Kern Carter's Blog, page 100
September 26, 2021
Sinful Series: Greed
Greed Grows Gloominess
GetinTheBag Emoji, Emojiisland.comGreed is the only sin where you feed but do not get fed.
We all desire something … what is it that you desire?
Money
Respect
Power
Sex
With Greed, you will almost do anything to get what you desire
Maybe even all 7 sins …
Greed is an endless need for everything in the world which you can have, but are you ok with n o t h i n g ?
Think you might be GREEDY, here are a few signs:
What you have is not enoughWell, yup.
That is pretty much it, I imagined a panting hungry dog. (Maybe I should have used the dog emoji) Overly eager and ready to attack. That's what greed does to your mind. Gimme Gimme Gimme ! Take Take Take ! That is all that deadly sin screams.
So whats the solutionDONATION$$$ , Charity will certainly cure greediness because it is forcing you to be giving instead of stingy.$$$AVE / SAVOR, Why are you looking for more before appreciating what you already have? Make what you have more valuable than what you want. Also, savoring what you have will duplicate its value. This will allow you to give to yourself.
I provided opposite solutions to greed but they both require giving. And that is the main theme when it comes to someone who is struggling with greed.
Thank you all for reading! I want to hear about your experiences so please leave comments below.
Stay tune for the next Sinful Series.
God bless.
Sinful Series: Greed was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Sinful Series: Envy
Envy Evokes Evil
DemonTimeEmoji, Emojiiisland.comEnvy is a deadly sin because those looks are to k i l l.
Envy is loving to hate 3
Oxymoron right?
But that is exactly what it is. Just a step over jealously …
Because jealously has a person worried about what WILL be taken from them while envy is JUST taking.
Envy is a double edged sword,
In using it, you end up hurting yourself.
Like the stinger of a scorpion or bumblebee.
Truth is those who are filled with envy or hate, are empty.
This is true because gratitude or love fulfills.
So then what does the opposite do?
Think you might be ENVIOUS, here are a few signs:
Do you find yourself discontent?Comparing yourself often?Competing often?Not sure what makes you special?Angry at others achievements no matter how big or small?If you checked off more than 2 signs off this list then its time for you to heal your heart the right way. ❤
Scroll down for some simple solutionsSelf Isolation : Get to know yourself. Being alone will force you to bond with yourself & who says that is not fun? ;P ❤Compliments : PLEASE make sure these are genuine, though. Compliments are not just given out because the person wantsto hear it or because you want to feel good about yourself. A compliment is given for admiration. Smaller scale of love. When you practice this you will find (trust me when I say this) that you like to give compliments. This is our nature, to ❤.Self-Reassurance : Know that what is for you will be meant for you. ❤
Thank you all for reading! I want to hear about your experiences so please leave comments below.
Stay tune for the next Sinful Series.
God bless.
Sinful Series: Envy was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
The Morning After
The Morning After
Image by Roman3dIt’s always an awkward time. You wake up disoriented, hungover stumbling around trying to find clothes to cover your body. You start to wonder if anybody in the house knows about the night you just had. I too find myself in these situations pretty often; tiptoeing around trying to be sure not to wake anybody. I try to hide and get rid of all the scandalous evidence. I usually get up early to dispose of everything, the tissues from crying, the blade I used to cut my skin, the blood-soaked sheets. Like most people, I try to pretend like nothing happened. I would carry on throughout my day like normal, getting things done, running errands. The worst part of it all is when you run into them and it usually happens when you least expect it. The silence, the awkward eye contact and of course all the memories come flooding back. I go into the bathroom and there she is, in the mirror staring back at me. And, as toxic as this “relationship” is I just can’t seem to get away. I can only stand here and hope that one day I will be freed from this vicious cycle, but until then…let’s do it again sometime.
The Morning After was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
September 25, 2021
September 24, 2021
This House Of Broken Promises
Final Chapter of Drowning In Shallow Water
Image provided by Jessica DueñasAddiction is a hell of a disease. And after five weeks in a rehab facility, Jessica Dueñas, the 2019 Kentucky State teacher of the year, found herself back in her home, alone.
Jessica did everything right during her stay in rehab. She listened to the tech’s instructions, connected with other patients in a healthy way, and though she didn’t share much during group sessions, she was attentive.
Read This House Of Broken Promises by Jessica Dueñas
But on that first day home for Jessica, she couldn’t shake those thoughts. First, the triggers started:
“So, it’s just you and me, I thought. Just me and this house of broken dreams. I went to turn the TV on, but nothing happened. I forgot that I had fallen onto it while drunk at some point and broke some cables. I opened my laptop to get online, but there was a picture of my dead boyfriend, handsome and joyful, so I slammed the computer shut. I sat at the table, but the seat felt too hard. I went to the couch, but the seat was covered in dog hair. I moved to another chair, but it felt empty.”
Then came the routine that had defined her addiction for so long:
“I repeated these same thoughts over the next hour as I waited for the delivery. I reawakened my old routine of pretending everything was fine. I called my sister, “Hey! Just letting you know I’m finally home … Yeah, it’s definitely weird … Yeah, I promise I’ll call if anything … Yeah, I’m so sleepy I’m going to go to bed early…” I also sent a few texts to let people know that all was “good” and I was going to “bed” because I was “tired.”
Then the decision:
“It was in my hands and then my mouth. It burned in my throat. I gagged at first because I had forgotten what it was like and had chugged it straight from the bottle like I had been in a desert and hit an oasis.”
If you struggle with addiction or know anyone who does, this story feels painfully familiar. Jessica is nearly a full year sober now and doing amazing. She is thankful every day and has developed new routines to sustain her sobriety.
Read all four chapters of Jessica’s story, plus other stories by writers around the world, on Love & Literature.
