Saturday Share

Hello bloggers!

Welcome to this week’s Saturday Share of the Blogger Community. Are you seeking feedback on a post you recently published?

Share the link to ONE of your recent posts in the comments section. Do add a short description to let others know what your post is about.

If you are seeking feedback on the layout and design of your blog, share your blog link and mention your questions.

Everyone who shares a link is requested to visit at least three other blogs. Spread some love!

Please note that adding multiple links in the comment will automatically put it in the moderation queue. This will delay the publication of the comment.

Let’s make the discussion productive!

#blog#bloggers#blogging#blogging101#bloggingcommunity#bloggingfundamentals#conversations#everydayinspiration#postaday#weekendcoffeeshare

A blogging community beyond words

                                                                                                       [Image from PreEngaged.com]

Dear Writers.

I thought about this post topic a few times but then changed my mind – I was reluctant. In truth one of our writers already attempted this but I guess we all never checked in. We have a growing community and enjoy reading each other’s posts.  Over the past few months this has not only helped me get through a global dark period, but also given me a beautiful insight in the writers here.  For that I have to say, we are some lovely people in this community.
Personally, I’d like the inclusion of moving beyond the words to connect.  Our very own Niki had suggested meeting up via our online chat session, collectively to catch up.  Recently I know Cyranny set up a Skype session, I missed that but hope to join this weekend.

Without stealing Cyranny’s idea, I am not too sure what tools our lovely writers use to connect online – being it Skype, Zoom, Gmail? But I am interested to know:
(1) Who would be keen on attending a voice chat session (pre-arranged time)
(2) What day of the week would suit
(3) What tool(s) do you use today

I’ll be clear on this, my plan is to keep it voice only for now and maybe once a monthThere is no obligation for this and I understand some writers want to keep to a blogging relationship.

For me, I enjoy everyone’s company here so would love to talk to you all, exchange ideas, general catch up.

There, I’ve shared it, over to all.  I would set a date yet until I get some feedback. Feel free to message me directly if you want via my blog 🙂
Have a lovely weekend all.

Chapter 10 – To share a dream with another. #Jugalbandi

Zoe awoke with a jolt. Her linen nightdress was soaked through with sweat in the clammy night air, yet it wasn’t just the heat which had awoken the girl in a state of discomfort; her heart was racing and she gasped for air as if she had been running all night. She tried her best to quieten her breathing, and watched Ure let out a soft sigh in his sleep, envious of his tranquillity as he wandered away from the troubles of daytime. Zoe had not slept through the night for months; she padded across to the window, and gazed out like she often did at times like these. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she took in the forest that sprawled out ahead of her, capturing a picture in her mind’s eye, then she slowly closed her lids and drew herself into it. 

Zoe stole over the ferny ground, and the trees walked with her, spreading out ahead like armed guards shielding her from the real world. A harmonious troop of Macaques chattered and chuffed amongst themselves, but their freedom made the anxiety rise within her once more, so she turned her attention to something else. In her mind’s eye, she kept walking until she found the grove with the cabin, a place she had been so many times in her head. It always remained consistent and untouched, unlike the changeability of the real world.  Bringing herself back to this place stirred a recollection of her night time wanderings; in the dream she had not been alone, for the first time ever, her sanctuary had been invaded by someone else. Zoe’s eyes tightened as she tried to remember who had called out behind her, but as the sun rose over the horizon, the memory became ever foggier, as if daylight made it no longer tangible. She shook off the disconcerting feeling that someone had managed to infiltrate the inner recesses of her mind, putting the strange night down to overstimulation the previous day.  

Stepping out onto the veranda, the groaning decking was already beginning to warm under her feet in the intense heat of the rising sun. She perched on the edge, taking a moment to bask in it before the other members of the household rose to start their days. Turning her gaze out across the open space in front of her, which led into the wood behind, something caught Zoe’s eye, glinting softly in the morning bright. A sense of childhood excitement crept up in her chest as she hurried over to the object nestled in the dry grass, as if she expected it to be the key to solving all her problems. As she drew near, Zoe’s heart fell as she found herself recognising the swirl of the enamel, and the delicacy of the chain link necklace that her mother had given her when she was a young child. How curious that it should have fallen off and her not noticed? Had she been so enchanted by Zion, and fearful of her father that she had misplaced it when out picking berries in the woods? It would be highly unlike her to forget something so precious, and she had barely left the house for weeks now; her father’s grip had become suffocating as her wedding approached. 

Pocketing the necklace, she turned back to face the house, and saw Rakesh staring from the upstairs window intently down at her. Before she knew it, he was downstairs and marching across the yard, his loose linen trousers rippling with the pace of his movement, and beads of sweat clustering at his temple as he seethed. “What did you think you were doing last night hmm?” the man hissed, his face so close to hers she could almost feel the coarse bristles of his unshaven beard. “I didn’t do anything, Father, I had a bad dream and went to the window to comfort myself, but I didn’t leave the house or even sit out on the veranda”, she replied, clenching her fists to muster  a façade of strength, when in fact she felt a lump in her throat and her knees had annoyingly began to tremble. Rakesh let out a piggish snort; “You think I’m a FOOL??” he spat through his yellow-tinged teeth and inhaled sharply. “When I watched you run into those woods yesterday past dark, I knew you’d be back, I knew you couldn’t leave that boy you’ve got fancy ideas about, and now you’ve returned, you’re never leaving again unless it is to get married to a man of my choosing”. He slowed and caught his breath before striking the death blow: “You can never see Zion again, and will not leave the house until your wedding day.”

