are a bedrock of empathetic support, not bullheadedly telling people what they ought to do, but helping them to explore their options and encouraging them to follow their hearts.

Protagonist parents will encourage their children to explore and grow, recognizing and appreciating the individuality of the people they bring into this world and help to raise.

Whatever You Are, Be a Good One

Protagonist parents take pride in nurturing and inspiring strong values, and they take care to ensure that the basis for these values comes from understanding, not blind obedience. Whatever their children need in order to learn and grow, Protagonist parents give the time and energy necessary to provide it. While in their weaker moments they may succumb to more manipulative behavior, Protagonists mostly rely on their charm and idealism to make sure their children take these lessons to heart.

Owing to their aversion to conflict, Protagonist parents strive to ensure that their homes provide a safe and conflict-free environment. While they can deliver criticism, it’s not Protagonists’ strong suit, and laying down the occasionally necessary discipline won’t come naturally. But, people with the Protagonist personality type have high standards for their children, encouraging them to be the best they can be, and when these confrontations do happen, they try to frame the lessons as archetypes, moral constants in life which they hope their children will embrace.

As their children enter adolescence, they begin to truly make their own decisions, sometimes contrary to what their parents want – while Protagonists will do their best to meet this with grace and humor, they can feel hurt, and even unloved, in the face of this rebellion. Protagonists are sensitive, and if their child goes so far as to launch into criticisms, they may become truly upset, digging in their heels and locking horns.

Luckily, these occasions will likely be rare. Protagonists’ intuition gives them a talent for understanding, and regardless of the heat of the moment, their children will move on, remembering the genuine warmth, care, love and encouragement they’ve always received from their Protagonist parents. They grow up feeling the lessons that have been woven into the fabric of their character, and recognize that they are the better for their parents’ efforts.

Career Paths

When it comes to finding a career, people with the Protagonist personality type cast their eyes towards anything that lets them do what they love most – helping other people! Lucky for them, people like being helped, and are even willing to pay for it, which means that Protagonists are rarely wanting for inspiration and opportunity in their search for meaningful work.

Don’t Worry When You Are Not Recognized, but Strive to Be Worthy of Recognition

Protagonists take a genuine interest in other people, approaching them with warm sociability and a helpful earnestness that rarely goes unnoticed. Altruistic careers like social and religious work, teaching, counseling, and advising of all sorts are popular avenues, giving people with the Protagonist personality type a chance to help others learn, grow, and become more independent. This attitude, alongside their social skills, emotional intelligence and tendency to be “that person who knows everybody”, can be adapted to quite a range of other careers as well, making Protagonists natural HR administrators, event coordinators, and politicians – anything that helps a community or organization to operate more smoothly.

To top it all off, Protagonists are able to express themselves both creatively and honestly, allowing them to approach positions as sales representatives and advertising consultants from a certain idealistic perspective, intuitively picking up on the needs and wants of their customers, and working to make them happier. However, Protagonists need to make sure they get to focus on people, not systems and spreadsheets, and they are unlikely to have the stomach for making the sort of decisions required in corporate governance positions – they will feel haunted, knowing that their decision cost someone their job, or that their product cost someone their life.

Having a preference for Intuitive (N) trait over its Observant (S) counterpart also means that careers demanding exceptional situational awareness, such as law enforcement, military service, and emergency response, will cause Protagonists to burn out quickly. While great at organizing willing parties and winning over skeptics, in dangerous situations Protagonists just won’t be able to maintain the sort of focus on their immediate physical surroundings that they inevitably demand of themselves hour after hour, day after day.

Always Bear in Mind That Your Own Resolution to Succeed Is More Important Than Any Other

It makes a great deal more sense for Protagonists to be the force keeping these vital services organized and running well, taking their long-term views, people skills and idealism, and using them to shape the situation on the ground, while more physical personality types manage the moment-to-moment crises. People with the Protagonist personality type are always up for a good challenge – and nothing thrills them quite like helping others. But while willing to train the necessary skills, Protagonists will always show an underlying preference for the sort of help that draws a positive long-term trend, that effects change that really sticks.

At the heart of it, Protagonists need to see how the story ends, to feel and experience the gratitude and appreciation of the people they’ve helped in order to be happy.

Careers operating behind enemy lines and arriving at the scene of the crime too late to help will simply weigh on Protagonists’ sensitive hearts and minds, especially if criticized despite their efforts. On the other hand, Protagonists are a driven, versatile group, and that same vision that pulls them towards administration and politics can help them focus through the stress of the moment, knowing that each second of effort contributes to something bigger than themselves.

Workplace Habits

People with the Protagonist personality type are intelligent, warm, idealistic, charismatic, creative, social... With this wind at their backs, Protagonists are able to thrive in many diverse roles, at any level of seniority. Moreover, they are simply likeable people, and this quality propels them to success wherever they have a chance to work with others.

Protagonist Subordinates

As subordinates, Protagonists will often underestimate themselves – nevertheless, they quickly make an impression on their managers. Quick learners and excellent multitaskers, people with the Protagonist personality type are able to take on multiple responsibilities with competence and good cheer. Protagonists are hardworking, reliable and eager to help – but this can all be a double-edged sword, as some managers will take advantage of Protagonists’ excellent quality of character by making too many requests and overburdening their Protagonist subordinates with extra work. Protagonists are conflict-averse and try to avoid unnecessary criticism, and in all likelihood will accept these extra tasks in an attempt to maintain a positive impression and frictionless environment.

Protagonist Colleagues

As colleagues, Protagonists’ desire to assist and cooperate is even more evident as they draw their coworkers into teams where everyone can feel comfortable expressing their opinions and suggestions, working together to develop win-win situations that get the job done. Protagonists’ tolerance, open-mindedness and easy sociability make it easy for them to relate to their colleagues, but also make it perhaps a little too easy for their colleagues to shift their problems onto Protagonists’ plates. People with the Protagonist personality type are sensitive to the needs of others, and their role as a social nexus means that problems inevitably find their way to Protagonists’ doorsteps, where colleagues will find a willing, if overburdened, associate.

Protagonist Managers

While perfectly capable as subordinates and colleagues, Protagonists’ true calling, where their capacity for insightful and inspiring communication and sensitivity to the needs of others really shows, is in managing teams. As managers, Protagonists combine their skill in recognizing individual motivations with their natural charisma to not only push their teams and projects forward, but to make their teams want to push forward. They may sometimes stoop to manipulation, the alternative often being a more direct confrontation, but Protagonists’ end goal is always to get done what they set out to do in a way that leaves everyone involved satisfied with their roles and the results they achieved together.

Conclusion

Few personality types are as inspiring and charismatic as Protagonists. Their idealism and vision allow Protagonists to overcome many challenging obstacles, more often than not brightening the lives of those around them. Protagonists’ imagination is invaluable in many areas, including their own personal growth.

Yet Protagonists can be easily tripped up in areas where idealism and altruism are more of a liability than an asset. Whether it is finding (or keeping) a partner, staying calm under pressure, reaching dazzling heights on the career ladder or making difficult decisions, Protagonists need to put in a conscious effort to develop their weaker traits and additional skills.

[quotesandscreenshots]

The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky

“Tell me: what is your ultimate desire in life? To be happy? To be famous? Rich? Loved? To live to an advanced age?”

 “Well, to be quite honest—all of the above.” 

“My goodness, you desire so little! Do not content yourself with such modest hopes. Raise your thinking to the level where all living beings desire to be free! You have not transcended personal goals. Your life is that of a separate person, not the life of humanity. Give priority to seeing what is called God face to face, without dying and without fear. When you free yourself of all your afflictions, your unconscious and your subconscious become your allies. You must become your own healer and, thereby, the healer of others’ sickness. You can acquire such spiritual strength that you will not be taken by surprise; demolished; or defeated by misfortune, disasters, or enemies. You can know the whole cosmos, its past, present, and future. In the dimension of dreams, you can learn how to resurrect the dead. You can develop your consciousness to the point that it is able to pass through countless deaths without disintegrating and live as long as the universe. 

“By your simple presence, you can learn to raise the consciousness of any living being. You can teach human beings to use the energy of the divine presence trapped in matter. You can cleanse the planet of industrial filth, speak words that calm dangerous animals, be immune to deadly venoms, and see at a glance into the depths of the heart and soul of a man or woman. You can foresee inevitable events, offer immediate and effective consolation and advice, prevent setbacks from becoming deviations from the path, transform problems into challenges and master them, tame love and hate, enrich yourself without harming others, and become the master of your fortune instead of its slave. You can thrive in poverty without misery or abjection, master the four elements, calm storms, make the sun appear through dense clouds, and bring rain in times of drought. You can learn telepathy, healing at a distance, and being in several places at the same time. No doubt, these and so many other things seem fantastic to you at the moment, but if you take the trouble, you will succeed in attaining them, little by little.” 

“Reyna, you are telling me fairy tales! Such goals are 100 percent utopian—and even if they were true, what is the first step on this path?” 

“Whoever wishes to attain the supreme goal must first change his habits, conquer laziness, and become a morally sound human being. To be strong in the great things, we must also be strong in the small ones.” 

“How?” 

“We have been badly educated. We live in a world of competition in which honesty is synonymous with naïveté. We must first develop good habits. Some of them may seem simple, but they are very difficult to realize. Believing them to be obvious, we fail to see that they are the key to immortal consciousness. Now I shall offer you a dictation of the commandments that my blessed father taught me:

“Ground your attention on yourself. Be conscious at every moment of what you are thinking, sensing, feeling, desiring, and doing. Always finish what you have begun. Whatever you are doing, do it as well as possible. Do not become attached to anything that can destroy you in the course of time. Develop your generosity—but secretly. Treat everyone as if he or she was a close relative. Organize what you have disorganized. Learn to receive and give thanks for every gift. Stop defining yourself. Do not lie or steal, for you lie to yourself and steal from yourself. Help your neighbor, but do not make him dependent. Do not encourage others to imitate you. Make work plans and accomplish them. Do not take up too much space. Make no useless movements or sounds. If you lack faith, pretend to have it. Do not allow yourself to be impressed by strong personalities. Do not regard anyone or anything as your possession. Share fairly. Do not seduce. Sleep and eat only as much as necessary. Do not speak of your personal problems. Do not express judgment or criticism when you are ignorant of most of the factors involved. Do not establish useless friendships. Do not follow fashions. Do not sell yourself. Respect contracts you have signed. Be on time. Never envy the luck or success of anyone. Say no more than necessary. Do not think of the profits your work will engender. Never threaten anyone. Keep your promises. In any discussion, put yourself in the other person’s place. Admit that someone else may be superior to you. Do not eliminate, but transmute. Conquer your fears, for each of them represents a camouflaged desire. Help others to help themselves. Conquer your aversions and come closer to those who inspire rejection in you. Do not react to what others say about you, whether praise or blame. Transform your pride into dignity. Transform your anger into creativity. Transform your greed into respect for beauty. Transform your hate into charity. Neither praise nor insult yourself. Regard what does not belong to you as if it did belong to you. Do not complain. Develop your imagination. Never give orders to gain the satisfaction of being obeyed. Pay for services performed for you. Do not proselytize your work or ideas. Do not try to make others feel for you emotions such as pity, admiration, sympathy, or complicity. Do not try to distinguish yourself by your appearance. Never contradict; instead, be silent. Do not contract debts; acquire and pay immediately. If you offend someone, ask his or her pardon; if you have offended a person publicly, apologize publicly. When you realize you have said something that is mistaken, do not persist in error through pride; instead, immediately retract it. Never defend your old ideas simply because you are the one who expressed them. Do not keep useless objects. Do not adorn yourself with exotic ideas. Do not have your photograph taken with famous people. Justify yourself to no one, and keep your own counsel. Never define yourself by what you possess. Never speak of yourself without considering that you might change. Accept that nothing belongs to you. When someone asks your opinion about something or someone, speak only of his or her qualities. When you become ill, regard your illness as your teacher, not as something to be hated. Look directly, and do not hide yourself. Do not forget your dead, but accord them a limited place and do not allow them to invade your life. Wherever you live, always find a space that you devote to the sacred. When you perform a service, make your effort inconspicuous. If you decide to work to help others, do it with pleasure. If you are hesitating between doing and not doing, take the risk of doing. Do not try to be everything to your spouse; accept that there are things that you cannot give him or her but which others can. When someone is speaking to an interested audience, do not contradict that person and steal his or her audience. Live on money you have earned. Never brag about amorous adventures. Never glorify your weaknesses. Never visit someone only to pass the time. Obtain things in order to share them. If you are meditating and a devil appears, make the devil meditate too.”

[dailyshare]

 Some say that 

when it is said

the word dies.

I say instead that

just that day

He begins to live and

Emily Dickinson, Silences : 1212

 

QUOTES

Quotes are the words arranged in a magical manner. "Words are stones" ( Carlo Levi )

 

 

At the root of the verb to quote we find these meanings: "to move, to call"; "put in motion".

The quotation is, therefore, a short text that aims to move those affected by it on their emotional and intellectual level.

On this page we write some fragments that made us pause. The list is sparse and fragmentary: as an ongoing intention should always be.

 

MARRIED LOVE

John Donne

In bed accompanying his woman

Come or my Lady, that my strength

for you they will be industrious, and intent

in work they will be, to so much effort.

The enemy, when an enemy spots

he wears himself out in idleness, even without a struggle.

Off that glittering belt of yours,

starry sky, on even more vague sky,

away that veil from the breasts, which hides you

in defense of intent and foolish looks.

And harmonious, lay down every bond,

that the time of love bed has come.

Take away that divine bust, my envy,

because forever it can have you near.

Fall the dress and the sweet body

reveal itself to me, as when the shadow

from the hill dumbs and shows the meadows in bloom.

Off those hair clips, untie

the diadem of hair on your head.

Take off those shoes and enter the sacred

my bed, soft temple of love.

In white clothes the heavenly Angels

they were expected by men, and Angelo

you too are, revealing a sky to me

which is Muhammad's paradise.

And although the ghosts confuse us

white clothes, even easily

from these angels we distinguish them:

because those make our hair stand on end

and these instead, divine, the flesh.

 

Allow my hands to caress

and behind and forward, and in between, and above and below.

