Shea R. Oliver's Blog, page 7

With Me Forever

Thomas Magee's longing for his missing lover brings her spirit back to him, but her plans include both a reunion and revenge.

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Never Crush a Little Dream

A little idea for a little side hustle turned into an opportunity to hand in my resignation letter and taught a lesson in the big value of pursuing little dreams.

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The Cannibal in the Morgue

The medical examiner's unusual taste for the corpses creates a serious issue when one dead victim brings more than just exotic flavors.

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A Simple Connection with Nature

While camping in on the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, an interaction with a Stellars Jay gave me a moment to reflect on our place in nature.

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Embracing My Darkest Demon and Writing My First Short Horror Story

A strange quirk in my subconscious kept me from ever writing horror. Then one morning, I stood face to face with my darkest demon and immediately put pen to paper.

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Bloodlust: Regret and Redemption

This is the first short story that I've ever shared.

A vampire loses his immortality and faces the reality of taking the life of his lover and drinking her blood.

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Jeeping Around Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef National Park

As the sun rose, I headed offroad toward the majestic Cathedral Valley. A long-abandoned truck and gorgeous morning sun proved an ample canvas to play with my camera. Deeper along my journey, I found myself alone with the impressive monoliths known as The Temples of the Sun and Moon.

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Merry Christmas from The Oliver Boys

A short video I put together to wish you a Merry Christmas from me and my sons.

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Did You Vote for The Correct Candidate?

Americans went to the voting booth yesterday to cast their ballots. If you watch the news, you might be inclined to think that these so-called leaders have massive influence over your everyday life, but they don’t.

This morning you woke up and your elected officials did not tell you:

the clothes that you will wear
the friends you can have
the products you will buy
the place where you will live
the activities you do for money

Certainly, larger government policy may have some influence in some these areas, but it is trivial compared to the election that you faced this morning.

Every single day of your life, you wake up to a far more critical ballot. It is a choice of immense consequence. It guides:

The thoughts that go through your mind
The words that come out of your mouth
The actions you take or choose not to take

It all comes down to the most significant choice that you make every single day:

Who am I?

When you cast that vote, ask yourself a few questions:

Who do I elect to be in charge of my life?
What am I willing to do for the person in charge of my life?
Do I value myself enough to do what is important to me?

Does Your Vote Really Count?

Many people I know will wake up and cast the same vote that they always cast. The one that subjugates them to the will of other people. They’ll bow their heads and believe that their fate lies in the hands of others.

Any thoughts or doubts about what they should do, or who they should be, are quickly pushed aside. The questions that scream from deep in their souls are silenced in a cacophony of the monotony of ordinary, drowned out by the incessant whirl of routine, and suffocated with activities of distraction.

ABSOLUTELY: Your Vote Always Counts

When it comes to the most important election in your life – the one that happens every day, your vote is the only one that counts.

Who am I?

You are the only person that can cast the deciding vote. Any other story, excuse, rationalization, or explanation is simply an illusion that you are generating to comfort yourself.

Make today and every single day, the day that you:

Elect yourself as the person in charge of your life
Chose what is important for you to say and do
Prioritize your needs, wants, dreams, and ambitions
Eliminate those things that aren’t in your best interest

And most of all, boldly, loudly and confidently declare to yourself and to the world that:

I AM WHO I CHOSE TO BE

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How Many Layers Are Your Masks?

As I opened the doors at the back of the restaurant, I knew that I’d only gotten part of the story. Some friends had invited me to join them for dinner at a local eatery or to stop by their house later in the evening to help celebrate their 10-year anniversary.

Unable to make dinner, I walked to their house after dinnertime to find it empty. As the restaurant was only a few blocks away, I headed over to perhaps join them for a drink or maybe dessert. I knew the wife’s mom was in town, but the crowd of mostly unfamiliar faces staring at me as I stepped into the room was a bit of a surprise.

Friends and family had come in from around the country. What had been billed as just dinner was the happy couple’s celebration for renewing their vows. Fortunately, I’d changed into jeans and a nicer shirt rather than my usual Colorado attire of shorts and a t-shirt, but I was still short of the sports coats and dresses.

I could feel all of the eyes that were on me as I walked into that room.

This is a point where most of us consciously feel ourselves pulling a mask on. It’s a situation where expectations and perceptions weigh heavily on our minds. However, we often live much of our lives wearing masks to protect ourselves and to project a particular image.

Of course, It’s a learned behavior that starts very young. We are coached into specific behaviors and language patterns by our parents, teachers, and authority figures. Over time, we all become experts at choosing and wearing masks to fit our surroundings and to achieve our goals.

Layer Upon Layer Upon Layer

The problem is that most of us begin to forget that we are wearing different masks unless something brings it to our conscious awareness. We go to work and put on a mask that is our professional self. Through the years, we paint more and more layers on it in an attempt to “get ahead.” We may wear one for the boss, another for peers, and yet another for those reporting to us.

At home, we wear another for our partner and sometimes a completely different one for our children. Our parents, who were the first to encourage us to behave in a certain way, now get to see the mask you choose to wear for them.

We continue to add layers as the years continue to progress, and switching between masks becomes easier than changing your clothes!

The real challenge isn’t that we wear masks. It is that we often paint so many layers on the masks that we lose ourselves to the image of the masks that we wear. We focus more on our masks than on other parts of our lives. Our identity and even our self-consciousness become wrapped up in the image others see in the masks.

We lose touch with who we are and what we feel without the filter and protection of the mask to experience it through.

Time to Examine Your Masks?

Today may be the day to lay your masks out in front of you and consider where they came from and how well they are serving you. Think about the masks that you wear and ask yourself a few questions.

Are the layers getting so thick that you can’t even recognize yourself?
What would happen if you began to identify and clean away the layers that no longer serve you well?
Do your masks represent different versions of you or have you created different identities that might not recognize one another?
Is the face under the mask the person that you want to be or is it another mask to hide you from yourself?
And most importantly, are you using your masks to hide what you want from life, even from yourself?

In the process of radically changing your life, you’ll need to consider the masks that you wear and far more importantly, to honestly connect with that person who is wearing those masks.

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