Zoe lay in bed and smiled to herself. Her dream had been real. She had ran into the woods yesterday to escape everything, she had found a place of sanctuary, her cabin, and upon returning she had dropped her necklace to mark the path she should follow to reach it again. She had dreamt of that moment so many times, but now the boundaries between dream and reality had blurred. In that moment, as her father had banned her from seeing her love ever again, an image reformed in her head. “I wasn’t expecting visitors”, Zion had said, a playful smile creeping across his face as he clutched a bunch of keys in his slender fingers. And upon the wind came a whisper from the previous night, which warmed Zoe’s bones with hopeful fire as she curled up inside her prison cell:

“Zoe, live with me, here, in this cabin, it’s what you’ve always dreamed of”.

About the author:

Lola is a 19 year old English Literature and Classical Civilisation student currently studying at the University of Leeds. She has started blogging only since the start of Lockdown in the UK, and looks forward to tackling topics surrounding mental and physical health, running and student life on her blog; ‘Leggit!’, https://lolagregory.wordpress.com/.

Check out all chapters here:

Mental Health And Self Care

(Late Mental Health Safe Space post because of Memorial Day, lost track of my days, sorry.)

If you’re anything like me, you often find self care a difficult alley to navigate. After all, there are fine lines between what you need as an individual to make yourself feel cared for, but your 6 hours of sleep may be considered slothful by others and they won’t hesitate to tell you so.  This makes it a guilt inducing task, to  care for your own mental health amidst the criticism of others whose needs are different. The important thing to remember is that we are all individuals with different needs. It’s these differences we hve to focus on. What works for me may not work for you. It’s a bit of trial and error and also, fighting your own instincts to believe self care is somehow selfish. Not caring for yourself is the selfish act.

I offer up some suggestions of what you *may* have successs with you when it comes to self care during trying times for mental health.

1.) Long bath or shower, complete with fizzy/bubbly/scented products. This can relax your tense muscles, revive your tired mind, and rejuvanate your exhausted senses.

2.) Cup of favorite warm/cold drink. Refreshing the tastebuds and hydrating the body presents no loss and all gain.

3.) Call/text/visit a friend. Again, it all depends on  individual situation and whether you’re on lockdown like so many of us, but contact with someone outside your home can often kick up your spirits and lower your stress.

4.) Watch a favorite show/movie/listen to favorite music. Our senses can be revived by so many things we enjoy, if we just give it a chance to work. If you’re in a funk, try an upbeat show or song. If you’re feeling tired, try something energetic like a dance tune or show. Same can be said if you’re anxious, flip it to something that always makes you feel calmer.

5.) Read a book. Write a blog post. Paint a picture. Creative expression is the ultimate in health self care because it is made by choice, not force.

These are not every possible idea, but it’s enough of a start that you can figure out what does work for you. Even if it feels selfish and confuses you, self care is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself and for those around you. Getting so anxious and stressed that it bubbles out onto others is no good, and it’s no good if it’s eating you up inside. So play that happy place song. Go for that bike ride or walk. Take that shower or soak in the bath. You deserve the care.

 

#anxiety, #depression, #mental-health, #self-care

Throwback Thursday

Hello bloggers!

Welcome to the Throwback Thursday of this week.

Did you read an old post on your blog that you wrote ages ago but it did not receive the response you were expecting? Do you need feedback on it? Want to revive it?

Share the link to ONE of those posts in the comments section. Do add a short description to let others know what your post is about.

Everyone who shares a link is requested to visit at least three other blogs. Be generous!

Please note that adding multiple links in the comment will automatically put it in the moderation queue. This will delay the publication of the comment.

Let’s relive the memories of the time gone by…

This week, I am sharing about how I started seeing the positives in bad decisions– https://randomnessinked.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/i-do-not-regret-my-decisions-anymore-a-to-z-challenge-2019/

#blog#bloggers#blogging#blogging101#bloggingcommunity#bloggingfundamentals#everydayinspiration#postaday#throwbackthursday

What’s the one thing that your heart needs to hear today?

Take one step at a time! 🙂

#Conversations

Kind Hearted Challenge – June Edition

Join in…It’s gonna be fun! 🙂

Cyranny's Cove

20190713_000439

Hello Lovelies!

June is coming in just two weeks, and with it, a brand new and very special Kind Hearted Challenge. The reason I am telling you about it ahead of time, is that it will take a little bit of preparation, if you choose to accept the challenge.