Oh you my America, my New Earth,

my kingdom so much more defended, how much

more from me alone, man to guard.

O my mine of gems, my empire

and I am happy here, to discover you!

To be free is to be bound

and in that seal I will place my hand.

 

O complete nakedness, of all joy

you are human first and true cause.

And as the incorporeal soul goes,

so your body without veils will have

eternal perfection. And those diadems

with which you vague women adorn yourself

golden apples are like Atalanta

thrown before a man by deception

crazy, attracted more to cold buds

than from she who ardently exhibits them.

As a paint, or as a binding

of book is the garment of a woman:

she inside, alone, is mystical writing

than to us deigned by divine grace

its revealed, admire we can.

And therefore to me, so that I can see,

show yourself as a midwife,

slowly stripping you of all

those white linens, because to innocence

never again be any penance imposed.

I naked, love you I teach and why

so are you, more dressed up than me?

same ocean, that time too was already

RESPONSIBILITY LOVE ACTIONS PROMISED

What can be promised? Actions can be promised, but not feelings, because these are involuntary. Who

promises someone to always love him or always hate him or always be faithful to him, promises something that is not  in his power; instead it can well promise those actions, which are, yes, usually, the effect of love, hatred and fidelity, but which can also arise from other reasons: since more ways and motives lead to an action. There promise to always love someone means: as long as I love you, I will carry out the actions of love towards you; if not,

I will love you more, you will continue to receive the same actions from me, even if for other reasons, so that in the mind of others the illusion persists that love is unchanged and always the same. Therefore, it promises to continue in appearance of love when, without being blinded by oneself, one swears eternal love to someone.

 (FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Human, too human, I, ARNOLDO MONDADORI EDITORE 1970, page 58)

to adapt

Arrange a room

Duration: intermittent Material: some rooms Effect: adapt

Carpet and wallpaper, tiles and plaster, electrical system, light beams, doors, windows, curtains, cushions,

furniture, plants ... You have to decide the place of the objects, the color and the style. What's interesting is that we don't know

how to do. Learn to listen to what the room says. Every place wants a certain shape and a certain one

accommodation. One cannot have a global or rational knowledge of it. It is as if in every place the spirit of the place

spoke its own language, which you must learn using your resources. We must therefore break up

impregnate with the characteristics of the place: volume, lights, surfaces, materials, texture. And then go groping.

A good accommodation never comes from a first intuition. We must proceed by approximation, step

step by step, by trial and error. Knowing how to be silent and forget, rediscover, act beyond words and

representations. Not completely in a theoretical and abstract way. Put one color and the others all around you

transform. Put a piece of furniture and the volumes change, sometimes even the colors and lights. Everything is always in close

relationship with the rest. So you shouldn't be fooled when you don't know exactly the route from

follow.

Experience obeys different rules each time. You have to let it act and act at the same time. Are you al

center of maneuvers, but you will be successful if you do not impose anything. On the other hand the consequences of this relative

liabilities will be by reason of who you are. What the place suggests, what it demands to measure is not

evidently the same for all people: the place is the guide, but you are the driver and not someone else. Not

you are therefore only furnishing a room, but also yourself.

This experience teaches you that you are an integral part of the environment around you. Not an actor, or a

architect, in short, an external will that decides only appearances. You are an element of the room and it

it becomes one of the elements of your being. If someone tells you "how beautiful your house is", you can feel it

as a banality or to think that the truth produces some effect in the long run.

 

Roger - Pol Droit, Small portable philosophy. 101 daily thought experiments, Rizzoli, 2001

friendship

What we like in friends is the way they think about us.

Tristan Berbard

[seekfirstme]

The following reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager © 2021. Don's website is located at Dailyscripture.net

Meditation: What do you treasure and seek after the most? What do you value above all else? Jesus offers a treasure of incomparable value and worth, but we need healthy eyes - good spiritual vision - to recognize what is the greatest treasure we can possess. What Jesus said about seeking treasure made perfect sense to his audience: keep what lasts! Aren't we all trying to find something we treasure in this life in the hope that it will bring us happiness, peace, and security?

God offers us the best treasure possible

Jesus contrasts two very different kinds of wealth - material wealth and spiritual wealth. Jesus urges his disciples to get rich by investing in wealth and treasure which truly lasts - not just for a life-time - but for all eternity as well. Jesus offers heavenly treasures which cannot lose their value by changing circumstances, such as diminishing currency, damage or destruction, loss or theft. The treasure which Jesus offers is kept safe and uncorrupted by God himself.

What is this treasure which Jesus offers so freely and graciously? It is the treasure of God himself - the source and giver of every good gift and blessing in this life - and a kingdom that will endure forever. The treasure of God's kingdom produces unspeakable joy because it unites us with the source of all joy and blessings which is God himself. God offers us the treasure of unending joy and friendship with himself and with all who are united with him in his heavenly kingdom.

A life-time investment that constantly grows and lasts forever

In Jesus Christ we receive an inheritance which the Apostle Peter describes asimperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us (1 Peter 1:4). Paul the Apostle describes it as a kingdom of everlasting peace, joy, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

How realistic and attainable is this heavenly treasure? Can we enjoy it now, or must we wait for it in the after-life? The treasure of God's kingdom is both a present and a future reality - like an investment which grows and matures, ever increasing and multiplying in value, and producing an endless supply of rich rewards and benefits.

Seekers of great treasure will go to any length to receive their reward. They direct all their energies and resources to obtain the treasure. We instinctively direct our energies and resources - an even our whole lives - towards that which we most value. To set one's heart on heavenly treasure is to enter into a deeper and richer life with God himself. It is only by letting go of false treasure that one can enter into the joy of a heavenly treasure that is immeasurable and worth more than we can give in exchange. Do you seek the treasure which lasts for eternity?

Sin and deception blind the heart and mind to what is good, true, and of lasting value and worth

Jesus used the image of human vision - the ability to see clearly and accurately with the human eye - to convey a deeper truth and reality of spiritual and moral vision that can distinguish between what is true or false, good or bad, wise or foolish, helpful or hurtful to body, mind, and soul. Bad eyesight serve as a metaphor for moral stupidity and spiritual blindness (for examples, see Matthew 15:14, 23:16 ff.; John 9:39-41; Romans 2 2:19; 2 Peter 1:9; and Revelations 3:17.) The eye is the window of the heart, mind, and "inner being" of a person. How one views their life and reality reflects not only their personal vision - how they see themselves and the world around them, it also reflects their inner being and soul - the kind of moral person and character they choose for themselves. If the window through which we view life, truth, and reality is clouded, soiled, or marred in any way, then the light of God's truth will be deflected, diminished, and distorted.

Only Jesus Christ can free us from the spiritual darkness of sin, unbelief, and ignorance. That is why Jesus called himself the light of the world - the one true source of light that can overcome the darkness of sin and the lies and deception of Satan.

Pride, prejudice, and sin blind us to the way of truth, goodness, and love

What can blind or distort our "vision" of what is true, good, lovely, pure, and eternal (Philippians 4:8)? Certainly prejudice, jealousy, and self-conceit can distort true and clear judgment of ourselves and others and lead to moral blindness. Prejudice and self-conceit also destroys good judgment and blinds us to the facts and to their significance for us. Jealousy and envy make us despise others and mistrust them as enemies rather than friends. We need to fearlessly examine ourselves to see if we are living according to right judgment and sound principles or if we might be misguided by blind prejudice or some other conceit. Love is not jealous ...but rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). Do you live your life in the light of God's truth?

"Lord Jesus, you have the words of everlasting life. May the light of your truth free me from the error of sin and deception. Take my heart and fill it with your love that I may desire you alone as my Treasure and my All."

The following reflection is from One Bread, One Body courtesy of Presentation Ministries © 2021.

EYE OF THE HURRICANE

“If your eyes are good, your body will be filled with light.” —Matthew 6:22

Are your eyes good? Good eyes see only what God wants them to see. Good eyes do not look around carelessly (see Prv 4:25-27). That’s too dangerous. Good eyes are selective. We close our eyes lest we look on evil (Is 33:15). It’s important to protect them from the evil one. We must hold faith up as a shield (Eph 6:16) or be hit in the eye and be wounded.

Our eyes and thoughts “should be wholly directed to all that is true, all that deserves respect, all that is honest, pure, admirable, decent, virtuous, or worthy of praise” (Phil 4:8). Otherwise, we will carelessly expose ourselves to temptation. The forbidden fruit of sin is “pleasing to the eyes” (Gn 3:6). We will be tempted to treasure it and fall into sin. “Remember, where your treasure is, there your heart is also” (Mt 6:21).

Jesus emphasized controlling our eyes to the point of saying, “If your right eye is your trouble, gouge it out and throw it away! Better to lose part of your body than to have it all cast into Gehenna” (Mt 5:29). Girl-watching or boy-watching are not summer sports; rather, they are gambling with eternal salvation and damnation. Immodest dress is extremely serious. An afternoon “sight-seeing” at the pool could lead to an eternity in the fires of Gehenna. Indiscriminate TV viewing is Russian roulette. Handheld electronic devices open wide the path to destruction.  Jesus is not over-reacting. He is the Truth (Jn 14:6); we must repent and change.

Prayer:  Jesus, I accept You as Lord and Savior of my eyes.

Promise:  “Do not lay up for yourselves an earthly treasure.” —Mt 6:19

Praise:  Joseph and Martha insist that their children dress modestly and have the proper mindset for Church. They want God to be glorified and others to not be tempted during Holy Mass.

Reference:  

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the period from June 1, 2021 through July 31, 2021. Reverend Steve J Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio January 20, 2021"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements

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Personality Type Test

PROTAGONIST PERSONALITY (ENFJ, -A/-T)

Everything you do right now ripples outward and affects everyone. Your posture can shine your heart or transmit anxiety. Your breath can radiate love or muddy the room in depression. Your glance can awaken joy. Your words can inspire freedom. Your every act can open hearts and minds.

Protagonists are natural-born leaders, full of passion and charisma. Forming around two percent of the population, they are oftentimes our politicians, our coaches and our teachers, reaching out and inspiring others to achieve and to do good in the world. With a natural confidence that begets influence, Protagonists take a great deal of pride and joy in guiding others to work together to improve themselves and their community.

Firm Believers in the People

People are drawn to strong personalities, and Protagonists radiate authenticity, concern and altruism, unafraid to stand up and speak when they feel something needs to be said. They find it natural and easy to communicate with others, especially in person, and their Intuitive (N) trait helps people with the Protagonist personality type to reach every mind, be it through facts and logic or raw emotion. Protagonists easily see people’s motivations and seemingly disconnected events, and are able to bring these ideas together and communicate them as a common goal with an eloquence that is nothing short of mesmerizing.

The interest Protagonists have in others is genuine, almost to a fault – when they believe in someone, they can become too involved in the other person’s problems, place too much trust in them. Luckily, this trust tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Protagonists’ altruism and authenticity inspire those they care about to become better themselves. But if they aren’t careful, they can overextend their optimism, sometimes pushing others further than they’re ready or willing to go.

Protagonists are vulnerable to another snare as well: they have a tremendous capacity for reflecting on and analyzing their own feelings, but if they get too caught up in another person’s plight, they can develop a sort of emotional hypochondria, seeing other people’s problems in themselves, trying to fix something in themselves that isn’t wrong. If they get to a point where they are held back by limitations someone else is experiencing, it can hinder Protagonists’ ability to see past the dilemma and be of any help at all. When this happens, it’s important for Protagonists to pull back and use that self-reflection to distinguish between what they really feel, and what is a separate issue that needs to be looked at from another perspective.

...The Struggle Ought Not to Deter Us From the Support of a Cause We Believe to Be Just

Protagonists are genuine, caring people who talk the talk and walk the walk, and nothing makes them happier than leading the charge, uniting and motivating their team with infectious enthusiasm.

People with the Protagonist personality type are passionate altruists, sometimes even to a fault, and they are unlikely to be afraid to take the slings and arrows while standing up for the people and ideas they believe in. It is no wonder that many famous Protagonists are cultural or political icons – this personality type wants to lead the way to a brighter future, whether it’s by leading a nation to prosperity, or leading their little league softball team to a hard-fought victory.

PROTAGONIST STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Protagonist Strengths

Tolerant – Protagonists are true team players, and they recognize that that means listening to other peoples’ opinions, even when they contradict their own. They admit they don’t have all the answers, and are often receptive to dissent, so long as it remains constructive.

Reliable – The one thing that galls Protagonists the most is the idea of letting down a person or cause they believe in. If it’s possible, Protagonists can always be counted on to see it through.

Charismatic – Charm and popularity are qualities Protagonists have in spades. They instinctively know how to capture an audience, and pick up on mood and motivation in ways that allow them to communicate with reason, emotion, passion, restraint – whatever the situation calls for. Talented imitators, Protagonists are able to shift their tone and manner to reflect the needs of the audience, while still maintaining their own voice.

Altruistic – Uniting these qualities is Protagonists’ unyielding desire to do good in and for their communities, be it in their own home or the global stage. Warm and selfless, Protagonists genuinely believe that if they can just bring people together, they can do a world of good.

Natural Leaders – More than seeking authority themselves, Protagonists often end up in leadership roles at the request of others, cheered on by the many admirers of their strong personality and positive vision.

Protagonist Weaknesses

Overly Idealistic – People with the Protagonist personality type can be caught off guard as they find that, through circumstance or nature, or simple misunderstanding, people fight against them and defy the principles they’ve adopted, however well-intentioned they may be. They are more likely to feel pity for this opposition than anger, and can earn a reputation of naïveté.

Too Selfless – Protagonists can bury themselves in their hopeful promises, feeling others’ problems as their own and striving hard to meet their word. If they aren’t careful, they can spread themselves too thin, and be left unable to help anyone.

Too Sensitive – While receptive to criticism, seeing it as a tool for leading a better team, it’s easy for Protagonists to take it a little too much to heart. Their sensitivity to others means that Protagonists sometimes feel problems that aren’t their own and try to fix things they can’t fix, worrying if they are doing enough.

Fluctuating Self-Esteem – Protagonists define their self-esteem by whether they are able to live up to their ideals, and sometimes ask for criticism more out of insecurity than out of confidence, always wondering what they could do better. If they fail to meet a goal or to help someone they said they’d help, their self-confidence will undoubtedly plummet.

