Five Minute Friday: "Define"

I am the victim of incorrect definition.

I am defined by what I do rather than who I am.  This causes those around me to view me as a mere thing, a piece of chattel whose only reason for existence is to do things to improve upon their lives with no regard to my own.  This definition is wrong at best, dehumanizing at worst.

I really should stop doing, but then what?  Where would I be?  Useless.

On Gretchen Rubin's podcast this week, she discusses many types of loneliness.  She makes a point to say that while it is now acceptable to say that you are depressed or suffer from mental illness, people still take you to the woodshed for admitting to being lonely.  My walking through society as non-human is the worst kind of loneliness.

My life reminds me of a scene from the Sally Field movie Sybil.  As a child, Sybil's schizophrenic mother ties her up and leaves her in a wheat bin.  In her hand is a purple crayon with which she scrawls on the inside of the bin.  Her therapist asks her why she was drawing with the crayon.  Her answer "so someone will know I was here."

This blog is my purple crayon.
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Prompts provided by Mrs. Kate over at Heading Home.

All About That Bass: The Weekly Hodgepodge



Join the fun! 

Come on over to 

From This Side of the Pond 

for the Hodgepodge link-up!

'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'  What's something you've seen recently that you thought was beautiful?

I'm ashamed to say that off the top of my head, I can't think of anything.  Well, not something personal.  I've seen pictures of babies, flowers, and sunsets on the internet, but they were things other people had garnered the beauty from.  I'm creating and project that I think is beautiful, but if I said that about my own work, people would think me conceited...or delusional.

Our culture and beauty...your thoughts?

It's too difficult for a woman in our culture to be considered beautiful.  It takes too much surgery, too many stylists, too many wardrobe and makeup changes, too much Photoshop, too much shame, and too much money.  It's not worth it.  And on that subject...

Age before beauty, beauty queen, beauty mark, beauty sleep...which beauty-ful phrase resonates with you today? Why?

None really.  I'm not even going to talk about sleep anymore.

I read here a list of the top ten beasts animals that scare us the most-

alligators, coyotes, black bears, birds (but pigeons in particular), sharks, bats, bed bugs, rats, rattlesnakes, and the black widow spider. Which 'beast' on the list scares you the most? What is the likelihood of you having an actual encounter with that particular beast? Did a movie contribute to your fear of this creature? Have you ever had a real life encounter with any of the animals listed?

 

Since there's not much chance I'll come in contact with any of these animals, I'd have to say none.

Where were you when you last heard a bell ring? Was it alarming or musical?

Sunday.  We have a bell that signals the end of Sunday School/Life Groups.  It usually scares the water out of me.

What's your favorite carb? How's that for random?

Healthy carb?  Gala Apples.  Not-so-healthy carb?  Ice cream.

Let's wrap up another month of Hodgepodging and life with an acrostic. Recap your month using the word MARCH.

Maybe
A
Re-do
Could
Help

Insert your own random thought here.

See y'all next time.

Five Minute Friday: "Embrace"

embrace - to hold (someone) closely in one's arms, especially as a sign of affection. 2) Accept or support (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.

One of my favorite songs containing the word embrace.

Embrace.  It's such a warm word.  You can't fully embrace someone you hate.  There's no mere tolerance in an embrace.

I like to give and receive hugs.  That wasn't a part of my personality growing up.

Or maybe it was.

During my stint as a preschool teacher,  I read the book The Five Love Languages of Children.  These love languages are as true for adults as they are for children.  Through this book, I discovered that appropriate touch is my primary love language, with quality time running a close second.

As a kid, I knew that a person's care or concern was genuine if they were willing to touch me.  My peers wouldn't even dare touch me when we played; they teased that I has some disease to which they didn't want to expose themselves.  The majority of the times I was touched by my teachers was in anger or derision.

As an adult, I know that a person's friendship and fellowship is genuine if they are willing to embrace me.  A side hug, an appropriate full-on hug, a firm handshake, or even a friendly fist bump relays the message that I'm not simply a tolerated thing, but a real person worthy of embrace.

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Prompts provided by Mrs. Kate over at Heading Home.