This House Of Broken Promises was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Reality’s Visit
Photo by Carlos on UnsplashSitting on the dock of my mind.
Searching for True Love, I pray I find.
Daydreaming about joy and passion –
the fast pace of my heart as you prance
and model your latest fashion.
Together on a yacht, we let the waters take us away.
Away from the harsh realities that life tends to bring.
You’re somebody’s man, but you’re my perfect dream.
How can I love one so passionately and so good?
I’m not even your woman, but we both know that I should.
Joy comes in and encamps my entire soul;
gives me hope one day we’ll grow together to be old.
Bright leaves falling gently,
soft hands, tender kisses that you give me.
I’m drunk off the way you make me feel.
Damn, I don’t wanna wake up it this is not real.
Confused by the way I feel
passion can turn to hate and make you contemplate kill –
certainly against my will.
The confusion that comes with living a lie
keeps your eyes wet and your pillow drenched with cries.
True Love…where are you?
Please…come to my rescue.
Shine your light in my dark world.
Tell me…will True Love ever come to this Imperfect Girl?
© 2001 Tamika Morrison Okeleke
Reality’s Visit was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Living in a different frame rate
The upside to not-so-normal thoughts.
Photo by Skyler Ewing from PexelsI recently watched a behind-the-scenes of Fantastic Fungi (a movie exploring mycelium networks). The director, Louis Schwartzberg, is a pioneer of time-lapse cinematography who shoots nature over periods of months to create incredible footage of growth and decay. The fungi shots were taken as 4 frames per hour — so one day of filming was 4 seconds of footage. He’s also taken footage of hummingbirds who can beat their wings up to 80 beats per second — much faster than the human eye can see.
In the video, Schwartzberg talks about how different life forms have different “frame rates”:
“For example, a mosquito on your arm, having a little drop of blood, takes a look at that hand coming towards it in ultra-slow motion and has plenty of time to take off because its metabolic rate, its lifespan, is way shorter than our lifespan. And our lifespan is way shorter than a Redwood tree’s lifespan. This reality of real-time human point of view is not the only point of view, and that’s really the beauty of cameras and time-lapse cinematography. It’s actually a time machine.”
This isn’t a new concept, but I found the way he expressed it super interesting. I started thinking that maybe people have different ‘frame rates’ too.
I’ve always felt like an outsider.As a kid, I found spending time with other kids really draining. I was told I was shy, and as I got older, I added ‘introvert’ to my persona. I found a few great teenage friends who I connected with, but most of my peers I found perplexing. I tried to be interested in brand names, and hair colour, and Neighbours, but mostly failed. I’d much rather sit on the headland’s cliff edge and watch the seagulls riding the wind, or search for story-filled objects at the second-hand store.
As I became an adult, I became more comfortable with my weirdo status. I believe everyone has something unique to offer the world. We all have strengths and weaknesses, personality, interests, and eccentricities, and I can usually find something in common with an individual. Groups of people are a different story. Once you start averaging out what people think — bestselling books, blockbuster movies, top 40 music — I tend to dislike them. (If you’re trying to convince me to watch/read/listen to something, don’t ever use the word popular.)
I’m actually pretty happy being me. And trusting my instincts has served me well so far. I wouldn’t want to be one of those normal people — it feels like they’re missing out on an extra layer of life experience. But without realising it, I’ve been filtering myself. I know that lots of what goes on in my head doesn’t connect with other people, so I leave it in my head. Everything must pass a ‘does the other person want to hear this’ test before it leaves my mouth.
Wait, there’s others?Then I discovered an article on ‘rainforest minds’. These are deep thinkers, extra perceptive, analytical, creative problem solvers, highly sensitive and intuitive.
“There is no doubt they crave learning new ideas, are introspective, compassionate, and make unusual connections between, oh, all the things.”
Woah, hang on. There were others like me out there?
Did I have … a… (sorry, gimme a minute…) Did I have a TRIBE?!
Does my unusual way of thinking have some value to society? And if I’m supposedly ‘gifted’, why has nobody told me!? It’s taken me 33 years to find a blog post to tell me this is a good thing. WTF, society?
I got my credit card out in existential panic (always the best way to get out one’s credit card), punched in the numbers, and got access to a reputable-looking IQ test. I’d never done one before, and it turns out every question is a multiple choice asking, ‘which image comes next’. It’s all about finding patterns. Is that what intelligence is? I always thought it was something, I don’t know… bigger than that.
Maybe someone tried to tell me I was gifted and I didn’t listen. Any creative people will tell you — anything they can do is easy and boring, but anything someone else can do is amazing. We don’t put value on our own skills because they’re ours. I guess it’s the same for ways of thinking. My way of thinking seems easy and boring because it’s mine.
Having blown my money, I decided it’s probably not great to be labelled as gifted anyway — a word with almost as much baggage as ‘love’.
So, back to the frame rates…I think I have a different ‘mental metabolism’ to most people. I’m noticing, and thinking about, and finding connections between things that others are oblivious to. And that’s why it sometimes feels like I’m having a conversation with a different species. (Maybe this is what dolphins would feel like if they had conversations with us? They’d be talking about that funny thing that echolocation does and we’d be giving them blank stares.)
What I’ve discovered is there’s value in different thoughts. Instead of leaving random thoughts on the mental shelf, we should share them. Some might be confronting, some might be wrong — but some may create shifts in other’s thinking. As a tribe of rainforest minds, we have a responsibility to use our intensity, creativity, and mental energy (our superpowers?) for the greater good.
I want to hear your stories and your wacky ideas. They may just end up changing the world — or at least changing my world.
“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.” Clarissa Pinkole Estes
Living in a different frame rate was originally published in CRY Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