Struggle to Make Tough Decisions – If caught between a rock and a hard place, Protagonists can be stricken with paralysis, imagining all the consequences of their actions, especially if those consequences are humanitarian.

PROTAGONIST RELATIONSHIPS

People who share the Protagonist personality type feel most at home when they are in a relationship, and few types are more eager to establish a loving commitment with their chosen partners. Protagonists take dating and relationships seriously, selecting partners with an eye towards the long haul, rather than the more casual approach that might be expected from some types in the Explorer Role group. There’s really no greater joy for Protagonists than to help along the goals of someone they care about, and the interweaving of lives that a committed relationship represents is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

I’m a Slow Walker, but I Never Walk Back

Even in the dating phase, people with the Protagonist personality type are ready to show their commitment by taking the time and effort to establish themselves as dependable, trustworthy partners.

Their Intuitive (N) trait helps them to keep up with the rapidly shifting moods that are common early in relationships, but Protagonists will still rely on conversations about their mutual feelings, checking the pulse of the relationship by asking how things are, and if there’s anything else they can do. While this can help to keep conflict, which Protagonists abhor, to a minimum, they also risk being overbearing or needy – Protagonists should keep in mind that sometimes the only thing that’s wrong is being asked what’s wrong too often.

Protagonists don’t need much to be happy, just to know that their partner is happy, and for their partner to express that happiness through visible affection. Making others’ goals come to fruition is often the chiefest concern of Protagonists, and they will spare no effort in helping their partner to live the dream. If they aren’t careful though, Protagonists’ quest for their partners’ satisfaction can leave them neglecting their own needs, and it’s important for them to remember to express those needs on occasion, especially early on.

You Cannot Escape the Responsibility of Tomorrow by Evading It Today

Protagonists’ tendency to avoid any kind of conflict, sometimes even sacrificing their own principles to keep the peace, can lead to long-term problems if these efforts never fully resolve the underlying issues that they mask. On the other hand, people with the Protagonist personality type can sometimes be too preemptive in resolving their conflicts, asking for criticisms and suggestions in ways that convey neediness or insecurity. Protagonists invest their emotions wholly in their relationships, and are sometimes so eager to please that it actually undermines the relationship – this can lead to resentment, and even the failure of the relationship. When this happens, Protagonists experience strong senses of guilt and betrayal, as they see all their efforts slip away.

If potential partners appreciate these qualities though, and make an effort themselves to look after the needs of their Protagonist partners, they will enjoy long, happy, passionate relationships. Protagonists are known to be dependable lovers, perhaps more interested in routine and stability than spontaneity in their sex lives, but always dedicated to the selfless satisfaction of their partners. Ultimately, Protagonist personality types believe that the only true happiness is mutual happiness, and that’s the stuff successful relationships are made of.

PROTAGONIST FRIENDS

When it comes to friendships, Protagonists are anything but passive. While some personality types may accept the circumstantial highs and lows of friendship, their feelings waxing and waning with the times, Protagonists will put active effort into maintaining these connections, viewing them as substantial and important, not something to let slip away through laziness or inattention.

This philosophy of genuine connection is core to the Protagonist personality type, and while it is visible in the workplace and in romance, it is clearest in the breadth and depth of Protagonist friendships.

All My Life I Have Tried to Pluck a Thistle and Plant a Flower Wherever the Flower Would Grow...

People with the Protagonist personality type take genuine pleasure in getting to know other people, and have no trouble talking with people of all types and modes of thought. Even in disagreement, other perspectives are fascinating to Protagonists – though like most people, they connect best with individuals who share their principles and ideals, and types in Diplomat and Analyst Role groups are best able to explore Protagonists’ viewpoints with them, which are simply too idealistic for most. It is with these closest friends that Protagonists will truly open up, keeping their many other connections in a realm of lighthearted but genuine support and encouragement.

Others truly value their Protagonist friends, appreciating the warmth, kindness, and sincere optimism and cheer they bring to the table. Protagonists want to be the best friends possible, and it shows in how they work to find out not just the superficial interests of their friends, but their strengths, passions, hopes and dreams. Nothing makes Protagonists happier than to see the people they care about do well, and they are more than happy to take their own time and energy to help make it happen.

We Should Be Too Big to Take Offense, and Too Noble to Give It

While Protagonists enjoy lending this helping hand, other personality types may simply not have the energy or drive to keep up with it – creating further strain, people with the Protagonist personality type can become offended if their efforts aren’t reciprocated when the opportunity arises. Ultimately, Protagonists’ give and take can become stifling to types who are more interested in the moment than the future, or who simply have Identities that rest firmly on the Assertive side, making them content with who they are and uninterested in the sort of self-improvement and goal-setting that Protagonists hold so dear.

When this happens Protagonist personalities can be critical, if they believe it necessary. While usually tactful and often helpful, if their friend is already annoyed by Protagonists’ attempts to push them forward, it can simply cause them to dig in their heels further. Protagonists should try to avoid taking this personally when it happens, and relax their inflexibility into an occasional “live and let live” attitude.

Ultimately though, Protagonists will find that their excitement and unyielding optimism will yield them many satisfying relationships with people who appreciate and share their vision and authenticity. The joy Protagonists take in moving things forward means that there is always a sense of purpose behind their friendships, creating bonds that are not easily shaken.

PROTAGONIST PARENTS

As natural leaders, Protagonists make excellent parents, striving to strike a balance between being encouraging and supportive friends to their children, while also working to instil strong values and a sense of personal responsibility. If there’s one strong trend with the Protagonist personality type, it’s that they are a bedrock of empathetic support, not bullheadedly telling people what they ought to do, but helping them to explore their options and encouraging them to follow their hearts.

Protagonist parents will encourage their children to explore and grow, recognizing and appreciating the individuality of the people they bring into this world and help to raise.

Whatever You Are, Be a Good One

Protagonist parents take pride in nurturing and inspiring strong values, and they take care to ensure that the basis for these values comes from understanding, not blind obedience. Whatever their children need in order to learn and grow, Protagonist parents give the time and energy necessary to provide it. While in their weaker moments they may succumb to more manipulative behavior, Protagonists mostly rely on their charm and idealism to make sure their children take these lessons to heart.

Owing to their aversion to conflict, Protagonist parents strive to ensure that their homes provide a safe and conflict-free environment. While they can deliver criticism, it’s not Protagonists’ strong suit, and laying down the occasionally necessary discipline won’t come naturally. But, people with the Protagonist personality type have high standards for their children, encouraging them to be the best they can be, and when these confrontations do happen, they try to frame the lessons as archetypes, moral constants in life which they hope their children will embrace.

As their children enter adolescence, they begin to truly make their own decisions, sometimes contrary to what their parents want – while Protagonists will do their best to meet this with grace and humor, they can feel hurt, and even unloved, in the face of this rebellion. Protagonists are sensitive, and if their child goes so far as to launch into criticisms, they may become truly upset, digging in their heels and locking horns.

All That I Am, or Hope to Be, I Owe to My Angel Mother

Luckily, these occasions will likely be rare. Protagonists’ intuition gives them a talent for understanding, and regardless of the heat of the moment, their children will move on, remembering the genuine warmth, care, love and encouragement they’ve always received from their Protagonist parents. They grow up feeling the lessons that have been woven into the fabric of their character, and recognize that they are the better for their parents’ efforts.

PROTAGONIST CAREERS

When it comes to finding a career, people with the Protagonist personality type cast their eyes towards anything that lets them do what they love most – helping other people! Lucky for them, people like being helped, and are even willing to pay for it, which means that Protagonists are rarely wanting for inspiration and opportunity in their search for meaningful work.

Don’t Worry When You Are Not Recognized, but Strive to Be Worthy of Recognition

Protagonists take a genuine interest in other people, approaching them with warm sociability and a helpful earnestness that rarely goes unnoticed. Altruistic careers like social and religious work, teaching, counseling, and advising of all sorts are popular avenues, giving people with the Protagonist personality type a chance to help others learn, grow, and become more independent. This attitude, alongside their social skills, emotional intelligence and tendency to be “that person who knows everybody”, can be adapted to quite a range of other careers as well, making Protagonists natural HR administrators, event coordinators, and politicians – anything that helps a community or organization to operate more smoothly.

To top it all off, Protagonists are able to express themselves both creatively and honestly, allowing them to approach positions as sales representatives and advertising consultants from a certain idealistic perspective, intuitively picking up on the needs and wants of their customers, and working to make them happier. However, Protagonists need to make sure they get to focus on people, not systems and spreadsheets, and they are unlikely to have the stomach for making the sort of decisions required in corporate governance positions – they will feel haunted, knowing that their decision cost someone their job, or that their product cost someone their life.

Having a preference for Intuitive (N) trait over its Observant (S) counterpart also means that careers demanding exceptional situational awareness, such as law enforcement, military service, and emergency response, will cause Protagonists to burn out quickly. While great at organizing willing parties and winning over skeptics, in dangerous situations Protagonists just won’t be able to maintain the sort of focus on their immediate physical surroundings that they inevitably demand of themselves hour after hour, day after day.

Always Bear in Mind That Your Own Resolution to Succeed Is More Important Than Any Other

It makes a great deal more sense for Protagonists to be the force keeping these vital services organized and running well, taking their long-term views, people skills and idealism, and using them to shape the situation on the ground, while more physical personality types manage the moment-to-moment crises. People with the Protagonist personality type are always up for a good challenge – and nothing thrills them quite like helping others. But while willing to train the necessary skills, Protagonists will always show an underlying preference for the sort of help that draws a positive long-term trend, that effects change that really sticks.

At the heart of it, Protagonists need to see how the story ends, to feel and experience the gratitude and appreciation of the people they’ve helped in order to be happy.

Careers operating behind enemy lines and arriving at the scene of the crime too late to help will simply weigh on Protagonists’ sensitive hearts and minds, especially if criticized despite their efforts. On the other hand, Protagonists are a driven, versatile group, and that same vision that pulls them towards administration and politics can help them focus through the stress of the moment, knowing that each second of effort contributes to something bigger than themselves.

PROTAGONISTS IN THE WORKPLACE

People with the Protagonist personality type are intelligent, warm, idealistic, charismatic, creative, social... With this wind at their backs, Protagonists are able to thrive in many diverse roles, at any level of seniority. Moreover, they are simply likeable people, and this quality propels them to success wherever they have a chance to work with others.

Protagonist Subordinates

As subordinates, Protagonists will often underestimate themselves – nevertheless, they quickly make an impression on their managers. Quick learners and excellent multitaskers, people with the Protagonist personality type are able to take on multiple responsibilities with competence and good cheer. Protagonists are hardworking, reliable and eager to help – but this can all be a double-edged sword, as some managers will take advantage of Protagonists’ excellent quality of character by making too many requests and overburdening their Protagonist subordinates with extra work. Protagonists are conflict-averse and try to avoid unnecessary criticism, and in all likelihood will accept these extra tasks in an attempt to maintain a positive impression and frictionless environment.

Protagonist Colleagues

As colleagues, Protagonists’ desire to assist and cooperate is even more evident as they draw their coworkers into teams where everyone can feel comfortable expressing their opinions and suggestions, working together to develop win-win situations that get the job done. Protagonists’ tolerance, open-mindedness and easy sociability make it easy for them to relate to their colleagues, but also make it perhaps a little too easy for their colleagues to shift their problems onto Protagonists’ plates. People with the Protagonist personality type are sensitive to the needs of others, and their role as a social nexus means that problems inevitably find their way to Protagonists’ doorsteps, where colleagues will find a willing, if overburdened, associate.

Protagonist Managers

While perfectly capable as subordinates and colleagues, Protagonists’ true calling, where their capacity for insightful and inspiring communication and sensitivity to the needs of others really shows, is in managing teams. As managers, Protagonists combine their skill in recognizing individual motivations with their natural charisma to not only push their teams and projects forward, but to make their teams want to push forward. They may sometimes stoop to manipulation, the alternative often being a more direct confrontation, but Protagonists’ end goal is always to get done what they set out to do in a way that leaves everyone involved satisfied with their roles and the results they achieved together.

PROTAGONIST PERSONALITY – CONCLUSION

Few personality types are as passionate and charismatic as Protagonists. Their enthusiasm and vivid imagination allow Protagonists to overcome many challenging obstacles, more often than not brightening the lives of those around them. Protagonists’ creativity is invaluable in many areas, including their own personal growth.

Yet Protagonists can be easily tripped up in areas where their idealism and passion are more of a liability than an asset. Whether it is navigating interpersonal conflicts, confronting unpleasant facts, pursuing self-realization, or finding a career path that aligns well with your inner core, you may face numerous challenges that at times can even make you question who you really are.

What you have read so far is just an introduction and less than 5% of what we can tell you about the Protagonist personality type. You may have muttered to yourself, “wow, this is so accurate it’s creepy”, or “they know more about me than people I’m closest to”. And you may even be a little uncomfortable because you are really not used to being understood.

This is not a trick. You felt understood because you were. And no, we did not spy on you – rather, we spent years studying Protagonists’ life stories, experiences, and responses to hundreds of our surveys. Step by step, insight by insight, we discovered exactly how Protagonists think, and what they need to reach their full potential.

This is how we know that many of the challenges you’ve faced and will face in the future have been overcome by other Protagonists. You are not alone in this. You simply need to learn from mistakes and successes of others.

But in order to do that, you need a roadmap that fits your needs. Life is too short to stumble around grasping at scattered and contradictory advice that may work for 95% of the population, but not you. We now need to go much deeper into the Protagonist mind and answer “why?”, “how?” and “what if?”

Are you ready to learn why Protagonists act in the way they do? What motivates and inspires you? What you are afraid of and what you secretly dream about? How you can unlock your true, exceptional potential, while also staying true to who you are?

Our Academy provides a roadmap towards a more focused, confident, and successful you. It’s not for everyone – you need to be willing to challenge yourself, to face your fears, and to ask and answer questions you haven’t asked yourself before. This is not a quick-fix solution, nor an easy shortcut. Our goal is to help you grow and become the person you are meant to be, not to simply give you a comfortable mask to put on.

