Social commentary, social ascension

I actually have interesting things to write about. Actually, I have WAY too many interesting things to talk about.

From philosophy to nature, from pictures of food I've prepared to reflections on the state of gender divisiveness in Toronto, is there no limit to what I can blog about? Aside from laws preventing hate speech and that kind of thing (stop! hating's bad), my limit is contained by how effectively I can translate my mind's eye onto this page.

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I'm going to copy some thoughts I wrote on a friend's Facebook status just now and call it a day. The topic is social institutions (i.e. schools and workplaces), popularity, and leadership - to be unclear.

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I disagree that social ascension is valued higher than kindness, [open-mindedness, intelligence] etc. [in our society].

I've been through various school systems and have seen positive role models (and yes, lots of bullying as well...). I would argue that because cruelty is such an intense quality, it tends to get noticed more than kindness; and both can lead to popularity.

A leader is someone who encourages others to achieve their potential through empowerment rather than through coercion. I don't think a true leader can ever be sociopathic in the strongest sense of the word.

Monstres méchants et gentils servans

C'est rare que j'écoute de la musique dubstep pendant que j'écris. Jadis, j'écoutait de la musique transe car elle ne comportait pas souvent de paroles (chose qui me dérangeait un peu), et parce que il y avait une continuation presque infinie de vagues sonore.

Maintenant, en 2017, je me retrouve à écouter Skrillex. Oké, peut-être pas grand chose - juste une chanson - mais il faut dire que la chanson (dont j'ai traduit le titre juste en haut) m'a stimulé à écrire.

Je ne suis plus de l'opinion que seule la musique transe et classique sont idéales pour être créatif en écriture. Non, je dirais plûtot que c'est l'heure de la journée qui à la plus grande influence sur mon écriture: le soir, c'est la folie qui ressort. Le matin, c'est l'obsession avec la grammaire et l'orthographe.

J'écoute encore Paramore. Ils ont un nouveau album. Je ne l'aime pas encore, mais je pense que je vais apprendre à l'aimer, comme toutes leur albums précédents.

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Quelle journée superbe! J'ai jasé avec une coolchick pendant des heures. Ça m'arrive tellement rarement dans mes vingtaines qu'il faut vraiment que j'apprécie ça. Oui, encore une fois... La gratitude. C'est tellement facile à faire! Et je le fais en répétition parce-que je suis sûr à 100% que ça améliore ma joie de vivre - les études l'on démontré. C'est de la psychologie positive, chose dans lequel je ne suis pas expert, mais dont je considère important.

Bon, avant de dégénerer dans du français incompréhensible... je vous laisse avec une photo choisie au hasard, directement de mon portable:

Greatful

It's such a good feeling to be grateful.
These days, I recognize that I am grateful for the food I eat, for the air I breathe, for the water I drink, for the music I listen to, for the flowers I see; the list goes on and on.

I'm not sure if I can really call it a feeling. It's more of a state of mind. But before I get lost in the semantics, know that none of this "grateful-ality" would be possible were it not for self-compassion.


Sure, we're taught that it's important to be nice to people, but are we ever taught to be nice to ourselves? Yes, we are sometimes, but too often this reminder occurs in yoga classes or from self-help books, places that we turn to to accomplish things.

Well, I'm sick of striving for accomplishments! Don't get me wrong: it's important to accomplish things, both for one's own sake and for society's. It's critical to accomplish things when it comes to personal health. One such goal which many can relate to (and which I've managed to do continuously for around 2 months now) is quitting sugary drinks. Namely, sodas and high-fructose juices. But now that that goal is done (I don't ever want to go back to chugging Coke), what's next?

What's next is feeling. Feeling my place in the world instead of thinking about it. Thinking about how I'm going to get in shape, thinking about how nerve-wracking it is asking that one chick out with the cool hair, thinking about how I wish I could be an anime voice-actor in Attack on Titan (which is ridiculously awesome in all senses of the word, btw); these are all good things to think about, but practically, how do I actualize?

I think gratitude can help. Instead of reaching for what I might want, I'm thankful for what I have. And from then on, no matter what happens, I know that past-me is looking out for future-me.

I'm grateful for being able to feel joy instead of pain. Although I'm kind of grateful that I can feel pain too, because it keeps me alive.

I'm grateful to Lyra for always being around even though I seldom stay in touch with her for very long. She's out there somewhere - I wonder which star by now? - and I feel all right in the knowledge that she exists, somewhere.

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Afrofest 2017 and Maker's Expo 2017 were really cool this year. Both free. I highly recommend Afrofest if you're into fantastic rhythms, delicious food, and exotic knick-knacks. I recommend Maker's Expo if you're into gadgets, science, and Nuit Blanche-esque artwork.

Cheerful, gleeful, single

Ladies, gents, and the rest:

I have the pleasure of promoting a song with vocals performed by a friend of mine! If you like 80s-style electro-pop (or you have feminist ideals), then check this one out.