June’s edition is special because, for one thing, it doesn’t come from me. It was inspired by a challenge Derek Aucoin (who is very well known here in Québec) invites the audience to join, in his conferences.

1589773630274

Mr Derek Aucoin

Derek used to be a professional baseball player (he played with the Montréal Expos, and was part of the New York Mets’ organization for some time) and now works as a tv and radio host.

I discovered Mr Aucoin when I worked evenings and weekends. I used to listen to him on the radio, even if his show was an…

View original post 406 more words

Coronavirus: A Reality Check

Hi guys, hope you are all doing fine. This one, I had to write because I don’t know why people are seeing coronavirus pandemic as something that has brought only sufferings and pain everywhere, though I rather feel that IT’S GOOD, ‘if’ it has happened ‘naturally’, to me atleast if not to you. Read it full, to the end to get my point rather than straight away calling me nonsense or idiot.

See. I say that this is an opportunity that is given to us as a kind of a reality check to how do we think we are progressing with life and approaching to our future. What all parameters are we focussing on currently and what all fundamental changes we need to bring as none of the countries have effectively dealt with coronaviris and ‘modified’ their working to contain the spread. So it points out that we have to change the basics of how we approach towards doing things.

What I mean is that, we say so and so country is ‘developed country’ and so and so is ‘developing country’, now why is that a developed country is suffering more and under more danger? See when we say something as developed, we mean that it is capable of combatting against a threat efficiently, if not immediately, because they have gained some stability that other countries haven’t. It should have been such in those countries that immediate transformation of workings should have taken place and they should have countered it rather better because they have handled their problems well to become a developed country. But each country is still fighting and undergoing huge losses and been fighting for a minimum 2 months straight shows that our approach towards future is not on correct path. And I guess we need to shift that tag of ‘developed country’ to make every country under that ‘developing’ category?

Now let us consider some impacts. The workers to which we didn’t not pay attention, who are actually majorly suffering. Now though they are suffering but see the future, which when they come back can work under better condition and better reforms that will be proposed for their safety, which actually should have been made earlier and it is us neglecting those workers earlier that they are undergoing this period of suffering. Coming on to businesses. This is the time, they have in ample, in which they can think, strategize and finds new and better ways of work methods and work study. And some businesses are suffering majorly because their workings have stopped and funding issues. But its is again for a period of time and again the policies and being framed by every country on how to handle such problems and will have a strong impact long term because we are correcting things from the root level.

Now have a look at the positive impact of coronavirus. Environment and air quality are getting repaired from the damage we have been doing, we have started noticing that health is important factor and we should focus on it (which we should have done even otherwise), we are actually interacting with strange people that live in our house more and to people that we once met in our life, we are helping each other out and showing the unity that we should even normally. A mention to the ‘wildlife’ that is now able to actually feel the beauty of this world, as I have heard news that the animals are coming out on roads and they are able to spot more beautiful creatures flying around places. Biggest improvement being our hospital conditions that are improving which we were not keeping a check on and us understanding the hardwork that a medical institute undergoes. And the list of positive impacts go on and on.

See what majorly my point is, that this pandemic has hit us such that we get a ‘reality check’ of, in which direction we were going and in which direction we should be working towards approach certain aspects. It shows us that hell lot of work is pending and what we are actually were doing is not simply enough. And there still some beauty that you cannot see, that most importantly it has made us sit home and given us precious ‘time’, to think, where are we fundamentally going wrong in doing particular things in a particular way and what all can we do to correct it. It is making us work on fundamental changes rather than again and again trying to keep the boat just afloat, for survival.

It is actually an unfortunate event that has happened, that is giving us chance to proceed to future in a better way and plus it has given us a reason to put the blame from humans to the pandemic because we cannnot accept that, WE HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF THINGS INCORRECTLY. It was us, not valuing a lot of aspects that we will from now on value.

So blame it or accept but it will make us approch future in a lot better ways than its has been going on. By all this, I do not say that it’s good that it happened and I am deeply saddened be watching people being so helpless. But it’s been always like, we need something SIGNIFICANT to happen for a CHANGE to take place.

And I would say that, I don’t think that it is just causing pain and suffering to the otherwise prospering, no pain and no suffering, world that we had before the pandemic, if you get me. It is just that many things have come on the surface now. Think about it.

-Nikhil

Instagram– nikhilthakran_10

Twitter– easypeasynick

#blog, #blog-content, #blogger, #blogger-community, #blogging, #bloggingcommunity, #corona-virus, #coronavirus, #country, #covid-19, #covid19, #humanity, #india, #lockdown, #thoughts, #truth, #wordpress

May Music Last song for…

May Music

Last song for the month- classical acoustic version of 30 Seconds To Mars’ “The Kill” to prove I listen to more than heavy metal.

Tell a Lie Tuesday

Tell us a lie!

RULES:
Make someone laugh
Spread more happiness
Do it in good spirits
Have fun

#blog#bloggers#blogging#blogging101#bloggingcommunity#bloggingfundamentals#fun#life#thoughts#writing