[supperfashions-blog]

Truth, Beauty, Goodness

Can one know what true honor and goodness are? Is there an objectivity to these attributes, or are they merely what one perceives them to be? Let us hubs on what God has created girlfriend to be and what coalition tells them to be. Does the truism joke in girlfriend beings successful career girlfriend to the spring of their own feminine nature; in creature dependent on the admiration of others for their self-worth; or in their entity mere physical objective of pleasure? Or are they called to discovery the fact of their dignity in the configuration of Mary, Virgin Mother of God, who reflects and participates in the Divine Truth, Beauty, and Goodness of which all arrangement is called to reflect and share in?

The quest of truth, beauty, and goodness is one that has intrigued manhood for centuries. The pagan philosophers seek to identify that which is True, Good, and Beautiful. For the Christian, however, there can be no other solution than that which affirms that the Triune God is the True, the Beautiful, and the Good. By His very reality God is all three. Everything else is so only by participation. We can know this because God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2500 tells us that "even before disclosure Himself to man in schoolbook of truth, God reveals Himself to (man) through the universal language of creation." All making reflects its Creator; therefore, we can see something of Beauty itself in creation. Truth, beauty, and goodness, which are called "the transcendentals," cannot be separated from one another because they are a symmetry as the Trinity is One. Truth is beautiful in itself. And goodness describes all that God has made. "God saw all that He had made, and it was very good" (Gen.1:31).

Man is the apex of the Creator's work, as Scripture expresses by clearly distinguishing the formation of guy from that of other creatures. "God created doc in His own image..." (Gen. 1:27). Thus, guy was not only created good and beautiful, but he was also established in friendship with his Creator and in symmetry with himself and with the arrangement around him, in a countryside that would be surpassed only by the honor of the new arrangement in Christ. The inner accord of the first man, the agreement between the first man and woman (Adam and Eve), and the keep between the first duo and all creation, is called "original justice." This entire harmony of original judge was lost by the transgression of our first parents. Created in a kingdom of holiness, man was destined to be fully "divinized" by God in glory. But he preferred himself to God and disobeyed God's command.

Thus, Adam and Eve immediately lost the blessing of original holiness, and the evenness in which they had lived was destroyed. They were separated from Beauty Itself. God, however did not abandon mankind, all of whom slices in the damage of Adam, since "by one man's disobedience all were made sinners" (Rom. 5:12). In the completeness of time God sent His Son to restore that which had been lost. The Son, who is "beautiful above the sons of men," came to restore us to beauty.

Thus, we turn now to beauty. Von Balthasar once remarked that when one is hunting to raffle others to God, he should begin with praise because honor attracts. Beauty will then lead to truism and goodness. Hence, if one is going to begin with splendor then one must know what splendor is. I will type a disagreement between two types of beauty, although only one of them is shine in the truest brains of the definition. There is "seductive" beauty, which is often reflected in our current culture. This would entail whatever allures ourselves to our self-destruction (morally or spiritually). It revenue us away from what we were created for, alliance with Beauty Himself. This type of honor I will gains to, but first I scarcity to establish a definition and proper uptake of what "true" beauty is. This is first and foremost whatever attracts ourselves to our true contentment and happiness. In his book The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty, John Saward, sketch on the occupation of St.Thomas Aquinas, defines glory as: "the gleaming of the substantial or actual model that is found in the proportioned parts of a material things." In other words, while one tins discovery splendor in the outward appearance, one must go deeper to the kind or the concern of the thing.

"Thus, in a material definition (such as man) there is glory when the matter of a creature sheen clearly through its outward appearance." The honor of one's goal can be said to sheen through a person's countenance. For this to occur, three things are necessary -wholeness (integrity), due part (harmony), and intelligence (clarity). It is important to memorandum that understood in this meaning is the reality that brightness is a actuality in itself, it is not something that we produce by looking at a firm of art or some other thing that attracts us. Rather, praise radiates out of what we see. It radiates out because it is participating in Beauty itself. In regards to Jesus, "Christian Tradition - from Augustine and Hilary to Peter Lombard, Albert, Thomas, and Bonaventure - holds that beauty can be appropriated in a special medium to the Second Person..."

St. Thomas says that all three marks of splendor are found in Jesus. Radiance is found in Him because He is the Word of the Father, and the Word eternally uttered by the Father completely and perfectly expresses Him. He is the cheerfulness of the Father's mind. Due part is found in the Son of God because He is the perfect idol of the Father. As the perfect image, He is divine beauty. Jesus has sum because He has in Himself the whole feathers of the Father. In begetting the Son, the Father communicates the whole of His divine essence. Thus, we have a Divine Person, God the Son, who without cessation to be true God, has been made true man for ourselves in the Virgin's womb. When one sees the Virgin and the Child, one sees a witness to the Trinity. Pope John Paul II explains that this snapshot of Mother and Child "constitutes a silent but boldness petition of Mary's virginal motherhood, and for that very reason, of the Son's divinity."

It is as such a witness to the Trinity that allows Mary a special position in association to the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. The Blessed Virgin, said the fifteenth century author John Lydgate, is the "Fairest Mother that ever was alive." Many poets and artists have sought to express their glory and admiration for Her who is so about united to Divinity. When Dante reaches Paradise, he discovery the beauty of the Son of God bulk perfectly mirrored in Mary, of whom He was born. Thus, we will see how Mary is to be for all, but especially women, a pattern of true beauty, and thus, goodness and truth, as she reflects a sharing in the existence of the Trinity. "All the glory for desire and content that the Son of God brought into the world, all the loveliness He wanted to lavish on mankind, is summed up in, and mediated by the homme of His ever virgin Mother, 'a hens clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and on her top a wreaths of twelve stars' (Rev. 12:1). If there is beauty, it is here."

To understand Mary's beauty, one must know of the offering bestowed on her, and her critique to these gifts, which put her in intimate conspiracy with Beauty, Itself. Scripture, God's revealed Word, tells us that "an angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph...and the virgin's name was Mary. And he (the angel) came to her and said, 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you! ... Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you evidence conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and called the Son of the Most High...And Mary said, ' How can this be since I have no husband?' And the angel said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born testament be called holy, the Son of God.' ...And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.'" (Lk. 1:26-38).

To become the mother of the Savior, Mary was given the gift necessary and befitting such a role. Mary was greeted as "full of grace," as if that were her realities name. A name expresses a person's identity. "Full of grace" is Mary's essence, her identity, and the meaning of her life. Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the demeanor of Him who is the fountains of all grace, and she is given over to Him who has come to dwell in her and whom she is roughly to give to the world. She is by a singular grace free from any earth of mistake by reason of the merits of her Son. She possesses the symmetry that Adam lost. Thus, she has the first two qualities of beauty: due percentage (harmony) and morality (wholeness) because by the merits of her Son and the completeness of grace which she has been given, her nature is complete - unwounded and unstained by sin.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church proclaims that "Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the completeness of time...In her, the 'wonders of God' that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and in the Church began to be manifested." Through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, "the objective of God's merciful love, into communion with Christ."

Grace has been described as "God's better beauty, the radiance of the soul." And Mary, who is full of grace, radiates that splendor, that spiritual beauty. Grace (sanctifying grace) gives ourselves a portion in the Divine Life; it conforms our core into the resemblance of Christ. Mary in her fortune of grace is a reflected polish of her Son. She possesses the "radiance" which is the third of the timber of beauty. The great St. Bernard of Clairvaux declares that "contemplating the countenance of the Mother is the best means of fitness to see the glorious coalition of the Son." Saward endorses this objective by intending to the deed that Our Lord is conceived by the Holy Spirit without seed, thus there is only one human homme whom He resembles in His humanity, and that is His Virgin Mother.

How does Mary's glory enable women of today to be an symbol of true beauty, and hence of truism and goodness also? Mary, the Theotokos - the Mother of God, the Mother of Infinite Beauty, who is herself beautiful, evidence guide girlfriend to that which is true and good. She shows the fabrication of "seductive beauty," which we have noted above as entity whatever allures ourselves to our self-destruction (morally or spiritually), by bringing up her own "true" beauty in contrast. Before showing the meaning of Mary's beauty, which meets St. Thomas' necessity for beauty: wholeness, due proportion, and radiance, we evidence look at society's claim of womanly beauty. Women today are told by society that what is good and beautiful is that which is glamorous and seductive. Beauty is separated from God, Who is disregarded and Whose goodness is exchanged for a "base skull and improper conduct" (Rom. 1:28), leading to both spiritual and often physical dissolution. The "truth" that they are taught is one which "considers the human entity (and hence, the woman) not as a fellow but as a thing, as an scoop of trade, at the service of selfish interest and mere pleasure... this fabrication harvest such bitter fruits as contempt for manhood and for women, slavery, sharpening of the weak, pornography, prostitution..."

Thus, honor is often seen as a mere physical quality. It lacks "due proportion" because only one period of the whole homme is considered. Society emphasizes the physical to the jump of the spiritual. Flowing from this same type of mentality, we see that women are honored more for their vocation outside the abode than for their firm within the family. What is "seen" as attractive is a hens who is able to achieve the "good" of a successful career, which promises gladness and "equality with men." In lineup to achieve this, women often times either renounce their femininity or become a mere fake of the male role. They are in a sense trading in the caliber of "integrity," which is necessary for true beauty, for society's limited claim of the beautiful. This "seductive beauty" which promises so scads "good" gives rise to a hedonism that distorts and falsifies human sexuality and the true honor of the human person. This mold not only to a omission of esteem for what womanhood is to be, since the truism about their personal honor as one who was created and redeemed by God is unknown, but it also hinders girlfriend from achieving the "fullness of grace" for which they were created. It signal to women's spiritual destruction because they are not stronghold a existence of grace. They are not keep for God.

Mary, who lived a grace-filled life, is, however, the ideal of redeemed woman. God Himself "manifests the nobility of girlfriend in the highest pattern possible by adopting human compassion from the Virgin Mary, whom the Church honors as the Mother of God." The highest growing of the human nature took place in the masculine gender, when Jesus, the Son of God, became man and male. The highest raising of the human person took circumstance in the feminine gender, in the Virgin Mary. Her divine maternity gives her an exalted dignity. She is "blessed among women." Therefore, all womanhood portion in her grace and is made radiant by her. "When the Virgin Mary is humbly honored for the aim of her Son, women evidence be honored...for she has revealed the true splendor of womanhood."

Looking at what we have already said roughly Mary, we know "full of grace" reveals her essence, her identity. It is also the key to her idea of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. It is the key to women discovering the deed of their own dignity, and hence, obtaining the divine life that is offered to them through a life of grace. This is a life that will bestow on them true goodness and beauty, which is a partaking in the glory of the Creator.

Because Mary is "full of grace," she possesses the sum that was lost by Adam. Because of grace, she is "radiant as the sun," presentation in her very creature the guts of a life united with God. Such a league glow forth in a person's actions; combat which are a thought of God's goodness. "The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty" (CCC 2500). These actions, called virtues, "are acquired by education, by deliberate acts and by a industry ever-renewed in repeated probation are purified and elevated by divine grace" (CCC1810). Grace affects every size of a person's life. It is a gift of God that clue us closer to God. The closer we are to God, the more we reflect Him who is Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

Mary is held up for ourselves as the making of the life of virtue. She is a guide in harmony a life of safekeeping to grace. Due to gap limitation, I will only briefly look at three of the uprightness that Mary possesses and calls us to imitate. They are faith, obedience, and charity. The Church hails Mary as an "excellent paragon in safekeeping and charity" (Lumen Gentium 53). We see her safekeeping when she entrusts herself freely to God at the Annunciation, believing and trusting the angel's announcement to her that the son to be born to her would be the Son of the Most High, certain that "with God nothing is impossible" (Lk. 1:30). Her fragments of safekeeping continues in her responses to that which occurs in her life of alliance with Jesus. She flees to Egypt when Joseph is directed to go there (Mt. 2:13-15); she returns in the same mode (Mt. 2:19-23); and she faithfully perseveres in her covenant with her Son unto the cross (cf. LG#58, Jn.19:25-27), all the while custody and trusting in the discernment of God's divine plan. She believed that her Son, though crucified and buried, would rise from the dead. She waited in grace (Acts 1:14). We, too, are called to be women of faith, trust what God has revealed concerning His drawing for ourselves and our salvation.

Flowing from Mary's abyss faith, she shows her loving obedience. Hers was not a servile obedience. Rather it was an obedience that flowed from humility. She knew the visions and greatness of God and therefore, sought to live in coordination with it. Being obedient to God meant responding in safekeeping to His all-wise plan. Again, at the Annunciation, she replies in conformance to the angel, "Let it be done to me as you say" (Lk. 1:36). She obediently follows the instructing that the angel gives to Joseph, trusting in God. Mary remained obedient to her bureau as mother even to the cross, where she obediently offers the full assent of her intellect and evidence to Him whose route are inscrutable. As we seek to imitate Mary's obedience, we will discovery that it frees us from the drudgery of sin. Obedience type us beautiful because it opens us up to God's grace, to His life and love within us.

Mary's trust and compliance allows her great pity to sheen through. Mary, the Mother of Fairest Love, possesses a self-humbling love, innocent of all narcissism. "It is for Christ and to the beauty of the Father, by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, that our Lady is 'all fair.'" She devotes herself "totally as a handmaid of the Lord to the homme and sustenance of her Son... she does this freely" (LG # 56). This approval of her bureau as "Mother of the Son of God (is) guided by spousal love, the love which totally consecrates a human being to God. By virtue of this love, Mary wished to always be and in all properties given to God." This love that remains faithful to her Son throughout His life, even to His cruel dying on Calvary, extends itself to the brethren of her Son, those spirit still journeying on land (cf. LG #62-63). There is nothing more beautiful than charity, which we are all called to practice, and which inspires and animates all the other uprightness (cf. CCC 1827). Charity, the shape of all uprightness "binds universe together in perfect harmony" (Col. 3:14), one of the aspect of beauty.

These morality and the life of grace are possible for all women, who seek to know the truism and avail themselves of the blessing that comes from the merits of Jesus Christ, who came to restore humanity to the shine of adopted children and "partakers in the divine nature" (1 Pt. 1:3). St. Francis de Sales comment that because of grace we are so like Christ that we resemble God perfectly, because in His getting man, Jesus has taken our similarities and given us His. Thus, we must do what we tins to preserve this praise and divine likeness that He has restored to us.

