Sometimes madness is a warm blanket wrapped around our shoulders on a cold morning after we just woke up. Or, as it is in my case, afternoon. My sleep patterns are still all fucked up.
Yesterday, I was able to get two stories sent off to a couple of magazines. I'd like to say I have high hopes but the truth is my low self-esteem won't allow it. Instead it's a weird bet with poor odds.
My mind has been racing lately. Anxiety is like rocket fuel for these thoughts and then suddenly somebody hits the brakes and I crash into oblivion.
Oblivion, sweet oblivion.
I need to submit more short stories. I need to write more good ones, too. Instead of being cute and trying to be somebody I'm not, I've found my best work comes when I just need to get the shit out of my head. I haven't been meditating enough lately, either, so there's a lot of shit to get rid of.
So here's what I'm working on right now:
I need to establish a routine. I'm so bad at this! Part of the reason is that routines are something adults have and part of me is still a rebellious teenager who refuses to conform. But I've rebelled so much I'm not even conforming to humanity. I'm pretty far out there--almost feral.
So I need routines and patterns. Another reason I refuse to is how I have clung to the teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson a bit too much, specifically a quote I learned in high school, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." That's funny when you think about it, because he preached self-reliance and I'm far from it. I am, however, unique. That's one thing I've got going in my favor--I'm not like anybody else you'll ever meet.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds--Ralph Waldo Emerson
But I need routines. I need consistency so I can adapt positive and healthy behaviors. Because right now, I'm a train wreck.
I have found it is incredibly hard to do positive things for yourself when you do not have a habit, ritual, routine, or pattern. And I'm all over the place.
So that's what I'm working on. My entire being is fighting against this and that reaction has been difficult to suppress. I keep wanting to just go do my own thing. I don't do well in restrictive environments.
But I'm paying for that now. Years of doing my own thing, not listening to anybody, not following rules, not existing within the confines of acceptable living protocols, have all added up to a series of problems--a crisis of living.
This is more than just me being an obstinate jerk. It goes far beyond the usual rebellion and like many things in my life, it has a dark history.
Here's what happened:
I've said this before but when I was a kid, I was confident I wasn't a human being. Between the abuse and a number of other factors, I was disconnected from myself and the rest of the world around me. I was so isolated I came to the conclusion that I was not a human being.
Because I wasn't a human being, the rules didn't apply to me, either. In my clouded mind, I decided that I didn't have to play everybody else's reindeer games, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. I was on my own already, what were they going to do? Really, really not invite me to birthday parties? Really, really not go on dates with me? Really, really make fun of me?
This was a bad reaction to events many humans encounter. I realized that a long time ago. In many ways, I'm not dealing with the effects of my past so much as my reactions to those events. My reactions to those events created a series of issues and those are the things I'm recovering from and surviving, not the events themselves.
I did this to myself. And that means I need to fix this myself.
I have no idea how.
They say habits are formed by doing something four times. So, right now I'm looking at simple choices I can make in order for me to start slow with positive habits and routines. It is way harder than it sounds. In many respects it feels positively Herculean and I could use some help.
So here's what I'm working on right now:
I need to establish a routine. I'm so bad at this! Part of the reason is that routines are something adults have and part of me is still a rebellious teenager who refuses to conform. But I've rebelled so much I'm not even conforming to humanity. I'm pretty far out there--almost feral.
So I need routines and patterns. Another reason I refuse to is how I have clung to the teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson a bit too much, specifically a quote I learned in high school, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." That's funny when you think about it, because he preached self-reliance and I'm far from it. I am, however, unique. That's one thing I've got going in my favor--I'm not like anybody else you'll ever meet.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds--Ralph Waldo Emerson
But I need routines. I need consistency so I can adapt positive and healthy behaviors. Because right now, I'm a train wreck.
I have found it is incredibly hard to do positive things for yourself when you do not have a habit, ritual, routine, or pattern. And I'm all over the place.
So that's what I'm working on. My entire being is fighting against this and that reaction has been difficult to suppress. I keep wanting to just go do my own thing. I don't do well in restrictive environments.
But I'm paying for that now. Years of doing my own thing, not listening to anybody, not following rules, not existing within the confines of acceptable living protocols, have all added up to a series of problems--a crisis of living.
This is more than just me being an obstinate jerk. It goes far beyond the usual rebellion and like many things in my life, it has a dark history.
Here's what happened:
I've said this before but when I was a kid, I was confident I wasn't a human being. Between the abuse and a number of other factors, I was disconnected from myself and the rest of the world around me. I was so isolated I came to the conclusion that I was not a human being.
Because I wasn't a human being, the rules didn't apply to me, either. In my clouded mind, I decided that I didn't have to play everybody else's reindeer games, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. I was on my own already, what were they going to do? Really, really not invite me to birthday parties? Really, really not go on dates with me? Really, really make fun of me?
This was a bad reaction to events many humans encounter. I realized that a long time ago. In many ways, I'm not dealing with the effects of my past so much as my reactions to those events. My reactions to those events created a series of issues and those are the things I'm recovering from and surviving, not the events themselves.
I did this to myself. And that means I need to fix this myself.
I have no idea how.
They say habits are formed by doing something four times. So, right now I'm looking at simple choices I can make in order for me to start slow with positive habits and routines. It is way harder than it sounds. In many respects it feels positively Herculean and I could use some help.
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