Mary helps girlfriend to do this. Her splendor attracts, and because it attracts she guide ourselves to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn.14:6). Mary is loved and honored because she reflects the truth, beauty, and goodness of her Son by her actions, by her life of virtue. Her legislature is to lead others to Him and to the deed he teaches and is. This is seen by looking once again at how outcome reflects the splendor of God. All that God creates is good; it is beautiful. Jesus, who is the fullness of revelation, has raised order to an even higher grandeur by restoring all ownership "according to the drawing God was pleased to restore in Christ. A plan to be carried out in Christ, in the completeness of time, to bring all properties into one in Him, in the sky and on earth" (Eph. 1:9-10). Thus, symmetry is restored, all is made whole, and His splendor is made known. Because the "Word became skin and dwelt among us, full of blessing and truth; we have beheld his glory, praise as of the only Son of the Father" (Jn. 1:14)

Man was created in the symbol and likeness of God; Jesus renewed reprieve in His immortal image. He restored us to the likeness of God. Mary reflects the shine of her Son in her very essence. Mary is the one who will, in interactivity with her Divine Son, assistance women to discover the deed of their feminine nature, to reflect the honor of a kid of God, and by God's grace to live that goodness that comes from God alone. Women, to attain this ideal, must turn to Mary as a model, who has been chosen by God from all eternity to be the Mother of His Son, and to be a guide for us on our route to the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, our true remuneration and happiness. Women should entrust themselves to Mary's leader because she already is that which they are called to be: full of grace. As the Church prays in the Divine Liturgy: Lord, as we beauty the glorious sanity of the Virgin Mary, we ask that by the assistance of Her prayers, we too may come to portion the completeness of Your grace," so that by that blessing we too may reflect that which is True, Beautiful, and Good.

Margie Crooks is the Director of Parish Ministries for the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. She is also the Director of Religious Education for St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Fishers, Indiana. Visit https://supperfashion.com/product-category/beauty/ Margie earned her Master's Degree in Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she graduated with honors. Margie is also a Licensed Health Facility Administrator and has worked for 17 days in the vigor treatment field.

[chrisengel]

During my plane ride home on El Al, I read Lacan’s interviews from 1971-1972, those delivered in the chapel of St. Anne and subsequently published by Jacques-Alain Miller under the title I’m talking to the walls (Je parle aux murs (Seuil, 2011). I had, in reading a certain passage, if not an epiphany, at least an intuition which seized me, and from which I draw the hypotheses which will follow. 1. As I was the first to speak in Tel Aviv on Lacan and the philosophers, and our hosts were solicitous to know what we (namely Marie-Hélène Brousse and myself) thought of the murders and assassinations in Paris on November 13th, on behalf of Daesh, or the “Islamic State,” I proposed to speak about it purely in Lacanian terms, and ventured the following remarks: each of us knows Lacan’s commentaries on forced choices such as money or life, or freedom or death, in Seminar XI (concerning alienation), and the reference to Hegel concerning the Terror. Well! It seems to me that the motto of “freedom or death” still leaves a choice, even if, whatever one chooses, it is death which prevails. 2. Let us remember what Lacan calls “the lethal factor”: “For example, freedom or death! There, because death comes into play, it produces an effect of a structure a little bit different [from that of money or life]. This is because, in both cases, I will have both. […] You choose freedom. Well! You’ve got freedom to die […] it is called the Terror.” 3. The disciples of Jihad, who are not revolutionaries (except in the Lacanian sense of a circular return to the same thing), offer a choice which would be the following: death or death! This is to say that the two circles coinciding such as those illustrating money or life are identical here, completely overlapping. There is no more contiguity between the two. Hegel goes so far as to conceive of this extreme point, expressed as: “The sole work and deed of universal freedom is therefore death, a death too which has no inner significance or filling, for what is negated is the empty point of the absolutely free self. It is thus the coldest and meanest of all deaths, with no more significance than cutting off a head of cabbage or swallowing a mouthful of water.” [Phenomelogy of Spirit, Chapter VI: “Absolute Freedom and Terror”]. 4. It is fitting then, that the jihadists kill at first sight. It turns out, incidentally, according to the evidence, that they still demand this sight, asking those whom they are going to shoot at point-blank range to look them in the eyes. They invoke this “final mirror stage,” in order to be sure of killing a man, before dying in their turn. 5. But we cannot stop there, as there are at least two additional factors to consider: the universal hatred of capitalism, and the reference to the Crusades. Apparently nothing is shared between these two ideas, of their erroneously commonplace notion, calling us the “Crusaders”, as they do, and as they did on their statements concerning the events in Paris, this is an excessive embellishment, a religious fiction that must be sent back to older days. The idea is a flat repetition from Voltaire, who said, “These are usually rogues who drive the fanatics and who put the dagger in their hands.” [Article on ‘Fanaticism’ from the Philosophical Dictionary]. 6. I will first lay into the idea specific to a certain politics of the world, diffuse, latent, fearful, but cherished by many oppressed Muslims and by those French who defend them in the final analysis or pity them. The idea that we have a clash of civilizations (why not) between, on one side, the Occident (Christian), the United States (the great Satan, fundamentally, unknown to the Koranic world), “the International Community”, warmonger and perpetrator of abuses, unrepentant colonialism, etc. and, on the other side, the colonized, the oppressed, the poor, the workers, etc. The terms vary infinitely. 7. We could well lash out at universal capitalism, at the world market, at globalization, provided that we consider that Daesh represents its final and most accomplished, most monstrous, most aggressive and most possessive stage. For the simple reason that they have at their disposal all the necessary capital for their acts of violence, receive daily fortunes thanks to petrol, that they are allocated by their supporters, who are also their disciples and their admirers, their allies and their clients, an entire arsenal of innumerable men and arms, that they particularly exploit and sacrifice to their ends an entire youth, and that their aim is to move from a stage that I would call rhizomatous (rather well proposed, all in all, in Deleuze and Guattari’s A Thousand Plateaus, I say without pleasure), which we knew during the time of al-Qaeda, to the stage of the State, hence the attempt to obviously constitute an Islamic State, accompanied by the additional fantasy of the caliphate (the latter refused incidentally by traditional Muslims). 8. It’s here that the Lacan text read in the plane intervenes: “Again history shows that it has survived for centuries, this discourse [the discourse of the master], in a way that is advantageous for everyone, until a certain point where, by reason of a tiny slippage in meaning which passed unnoticed by those involved, it became the discourse of capitalism, of which we would have not the slightest idea if Marx hadn’t applied himself to completing it, in giving it its subject, the proletariat, thanks to which the discourse of capitalism has blossomed everywhere the form of the Marxist State reigns.” Certainly the USSR is defunct, and we have something better at present. Here comes the passage which baffled me: “That which distinguishes the discourse of capitalism is this – Verwerfung, foreclosure, foreclosure of all the fields of the symbolic, with the result I have already referred to. Foreclosure of what? Of castration. Every order, every discourse that relates to capitalism leaves aside what we will simply call matters of love, my good friends. You see, eh, this is not insignificant.” [“I’m speaking to the walls, 6 January 1972.] Who would contest that the discourse of the “Islamic State” is exactly that, and that the events of Paris illustrate in a blinding manner the extent of the forced foreclosure there of matters of love, precisely (friendship, love, cafés, walks, cinema, theatre, dancing, nightclubs, distractions, meetings, hooking up, “Your place or mine?”), with the repression of women to top it all off. And Lacan continues: “That is why, two centuries after this shift, let’s call it Calvinist –why not?–, castration made its irruptive entry under the form of the analytical discourse.” And the result, to which I refer. I will not insult dear Calvin with what Lacan reproaches Calvinism with, but I will readily say of Islam that of which he speaks in a quasi-prophetic way. And I well distinguish—as the ethic of Speaking-Well invites us in the current state of things—Islamism and Islam. 9. I know how those who still have a world political vision at their disposal will be reluctant to analyze some phenomenon so intensified in such tenuous terms, but the politics of the unconscious, which speak less strong, but which nonetheless insists—would it not still impose itself on our fellows? A rare politics if ever there was, restrained, intermittent. In the same way that, to speak of Nazism, Lacan’s insistent reference and fascination with sacrifice to a god or Dark God will always leave suspicions. Idealism, they say, rather than materialism (but which one: historical or dialectical?). 10. I will even go so far as to say that the poem entitled ‘Antoine Tudal,’ advanced in the interview of Lacan, reflects what we see! “Between man and woman, there is love. That communicates at full blast.” Being, that, this is Paris! Then, “between man and love, where is a world,” and there, is made, in the (radical) Islamist version, of this “That he knows the world, namely, quite simply this sort of dream of knowledge which arrives there in the place of what was, here in this little schema, marked by the W of the woman.” So it consists of fully covering the women and of omitting them, as to know the world in the sense that everyone knows that at the end of the world, there will only be Muslims. (“The Triumph of Religion” as Lacan stated elsewhere, but not for the Apostolic Roman Catholic Church!). Universal submission, as the other says! This echoes the dream of a millennia long Reich and I owe it to an analyst from Tel Aviv for having cited a bewildering passage from Claudel’s journal, which I found; it is a note from May 21st, 1935: “21st of May. Speech by Hitler. He creates at the centre of Europe a kind of Islamism, a community that makes its conquest a sort of religious duty.” And finally, my fellows, “Between man and the world, there is a wall,” and it is, simply, the place of castration. “This is not a wall, it is simply the locus of castration,” Lacan indeed concludes. 11. Those who seek death, with or without words, those who tell us that that we don’t know at what point, more than we love life, they love death, those who expect that their suicide will necessarily be successful, those, in nuce, who hate and kill us, have determined that “it is easier to accept interdiction than to run the risk of castration.” Such would then be that which analytic discourse could expect from them: their disappearance. 12. Unlike the leftists of ’68, some of whom turned to analytic discourse, our enemies prefer the bloody rod to the calm sea [“bonace”] assured by Lacan. As we are not, for now,  , ‘we’re even getting slaughtered there. So what to do? Of course the “Islamic State” will not subsist, and Daesh will be destroyed, without us having to believe as much that we are the Romans, nor assuming, of them, a new Carthage! Meanwhile, I only wish to recall this conclusive and moving section from Lacan’s 1949 article on the mirror stage, “In the subject to subject recourse we preserve, psychoanalysis can accompany the patient to the ecstatic limit of the “Thou art that,” where the cipher of his mortal destiny is revealed to him, but it is not in our sole power as practitioners to bring him to the point where the true journey begins.” We will need, for this journey, to switch from our present impotence to some new kind of impossible. November 23rd, 2015.

http://www.lacan.com/actuality/2015/12/matters-of-love-hypotheses-on-the-recent-events-of-paris-seen-from-el-al/#more-1191

MATTERS OF LOVE” HYPOTHESES ON THE RECENT EVENTS OF PARIS, SEEN FROM EL AL

François Regnault

[supaliaxpress]

Chicago Typewriter Review: The Hope of being with you guys Again Someday

Wow… I am left speechless… I just watched the last episode of Chicago Typewriter and I am left with such a warm feeling inside. I experienced so many emotions within those 50 minutes: sadness, anger, fear, happiness, and hope. This is an overall review of the series, since I haven’t reviewed each episode individually. 

The plot of this series was simply AMAZING and GENIUS. Personally, I love historical setting dramas, especially stories with historic significance…. and Chicago Typewriter combined both the modern and historical aspect beautifully with a touch of supernatural magic. The historical setting was placed during the 1930s when Korea was under Japanese rule… but what made this drama enticing were the elements of reincarnation and time-traveling by flashbacks. This drama did well to use both of these elements to highlight important events and progress the plot. Not only do we get the historic story of the main characters, but we also get to see the struggles of the main characters’ present lives and how their decisions/actions compared to their past selves. At first, I was worried about the drama because it started out quite slow in terms of character development and progression of the plot, as well as, the modern story was beginning to be overshadowed by the historic story. At one point, I became so heavily invested into the historic story that I almost didn’t care about their modern lives. On the other hand, wonderfully, they brought our attention back to the present by Se Ju’s exceptionally well-crafted character development and the teaming up of the main characters to write ‘Chicago Typewriter.’ Definitely, the strongest aspect of this drama was the plot/story-telling… I cannot emphasize how simply amazing the plot is. At first, we were made to think the moral of the story was for Se Ju to overcome his writing slump and ultimately finish writing ‘Chicago Typewriter’ with Yoo Jin Oh (Shin Yool); however, that was not the case. 

Let’s take a step back and understand why this drama is called, “Chicago Typewriter.” Literally, one can interpret the title to symbolize the typewriter itself and the submachine gun… but in a deeper context… I believe the title represents the dreams and the promise between Se Ju (Hwi Young), Yoo Jin Oh (Shin Yool), and Seol (Soo Hyun) and this can be described by Hwi Young’s letter he gave to Shin Yool in episode 16. Physically, the typewriter is an empty object with no significant meaning. We learn that the typewriter was bought by Shin Yool as a gift to Hwi Young… and later this typewriter became the source of the resistance fighters’ communication. Soo Hyun also compared the submachine gun and the typewriter to each other. She quoted that the pen is mightier than the sword… thus explaining how significant the written word (communication) is the most essential aspect to obtain independence for their country, other than killing/violence. However, notice how important both the presence of the typewriter and the submachine gun were throughout the drama. Especially how the Chicago Typewriter gun was used by both Hwi Young and Soo Hyun in the last two episodes… In the end, Hwi Young sent his prized possession, the typewriter, to Shin Yool and replaced it with the gun - thus symbolizing how he was putting down his pen and accepted his death. As for Soo Hyun, she used the Chicago Typewriter gun to kill the Japanese officials because that is the only thing she can do for her country… she made a statement by taking revenge through extermination. 

Now in the present, Se Ju was in a slump because his writing “caused” his stalker to kill himself and, thus, him losing confidence in his skills. However, the return of the typewriter not only brought him to meet Seol and Jin Oh, but he was also able to regain his confidence in his writing through trust and friendship. Combined with all the experience the typewriter has gone through, one could say that the typewriter symbolizes time and fate… by bringing the main characters together and tying up the loose end of their story. However, the greatest impact for me was how Shin Yool sealed himself in the typewriter so that he could keep his promise to Hwi Young. After he finished writing the story… his existence was basically over. But, what touched me the most was that Se Ju wrote a new story… the story of their present day lives… so that Shin Yool could seal himself in that story to be reborn one day. Truly, this drama showed how powerful the written word and communication is in our daily lives… and that it can both kill and save. This lesson was not only seen through the main characters’ struggles, but also by Tae Min who struggled to take responsibility for his actions, their mother who held a grudge against Se Ju, their father who failed to protect both of his sons, and Seol’s mother who abandoned her daughter because she couldn’t face her past actions. 

The plot and the lessons weren’t the only amazing aspects of this drama. The character development was also well done… especially Se Ju. Personally, I think there was a lot of focus on Se Ju, that many of the other characters didn’t receive the same spot-light. Se Ju changed from a cold, haughty, and lonely person to loving, forgiving, and understanding. He changed his outlook on life to appreciating it and valuing friendship, love, and faith. But, I also think that Se Ju was always that person to begin with… however, he just locked his true self away due to his troubled childhood and the betrayal of his family. I must also say that Hwi Young was an amazing character who exemplified what it meant to be a true leader… cunning, brave, strong, and steel-hearted when it came to making clear-cut decisions. I loved how very different Hwi Young and Shin Yool were… and how one could distinguish between the two’s leadership. Hands down, Yoo Ah In stole the show with his masterful acting as Se Ju/Hwi Young (who didn’t cry when Shin Yool was reading Hwi Young’s letter? I freakin balled like a baby cause it was the most heart-felt letter I’ve ever read along with Shin Yool’s crying, Hwi Young’s narration, and the music in the background T___T). 

Hey Shin Yool, are you alive? Are you reading this letter now? I was cleaning up before leaving for Manchuria and decided to send my three most precious things to you to keep for me. By chance, do you remember the ay we first saw this typewriter? Actually, I didn’t mean it when I said my pen was plenty at that time. I was bluffing. After receiving that gift of the typewriter from you, I was so happy. I’ve received so much from you, so much so that I can’t repay you in this lifetime. Now at the point of that I might not see you alive again and I am sorry because these are the only tings I can give you. And on top of that, I can’t even give it to you for free. I need to attach a favor. Will you be able to handle it? Can you? I’m hoping you will finish my novel for me. With this typewriter you gifted to me. Please write our story in my place now. The story of us living on this land at that time. How we lived diligently in the dark reality. How we hurt fiercely and hoped in desperation. How we found happiness within the danger. How we loved and fought with all our might. As for the pocket watch, I am giving it to you for wishing you to cherish Soo Hyeon every minute and every second. So that Soo Hyeon will never be alone again, you stay by her side. And lastly, Yool… just how much I trusted you and loved our friendship, I regret that I didn’t tell you in person. So let’s make sure we meet again alive. No, let’s meet again even in our death. 

If a god asks me if I was happy in this life, I’ll answer. I was happy because I met you guys. If a god tells me, “Good job living a hard life.” “You lived it well.” And pat my shoulder, then I’ll ask for a favor. If I am to born again, I’ll ask to be with you guys again. 

Jeon Seol’s (and Soo Hyun) character was very lovable and I loved how she remained true to herself in both the present and past lives, but I also loved how she showed times of weakness to indicate that, despite her amazing skills in various fields, she is human. Im Soo Jung did a great job to capture Seol’s liveliness and her strong determination. I really loved that Soo Hyun finished the job of exterminating the traitors (especially Heo Young Min), as well as, it was truly admirable when she killed Shin Yool… but it also showed that she had no purpose to continue on living because she was exhausted and lost everyone she loved… in the end despite killing all the traitors with her gun, she ended up losing herself in the process. Overall, the acting done in this drama was absolutely great! You could feel each characters’ thoughts, emotions, and understand their reasoning for their actions/decisions. You could feel their fears and how each character was on the edge of their sanity… just barely trying to survive. You honestly couldn’t really hate a single character, even if they betrayed their comrades (except for Heo Young Min… that bastard had to die). As for Shin Yool, I loved him so much! Poor sunshine loved Soo Hyun so much that he ended up betraying Hwi Young… but he couldn’t handle the guilt and didn’t stay with Soo Hyun in the end because of his friendship. I really loved his character… you can see how he slowly opened his heart to Se Ju and Seol… the actor, Go Kyung Pyo, did an amazing job to showcase such an emotional character. That was the biggest difference between Shin Yool and Hwi Young… Shin Yool just couldn’t contain his emotions and let his feelings get the best of him — which was why his bluff as being the leader didn’t trick Heo Young Min. 

I also have to admit that, despite the romantic touch in the drama, the romance wasn’t really the focus of the series. Se Ju and Seol’s romance was very sweet and I enjoyed every moment they had together, however, the most touching aspect of the relationships in this drama wasn’t the romance… but the aspect of trust. Seol’s character, along with Yoo Jin Oh, brought trust back into Se Ju’s life. At first, we thought that Seol was Se Ju’s muse… but the most surprising muse in Se Ju’s life was Yoo Jin Oh because he was the one who brought the two together in the first place. We were made to believe that Seol was Se Ju’s muse to regain his trust in his writing ability, but actually it was both Seol and Jin Oh who helped him. And the best scene to show how Se Ju’s writing evolved from writing for others to writing for himself, was when he told Ji Seok that he wanted to write ‘Chicago Typewriter’ his way and not how the fans want it. At this point, Se Ju had already defeated his slump. Friendship and trust were the most important elements in this drama and it can be seen by 1) how Hwi Young and Shin Wool both loved Soo Hyun but didn’t force her to choose someone, 2) Shin Wool kept his promise of letting her go because of his promise, 3) Shin Wool didn’t get together with Soo Hyun in the end, despite Hwi Young asking him to take care of her, because he felt guilty for Hwi Young’s death, and 4) both Hwi Young and Soo Hyun had already forgiven Shin Wool. Especially, the last scene truly symbolized how strong the bonds of friendship can be with both Se Ju and Seol wishing for Shin Wool’s rebirth… and later on we see that Shin Wool was finally able to reunite with Hwi Young and Soo Hyun. Most importantly, the ending showed how the past was finally put to rest with meeting the present (notice how Hwi Young said, “Done.” when he finished typing his story… I think this symbolizes that the story of ‘Chicago Typewriter’ was finally over)… with how the typewriter, the gold watch, the story ‘Chicago Typewriter,’ and the picture were shot together in the last scene. 

This drama may not be perfect and sometimes you may feel that the drama is slow, but please give it a try (especially if you’re interested in this era). Honestly, this drama deserves way more recognition and it saddens me that it didn’t receive higher ratings… this drama did well to showcase some of the real struggles during the 1930s, as well as, the struggles that writers face. The storyline, the characters, the music, the cinematography/visuals, and the supernatural touch all makes this drama very unique and intriguing to watch. Remember when I said how I felt a warm feeling inside after watching this drama? The reason being is because each character had a closure but the ending wasn’t absolute. Se Ju’s career is back on track and he is happy with his writing. Seol is finally with the man she loves, while also providing him strength and support. Shin Wool finally reunited with his old friends and, as well as, he can look to the future to meet with them in a liberated Korea (indicated by how his image became visible in the picture). The story of the Independence fighters that the typewriter brought to the main characters may have ended with episode 16, but a new story also began… and I believe that is the moral of the story. With every closed book, comes a new chapter to be written of an entirely new book because even after when we think it is the end… the written words and hopes of those before continue to live on through you and others. The story of “Chicago Typewriter” continues through us, the viewers. Just as Korea’s liberation did not end with the death of their comrades, but lived on through the hopes they wrote to the future generation. 

If you’re looking for a drama that combines elements of romance, friendship, and the suspense of real-life struggles, then this drama is perfect... as you will truly witness the growth of each of the characters as they unravel their past lives and make amends to long-kept promises/dreams. Regardless, you’ll definitely be in for a roller-coaster ride of feels T____T

I low-key wish we could have seen Shin Yool/Yoo Jin Oh being reborn and reuniting with Se Ju and Seol in the future…. 

Plot/Story: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Cinematography: 8.5/10

Music: 7.5/10 (maybe just a little more variety would have been nice, but the music is definitely catchy and pleasing to listen to)

Personal Satisfaction: 9/10

Overall Rating: 9/10 = SupaliaCertified Recommendation!

Other Reviews: 

Episode 1 | Episodes 2 - 4 | Alternate Ending Theory

[fear-god-shun-evil]

Eliminate Jealousy at Work and Turn Competitors Into Collaborators

By Xinling

Editor’s Note:

Ling Ran is a designer at an advertising agency. When her old friend outperformed her at work and gradually began to receive the approval and regard of co-workers, she was seized by a feeling of jealousy that coiled round her heart and devoured her happiness like a venomous snake. This jealousy left her in a state of agony out of which she was powerless to escape. So, how did Ling Ran free herself of jealousy and reestablish her old friendship by relying on God?

Competing With a Friend, A Miserable Existence

Ling Ran and Zhang Ke are Christians and good friends who could talk about anything with each other. Recently, the two were both hired by the same advertising agency to work as designers. Ling Ran was delighted to hear that she would be working with one of her good friends. In the beginning, Zhang Ke and Ling Ran were always helping and encouraging each other, so despite neither of them being familiar with the work, they didn’t feel particularly pressured.

Ling Ran really enjoyed this new job and worked very hard. After some time, her excellent work performance earned her the approval of her co-workers. However, not long after, Ling Ran discovered that not only was Zhang Ke making rapid progress at work, she also drew beautiful, fresh-looking images, handled her work with high proficiency, managed even the heaviest workloads, was highly organized and methodical and drew envious glances from her co-workers. What’s more, Zhang Ke was kind-hearted, always willing to help others and often helped her colleagues with work. As a result, Zhang Ke’s colleagues were all willing to listen when she shared her experience with regard to designing advertisements and would even converse with her about problems they were having in everyday life. Seeing that Zhang Ke was well liked by her colleagues and that they were all very friendly with her, Ling Ran became very upset. She thought to herself, “We’re both designers, and I’ve performed just as well at this job as Zhang Ke, so why does she get all the attention while I don’t get even the slightest compliment? This won’t do, I’ve got to redouble my efforts—I can’t come up short of her in the eyes of my colleagues!” Gradually, Ling Ran became jealous of Zhang Ke and began to avoid her.

One time, Ling Ran’s boss assigned Ling Ran and Zhang Ke to design logos for two different online stores. When Ling Ran received the assignment, she couldn’t wait to get started. She thought to herself, “Designing ads separately for different projects is the best way to show who between the two of us is the better designer. I’ve got to make the most out of this opportunity and really do a good design to show my co-workers what I’m made of.” In the days that followed, Ling Ran busied herself every day researching, designing and putting in overtime working on the logo. A few days later, the logo was finally finished. Taking stock of her work, Ling Ran was quite satisfied with the results. She believed her design was of top quality and didn’t seem to contain any flaws. Ling Ran was feeling quite pleased with herself as she handed in her design to her boss. She thought to herself: “This time I finished my design first and I spent an appreciable amount of effort researching, tweaking and editing—I’ll definitely earn my boss’s praise!” Lost in these happy thoughts, Ling Ran hummed a little tune to herself as she arrived at her workspace and turned on her computer to await the praise-laden response from her boss.

To Ling Ran’s surprise, however, the boss’s response was anything but praise-laden: As it turned out, Zhang Ke had already submitted her design much earlier, the design was approved on the very first submission and the client was very satisfied with the result. Ling Ran’s design, by contrast, still had some issues that needed to be fixed. When she received the news, Ling Ran felt deeply dejected and that feeling of jealousy began to well up inside her once again. She thought, “Why is it always you in the limelight? Am I really just inferior to you in every way?” Ling Ran was despondent; she sat there in a daze, speechless and staring blankly at the desk in front of her.

Ling Ran spent the next few days in a haze of anguish. She couldn’t focus on her work and made mistake after mistake, eventually even drawing the reprimand of her boss. When Ling Ran saw Zhang Ke chatting and laughing with her colleagues, the flame of jealousy once more reignited in her heart and she even began to hate her old friend. She felt that Zhang Ke was the cause of all her current problems, and that she had stolen her thunder and thereby diminished her stature among their colleagues. One time, Zhang Ke reached out to Ling Ran to discuss a question regarding coloration, but Ling Ran turned a cold shoulder to her out of jealousy, which left Zhang Ke in an awkward place. After this, Ling Ran avoided Zhang Ke even more, and, because she just couldn’t seem to make a name for herself in the agency, she became quiet and reserved and started to isolate herself, not wanting to converse with other co-workers. Gradually, Ling Ran became more and more depressed and stressed with work. She prayed to God, but couldn’t feel His presence and so she lost the feeling of peace and joy in her heart and experienced great suffering and torment. In the midst of her helplessness, Ling Ran called out to God, pleading, “Dear God, I get agitated and jealous of Zhang Ke when I see how good she is at her work and how highly regarded she is by our co-workers. It even makes me want to ignore her. Dear God, I’m in utter agony, I don’t want to act like this, but I just can’t control myself. Dear God, please guide me and let me know Your intention, so that I may derive some lessons from my current predicament. Amen!”

Tracing Back to the Source, Jealousy Was the Culprit

After concluding her prayer, Ling Ran began reading “You Can Obtain Truth After Turning Your True Heart Over to God” and found the following two passages of God’s word: “When you see someone stand out, you are jealous, feel hatred, and feel it is unfair. ‘Why can’t I stand out? Why is it always he who gets to stand out and it’s never my turn?’ There is some resentment. You try to repress the resentment, but you can’t, so you pray. After praying, you feel better for a little while, but later when you encounter the matter again you cannot overcome it. Is this not a case of immature stature? Is not a person’s falling into these conditions a trap? This is the bondage of a corrupt nature of Satan.” “Some people are always afraid that others will steal the limelight and surpass them, and that others will obtain recognition while they themselves are neglected, and so they spurn and exclude other people. Is this not them being jealous of people more capable than themselves? … People like this have a bad disposition and God has no love for them.”

Ling Ran was deeply moved by these two passages of God’s word—she saw that God’s word was a perfect exposition of her current thoughts and emotions. Ling Ran reflected on how ever since she had started working with Zhang Ke, whenever she observed that Zhang Ke outperformed her at work, had a strong skill set, got along with co-workers and was well regarded and highly praised by them, she would become jealous of her and, full of discontent and unwillingness to accept defeat, would secretly pit herself against Zhang Ke. To prove her own abilities and earn the approval of her co-workers, Ling Ran pushed herself to the limit studying her craft. She locked herself in competition with Zhang Ke, but when she was unable to outperform her old friend and make a name for herself among her colleagues, she would conclude that Zhang Ke had stolen her limelight and would despise, reject and avoid her more and more. At that moment, Ling Ran finally realized that the reason her soul had been engulfed by darkness and agony was that she had fallen under the sway of arrogant, self-conceited and competitive satanic disposition. Ling Ran realized that though she believed in God, she lived her life based upon the notions “Man struggles upwards; water flows downwards,” “Distinguishing oneself and bringing honor to his ancestors,” which are Satan’s principles of survival. She was always concerning herself with standing out and being highly regarded by her peers. She wanted to have that feeling of being fawned on by a circle of admirers. As soon as someone outperformed her or stood out more than her, she would automatically be jealous of and despise them. Living in this way, she lived without even the slightest likeness of a normal human! Ling Ran realized that she and Zhang Ke had originally been good friends, and it was only because she had been bound and controlled by her satanic disposition that she felt the need to constantly compete against Zhang Ke. Not only had this been hurtful to Zhang Ke, but had caused Ling Ran, herself, great and seemingly inextricable suffering.

Ling Ran was reminded, then, of the story of King Saul recorded in the Bible. King Saul developed a jealous hatred toward David after he won the praise of the Israelites for his victorious record in battle. Later, Saul, fearing that David would win the allegiance of the Israelites and that he would thus be deposed as king, went on a crazed, murderous hunt of his son-in-law. Even though Saul knew that God had anointed David, he still resolved to send him to the grave and thereby openly took God as his enemy. In the end, he was abandoned by the Holy Spirit and died in battle. The story gave Ling Ran the chills: to think how a desire to stand out above the rest could lead one to be controlled and bound by one’s own jealous heart. How very dangerous! What’s more, the more jealous one becomes the greater the suffering endured, leading ultimately and inevitably to torment by Satan and death! At that point, Ling Ran thanked God from the bottom of her heart for His illumination and guidance, which allowed her to clearly see the source and consequences of her jealousy. For, if she continued to live by Satan’s corrupt disposition, she would only earn God’s detest and disgust. Ling Ran was no longer willing to live by Satan’s corrupt disposition, she resolved to cast off her corrupt disposition and start anew.

Acting by God’s Word, a Friendship Renewed

Later, Ling Ran came across another passage of God’s word, “If a person has cast off these corrupt dispositions, is he then free and liberated? Ponder this: What kind of changes must a person make if he wants to refrain from falling into these conditions and free himself of the vexations of these things? What must a person obtain before he can free himself of the bonds of these things, and be able truly to be free and liberated? On one hand, a person must see through things: These fame and fortune and positions are tools and methods for Satan to corrupt people, to entrap them, to harm them, and to cause their degeneration. You must first see this clearly in theory. Then, you must learn to give up these things and set them aside. … If you are always focusing on these things, always struggling for these things, if your heart is fully occupied with these things, if you always harbor them and never want to put them aside, then you are being controlled by and bound by these things. You have become a slave, and you cannot give them up. You must learn to give up and set aside these things, to yield, to recommend others, to allow them to stand out. Do not struggle furiously and rush to take advantage as soon as you encounter an opportunity to stand out or obtain honor. … The more you give up and set aside, the more peaceful your heart will be and the more space will open up within it, and the more your condition will improve. The more you struggle and compete, the darker will be your condition; try it if you don’t believe it. If you want to turn around this kind of condition, if you want not to be controlled by these things, then you must first set them aside and give them up” (“You Can Obtain Truth After Turning Your True Heart Over to God”).

God’s word gave Ling Ran a practical guideline moving forward. If she wanted to drive the jealousy from her heart and find a way out of this painful situation, she would have to consciously act as God required when she encountered any of the issues troubling her in real life. She would have to actively rebel against the flesh, abandon her vanity and desire for status, disregard the opinions of others, and only strive to live before God in quiet and humble obscurity. Reflecting on how, because of her jealousy of Zhang Ke, Ling Ran had been duped and tormented by Satan, living in pure agony, she resolved to rely upon God and abandon her jealous heart. Afterward, whenever Ling Ran could feel herself reverting into her previous jealous and competitive ways, she would immediately pray to God, ponder the passages of God’s word she had read previously, practice rebelling against her improper thoughts and emotions according to God’s word, casting off her jealous heart and refraining from competition with Zhang Ke. Slowly, Ling Ran’s situation improved and she felt less aggrieved in her heart.

Days later, when Ling Ran and Zhang Ke met by chance in the break room, Ling Ran wanted to take the opportunity to share what she had been feeling with Zhang Ke, but she suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart began to race; she thought to herself, “If I tell her what’s been on my mind, what if she looks down on me?” Ling Ran prayed to God in her heart, asking God for guidance and help. Ling Ran finally summoned her courage and opened up to Zhang Ke about how she had been jealous of her and had intentionally avoided her recently. She also shared her new experience and understanding of God’s word. When Ling Ran had finished, not only did Zhang Ke not look down upon her, she even warmly replied, “We’ve all been corrupted by Satan and have corrupt disposition. By opening up and communing with me you’re practicing the truth! Thanks be to God! If we encounter any problems in the future we can just talk them through and rely upon God together to help us resolve things.” The two locked eyes and smiled. Ling Ran felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off her and she felt much more at peace in her heart.

Sometime after, Ling Ran felt as though she had already made some real changes and no longer felt jealousy toward Zhang Ke, but God knew her actual stature and state and thus orchestrated another situation to test her …

One time, the design department held a meeting to discuss an outdoor ad design project. When Zhang Ke shared her idea for the project, her co-workers found it to be very novel and heaped praise on her. When Ling Ran saw that Zhang Ke’s idea had once again gained the approval of her co-workers, she felt a bit sad and overlooked. This time, however, Ling Ran immediately realized she had the wrong attitude and prayed to God, “Dear God! I’m slipping back into my old ways. When I saw Zhang Ke being praised, I started getting jealous again. God! I pray that You may give me the power to overcome my sinfulness and help me cast off my corrupt, satanic disposition!”

After finishing her prayer, Ling Ran thought of the following passage from Sermons and Fellowship on Entry Into Life: “Is it difficult to turn enviousness into admiration? Ruminate over the bright side then, ‘Isn’t it great that he is so good? We now have a role model to follow. We can benefit from him. Since he is better than us, we can learn from him when we don’t understand something. It is an extra pathway for us!’” (“How to Pursue the Truth in Order to Gain the Truth”). After meditating on this sermon, Ling Ran felt lighter and more at ease in her heart. She realized that, insofar as Zhang Ke was more skilled at her work, she ought to learn from her strengths to bolster her own weaknesses. Only in this way would she see improvements in her own work. If she persisted in being jealous of Zhang Ke and living with a corrupt disposition, there was only so much she would be able to learn through her own research and she would improve very slowly. At the same time, Ling Ran also realized that it had been part of God’s wondrous plan to place Ling Ran and Zhang Ke in the same agency. God knew that she had been thoroughly corrupted by Satan, and that her nature was arrogant and eager to outshine others. God had placed a highly talented designer in her division to expose her inner corrupt disposition, allow her to recognize the reality of her thorough corruption by Satan, and realize the consequences of living according to Satan’s corrupt disposition. In so doing, He allowed her to break free of Satan’s corruption and torment, and by acting according to God’s word, she was able to live out the likeness of a normal human. On that day, God had once again arranged a situation for her. He didn’t want her to continue living in that corrupt disposition of envy for talent; He didn’t want her to continue to be deceived by Satan into competition and struggle with others. Rather, He wanted her to seek the truth, and thoroughly walk out from under the veil of Satan’s disposition, free and unrestrained. Once she had understood God’s intention, Ling Ran felt clear-minded and her jealousy for Zhang Ke unwittingly vanished. What’s more, Ling Ran realized that being in a place with co-workers who were more talented than her was a great opportunity to learn and improve her own skills. If her co-workers were more talented, she would be the only one who could improve in this way! She was willing to set her pride aside and learn from Zhang Ke’s strengths. She wanted to use her practical actions to humiliate Satan. Having made these realizations, Ling Ran regained a sense of tranquility and began interacting more with her colleagues and actively engaging in discussions.

When Ling Ran stopped being jealous of and competitive toward Zhang Ke and started learning from her with an open-mind, she found that Zhang Ke really had many strengths. She had a strong sense of responsibility, was patient and when co-workers ran into problems, she would go to great lengths to help them. Even if Ling Ran lost her temper, Zhang Ke was still patient and forgiving. Ling Ran realized that Zhang Ke was strongest in the areas that she was weakest, so she tried to learn from Zhang Ke and would often discuss design questions with her. After a little while, Ling Ran also made some very substantial improvements in her work and finally realized that Zhang Ke wasn’t her competitor, but her best collaborator and friend. Ling Ran was no longer bound by a jealous heart and found great enjoyment in her spiritual life. She also felt more and more unrestrained in her heart. She knew that all of this was made possible by God’s word and she thanked God from the bottom of her heart for His salvation!

[aurimeanswind]

Friends and High Places—Sunday Chats (7-9-17)

I’m in the sky. Yes, I can fly and write at the same time. No, but really, I am currently on my flight back home from Austin because apparently Sunday Chats don’t stop for NOTHING. Not since I missed a couple weeks in a row, because apparently people miss this when it’s gone. So let’s chat.

Friends from Far Long and Far Away Places

This weekend was incredibly special for me. Though I’ve definitely mentioned her on Sunday Chats before, today she gets a big dedication. It’s story time.

A little over three years ago my would-be friend Jazz started following me on Twitter because of a mutual love of Game Grumps. Some DMs later we’d be chatting back in forth together ever since August of 2014. It’s not often for me to have someone kind of ethereal, who you can hold a conversation with for almost three years without ever meeting them, but Jazz was that person for me.

It’s been a long time, and I often referred to her in my head as my “pen pal”. Sometimes you can meet people by total happenstance, and it all started with her DMing me about what I went to school for. From there, I found one of the best friends I’d have in my life, and like I said, a near-continuous conversation with the same person for almost three years.

I’m very privileged in this life. For a number of reasons, but one such is that I always try to avoid taking for granted are the folks I have befriended on my journey through writing and gaming. Jazz is a friend I made almost entirely separate from that, separate from any specific community or event. Separate from any one moment and almost entirely through luck and serendipity. It was just a lucky mutual follow.

This weekend I took a trip to Austin so I could finally meet her in person. It’s a trip I had been playing around with for a long while and decided to book on the same weekend as RTX so that I’d be able to see some other friends while I was in town.

I’m lucky that Jazz was totally okay with me selfishly wanting to take up her time and spend plenty of one-on-one time together. What did we do? Well, we talked of course. But more so, I listened. I got to sit and listen to her stories, to her life, about her friends, her opinions, her experiences, and just like that, the continuous conversation that’s already been going on was championed through this weekend. We even sat and watched her favorite movie of all time, Clue, which I had never seen before, and is really pretty great.

Listening to her, I can’t begin to convey to you all, you wonderful Sunday Chats readers, how incredible a person she is. She is fierce. She is strong. To me, she is power embodied. She is inspiring. She takes no bullshit, she is protective, and she is a total and complete badass. To list all the things I admire in her would be to carry on for far too long, and considering she is probably reading this, I’m sure she’d be suuuuper embarrassed if I did, but I’ll try and keep it succinct.

She’s an award winning journalist. She’s incredibly witty, smart, and balanced. She is an excellent conversationalist. She is maybe the funniest person I have ever met. She is gorgeous and has a fire that burns on the inside and out. She’s one of my best friends. She was even kind enough to listen to me rant on about my life, my troubles, and things I’ve never told anyone else in my life, because I can’t help but say too much around her.

I’d count her amongst three that I depend and rely on truly and completely. Through this last month and a half, where my depression has been incredibly troubling and I’ve been in one of the worst places of my life since 2012, she has been an endless resource of support and comfort, even though she herself is has been through the ringer. She inspires me, makes me smile, and reminds me of how lucky I am to be here.

There are truly only three people in this world I can speak so highly of. She is one of them. I know it’s incredibly sappy, I know it’s a weird thing to splooge about in a massive public post, but I feel like I’ve brushed this friendship to the side like it’s some big secret, this distant friend from the internet. If she will proudly brag about me to her friends in the anticipation of my visit, then guess what? I’m gonna do it to my wonderful readers on my way out of Austin.

Thank you Jazz, for your support, for letting me be a part of your life, and for being an inspiring, fierce, and unendingly kind and caring badass.

Love you lots, J.

What I’ve Been Working On

My workflow is still pretty stilted. I think there is definitely something I’m held up on, and while I’m writing every day with insistence, I don’t know if it’s a help or a hindrance at this point. I’m playing around with getting to the 1000 day mark, which should fall sometime in this coming December, and then stop writing for a little while. We’ll see where things go and if any projects lift off the ground between now and then, but tentatively, I want to throw that out there.

I’m restarting a piece I was working on a long time ago on Overwatch, and I’m retouching up my first Case Study. I’m going to reshoot the first episode of Case Study, and now that ExtraLife is out of the way and I have a super nice new computer, I’ll be able to edit video ago. I’m definitely very concerned for the process, since I’m more than a little rusty, but I’m excited to see how it turns out. I need to reconfigure a few things about how I shoot the show, but I think it’ll look pretty good and sound great.

I also wrote a few one-off blog posts this week, which you can read HERE. One was on the Fourth of July, and the other was after watching the first episode of Netflix’s Castlevania series.

What’s on Tap

Overwatch

Yo I’m still playing Overwatch

I think i am generally winning a bit more now

That new character Doomfist looks pretty goddamn awesome doesn’t he?

I really like Overewatch still. It’s now pretty much all I play until I get into Nier Automata and Splatoon 2.

Castlevania Netflix Show

I have now watched all four episodes of the first season of this show. And it is, in my humble opinion, fantastic.

It definitely has a bit of a Game of Thrones vibe, in that it feels like a lived in world that has an established history, but it doesn’t boggle itself down too much in character names and family houses.

It just jumps into a world and it’s first episode, which is all about setting up Dracula as a villain, is just absolutely fantastic.

The rest of the series is about Trevor Belmont, the protagonist, who ends up being just as interesting as Dracula, but has a much longer arc, and seeing him slowly evolve as a character is really great.

The show is definitely gory and brutal, which I expected, and I think with the artstyle and the animation it does it super well. I was definitely a bit triggered by the graphic scene of *spoilers* someone being eaten. But y’all know that’s my weird specific phobia, whatcha gonna do?

The way it ends leaves me begging for more, and it’s already apparently been renewed for a second season. I cannot wait for more of this show, and I am totally hooked. I really recommend it, because it is a very good interpretation of the Casltevania universe and the way its tropes and ideas, like the whip, are conveyed into visuals, is fucking awesome.

Tomba 1 & 2

So I finished Tomba 1! Yay! I’ve been replaying that after finishing Alundra

Tomba is a great game! I think for the first time I ddi every last one of the quests in the run, all 130, which was a ton of fun.

I started Tomba 2, which was in the big switch from 2D to 3D, and it actually still looks pretty great.

For a 3D game from that era, it’s definitely super chunky and blocky, but the characters are very distinguishable, and it is 100% fully voice acted. The voice acting isn’t amazing, but for the time period it’s actually relatively stellar!

Tomba 2 is just such an amazing Metroidvania/RPG/Adventure game. I cannot recommend it enough.

Zelda Breath of the Wild

Oh look at this one cropping back up. I decided to get the DLC before shipping off to Austin this weekend, and it was a great idea.

Though I haven’t really dipped me toes in any of the new content, using the new map feature, I’ve been able to explore the areas I missed before. In my initial 110-ish hours I was uh… surprisingly thorough, let’s say. But goddamn.

I still have a few shrines left, 17 now, I believe, and I really want to find all of them. I have yet to consult a guide.

Questions

As always you can get your question in Sunday Chats by replying to my tweet on Sunday afternoons with the hashtag #SundayChats in it!

Hrm. I really like them as they are, I’ll be honest. I don’t think they’re necessarily perfect. I think, and I had a recent conversation about this with Jazz actually, that the effort to make Snape a redeemable character all at the last minute felt a little forced. It worked for me, but I think if you wanted to make it really believably, for everyone, folks like Jazz who really hates him, you could have layered it out a lot more. We get a little bit of it in book 5 and the rest in book 7. Now I think the opposite works super well for Dumbledore, where you kind of learn about his troubled past in book 7, and it works so well because you can clearly tell he is aspiring and working toward redemption so much throughout the rest of his life. The kind of breaking down of his character in the final entry of the series hits so hard because we get to see that so well reflected through Harry.

I think there are plenty of characters that could have been fleshed out. I honestly would have loved to just spend more time in that world, more time in the classes, more time learning the history, but I don’t think that is a thing that would have worked in this story, Harry’s story, specifically.

I also haven’t read Cursed Child yet, still. And I’m still maybe a little concerned it’ll ruin a bit of the magic for me. I really enjoyed Fantastic Beasts though, in spite of its issues.

I mentioned it a little bit above, but yeah, I thought it was fantastic. Just the character work specifically worked so well for me. There was a lot of attention given to make Dracula such a sympathetic villain. Even though it’s essentially a trope we’ve seen before, I think it’s used really well, because beyond the incidents that set up his villainy in the series, we get this nice little glimpse at his past distaste for humanity. It leaves you with questions about history, ones that don’t need to be answered, but you want to be, which are always the best questions because consulting them in your mind engrosses you even more in the world.

And good god is everything about the last episode just fucking perfect.

This is a really hard one. If that’s something you’re going through, I’m sorry. It isn’t easy. I am someone who has never been broken up with, I am the break up-er. Not that that’s something to brag about, which I’m not, I just want folks to know the position I’ve been in.

I’ll say this, and please hear me out on this. Assuming things didn’t end with cheating or murder or physical/emotional abuse, assuming it was a thing where it was distance, fighting, anger or animosity, or just things not working out, remember this: empathy. Whether you’re the break up-er or the break up-ee, I think it’s really important to remember that the other person is a human being, and what’s more, they’re going to handle this in their own way. Intimate companionship is really hard to manage and it’s not a one way street. If both folks aren’t on the same page, it’s just not going to work out. This doesn’t mean you need to pocket blame, or hate the other person, or look for reasons why things aren’t working or didn’t work out. In my history, the moment you’re really questioning whether things are worth continuing means you at the very least need to have that conversation with your partner.

They’re human and you need to respect that. I don’t think either person should lob insults or take enjoyment out of a breakup. Again, we’re excluding the worst case scenarios here.

I think you should take a deep hard look at yourself, at your feelings, and genuinely ask yourself: do I still want to be friends with this person? I know for me the answer has always been no. I need that distance because being close to them would either fill me with guilt or pain, or just a general concern that the other is in pain any time they’re around me. That’s what’s worked for me, but if you or the other make that decision, I really believe you need to respect it.

To kind of top it off here, I think a lot of distance can do a lot of good. Stop checking their social media, unfollow/unfriend/or even block them if you need to. Get them out of your view and focus one what you need to do to get yourself in a stable and happy place again. You both need to do this, you both need to figure out how to make yourselves happy without the other again, and that’s not easy, but that’s the best advice I can give.

I know that’s pretty contrary to a lot of modern advice of be friends, be cool, be amicable, but I just don’t think that shit happens really. I’ve seen it, I’ve seen it myself, but it’s very hard, and it’s very rare, so don’t be afraid of opting for the easier choice. Do what’s best for you. Take care of yourself.

Haha, well this is hopefully my last trip for a hot minute. I don’t know. I don’t want to make any promises. This most recent trip to see a friend was special because I had never actually seen them before, so it was really important for me to meet them and spend time there. The next one? I really don’t know. I think I need to spend some time figuring some of my own shit out now. I have a lot on my mind lately and a lot of things I want to start and get done.

Oh, and very little money.

Ahh this is a really hard question.

I like the standards and the fast food burgers. I could go for any. But the best burger, that’s tough.

I’ll say this, I take my burger a very specific way. One, it always has to be a cheeseburger. If it’s not a cheeseburger you can just leave thank you. I always take my burger with Lettuce, Mayonnaise, and Ketchup. I know, it’s a weird combo, but it’s the best. I got it from my older brother Brady, though his included a tomato, which I just don’t fuck with, so that is my perfect burger wherever I go. I sometimes throw grilled onions on there if it’s an option too.

I don’t know if it’s my all time favorite, but there is this eastern chain near me called Cheeburger Cheeburger, and their 1/3 pound burger with my chosen toppings on it was really good. Their bread was always super flakey, and they were real-ass thick burgers too.

As a general style of burger that I love, you can’t go wrong with a good patty melt. My go-to usually if I’m at a new diner.

So my friend told me to listen to this song and now that I have, I see why. I know a bit of the story behind it and it is very... powerful. I mean, it’s hard to imagine the girl that did Tik-Tok is doing this song years later, but I think it really is reflective of her and her soul and her pain.

I thought it was really beautiful. I thought it was very poignant.

This is a tricky one. I’ll say I have two. I really love the triggers nowadays. Obviously the Switch does not have analogue triggers, which is unfortunate, but I get it what with it being a handheld console as well. But man do those Xbox one and PS4 triggers feel reeeeeal good. If i had to pick a specific one, it’d be the right trigger, because it usually does the shooty-bang-bang in the video games.

Outside of that, you can’t go wrong with the bottom face button. Usually jump, or hit, or fuck-up, as I like to call it. That’s A, or B, or X, depending on which controller you have, and it’s a rad button. Don’t futz with it.

Having been in Austin all weekend I have not gotten the chance to see Spider-Man Homecoming, but after hearing the words on it, it has skyrocketed up my must-see list. I may even go to see it tomorrow morning before I go to work. Goddamn do I want to see it. I did see Clue this weekend though! That’s a great movie!

But really, Peter Parker is like, my legit hero. I loved him as a kid. He is for sure my favorite Marvel hero, and probably my second or third favorite superhero in general, behind Superman and Batman, depending on the day. I wanted to be a photographer when I was younger, before I wanted to be a doctor and then enthusiast press, so when I found out that Peter Parker was a photographer too, I thought it was even more rad.

Did you know that the Polar Bear is the largest land carnivore? Or land predator, one of the two. When they stand on their hind legs, Polar bears can measure over 12 feet tall.

Polar Bears are fucking. Awesome.

The vacation was incredibly helpful. Being around someone who has been helping me get through such a troubling time in my life and also just sleeping in and relaxing was so, so helpful.

Of the Clue characters, it’s so goddamn hard to choose. I almost want to say Mrs White because of her absurd monologue in the last ending alone. I don’t know if I’ve laughed that hard like… ever. Good fucking god. Like holy shit.

I also just love Mr. Green because of every absurd physical thing he does in that movie, and Tim Curry is incredible. Just incredible. They’re all great, but those are the three standouts for me, I’d say, with maybe Mrs. White taking it.

Trevor is the villain in Clue. Though I see him as more of a Mr. Body character, who is playing everyone behind the scenes. He is the villain because he loves his power too much.

Jesus Christ Roger. I can only wonder what the people who don’t know you but only see your tweets in Sunday Chats must think you’re like.

I have never seen Grown Ups 2, nor do I think I ever want to. It’s an infamously bad movie, from what I understand. I mean, there is a podcast about watching it every week for an entire year that is literally called “The Worst Idea of All Time”. Also I take great offense to being compared to David Spade and I’m not 100% sure why.

I can’t speak to Star Ocean 3, but I loooove replaying old favorites. You can see from what i have on tap this week that I’m going and playing Tomba 1 and 2 as is. Those are two very old games, and while a little rough around the edges and certainly not perfect, they hold up for me quite a bit.

I think there is definitely a level of nostalgia that can get you through certain things. Like, when I went back and played Tales of Symphonia again within the last few years, it’s a lot less dynamic and fun than I remember it being. The voice acting is also a whole lot worse than I remember it being too, but I still really love that game. I still finished it and played it through to the end. I am someone who regularly goes back and replays games, and just like gaining something from a movie on a second viewing or reading a book through again, you’re almost guaranteed to get something new out of it. If you’re open to the idea of something maybe not holding up as well as you remember it doing, than I say go for it. Just don’t let that be all your time like it has been for me recently.

I think it totally is. Especially if you have an emissary of that nostalgia to boot. For example, I think Tim Gettys really reps the Crash games as far as nostalgia and looking-back-love is concerned.

I think knowing where you’re at with something is also super big though. Like, are you into 3D/2D platformers, or more importantly, platformers from that PS1 era? Because Crash Bandicoot sure as shit is one of those. I went back and played the first Crash again recently and I know it’s not a super great game. I just know that in my heart of hearts. But I also remember really liking Crash 2 and 3, especially 3, and I want to go back and see those two very much. I have yet to get back into the N-Sane trilogy, but I’m excited to, and I think I’ll get a good amount out of those later two games. Just set yourself up with the right expectation and know that if you’re trying to specifically “buy into someone else’s nostalgia” that you need to see those games through the same scope that they did.

This is a mean question. I mean honestly, if I could hangout with you every week you know I would.

Okay real answer time. It’s probably that fucking Mrs. White monologue. You hyped it up to me while we were watching it but good fucking lord. I cannot overemphasize this: it was solid gold.

Also, I want it to be known that Jazz was fucking saying the words along with the movie as we watched it, and multiple times I had to stare at her until she stopped and then apologized. She has seen that movie waaaaay too many times.

Spelunky and Overwatch. Both are incredibly well made and I’ve been revisiting both time and time again, with months of distance between play sessions, and they have not let me down.

Okay, well I’m not about to sit here and make some declarative statement like that. I think for me, yes, it is my favorite Zelda game. It even beats out A Link to the Past, and if you want to know specifically where I’m at with it, you can read my review here: http://irrationalpassions.com/review/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild/

I think to deny the ingenuity, courage, and grace by which Breath of the Wild is executed would be incredibly inept of any video game player out there. I understand that a lot more folks than I have issues with it, many of them being hosts on my very own podcast. I get it. I get that the story isn’t 100% there for them. It really was for me. I get that the gemaplay doesn’t seem as new and original to them. It was for me. I think Zelda refines and executes on ideas barely even approached in other video games, and it does it with grace, style, and little to no issue. Especially in a post-performance-patch world, it is something incredible.

I think there is an argument there. I don’t know if I am even the one to make it though.

At least... not yet.

The Checklist

It’s all about MBMBaM for me this week. If you’re not familiar, My Brother, My Brother and Me is one of my all time favorite podcasts. In fact, it’s my favorite non-video game podcast. I love and adore it, and I think you should go listen to it. When I’ve been depressed recently, I’ve just been re listening to old episodes of MBMBaM and it’s made me very goddamn happy.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/my-brother-my-brother-and-me/id367330921?mt=2

I also started watching Polygon’s Monster Factory this week, and hoooooly shit is it funny. In this series, McElroy brothers and Polygon staff Justin and Griffin McElroy make horrific creatures in video game create-a-characters and go ham with them. I’ll provide my favorite episode so far (not that far into the series), which is probably the disaster that Fallout 3 became pretty much immediately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHBzVTCO3nM

I sat and listened to Nick Scarpino do a couple of great one-on-one GameOverGreggy Shows this weekend in my downtime, and I can’t pick between the two, so I am just linking both.

Overcoming Anxiety - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taPC2fOx5BY

Brian Altano - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD8W-kpK3ew

Okay. I’m done. I’m writing this at home, finishing everything up, formatting, and then posting. I know it’s posting super late, and I’m sorry about that.

I have a melancholy weight with me now. It’s time to start looking ahead and I really don’t know what’s ahead for now. Both exciting, but right now, I find myself more anxious than excited. It’s a somber note to end Sunday Chats with, but it’s an honest one.

But hey, thanks for reading, and do me a favor, eh?

Keep it real.