WHEN I first came too Steemit I was cautious not to put anything out there that might be offensive to anyone. Over time I began to believe you deserve to know my heart and mind in a deeper way, and those that might be put off...well, that's life. And so saying, I must confess that I've been disappointed in Steemit in one significant way that affects my enthusiasm. It's a simple thing really, one that can be compensated for and overcome, but here it is: so few people read a post. That has improved somewhat now that I am a rooting tooting (55), and from what I observe if one gets up to the upper (60's) and (70's) then more and more people follow and actually read. Don't get me wrong I've had some wonderful sessions communicating with others here on Steemit, and it has been very gratifying; and I am very grateful for those who consistently read my posts. I think the desire in every human heart is to be heard, to be known, to be appreciated and ultimately to be loved. I am no different. However, from this point on I will be writing mostly for my own enjoyment and satisfaction. I welcome you to come along and see into my heart and spirit through what I write.
Though I am not a Christian, or a devotee of any particular religion I am, nevertheless, on a spiritual path. I have not adequately come up with a single word that describes who I am so I have to use several: of course I'm a fool, and with that I mean I know I am nothing, but I am also everything. I am astonished with the complexity of the fascinating Cosmos we live in. I suppose the main theme of my life, other than growing from one who had very little self love and thus a limited ability to love others, to one who experiences love much more fully and vibrantly, is that I love contemplating the mysteries of our existence. So, I am a fool, one who peers into the stars at night in wonder, one who admits I know so little, but would love to understand so much more.
I am very sensitive to energies of all kinds. I can't say that I am exceptional in this, but certainly am "different" than most. I've used this sensitivity as an astrologer, a mystic, a philosopher, a curious man of nature, and a poet. So I suppose I could say I am all of those things. In my younger years I was a crusader for peace and freedom, and worked professionally for several years teaching and speaking and writing on those subjects. My enthusiasm and commitment to freedom, self-responsibility, and self government has not diminished but rather has taken another form. I have come to understand that if we as a species hope to survive and rise above our animal instincts we must rise in consciousness. And so I've become a champion of that... of developing our understanding, awareness and consciousness of who and what we are, and that we can come closer to the Light.
Like I said I adhere to no religion but sense the great energies and spirit emanating from them. And so with that I'll quote The Old Testament. Indeed I connect to these old scriptures on an unusual level. Perhaps it is distant Jewish ancestry or perhaps it comes from an ancestor of mine back in the 1500's who was a Catholic Abbott. Perhaps he was a scriptorian and through some magic of the Cosmos his love of Scriptures lingers in my blood. I do not know fully, but I sense it.
ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven;
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
TIMES ARE CHANGING. GO WITH THE FLOW.
For those who loved the old Bee Gees song "Turn, Turn, Turn", here it is:
May you be blessed dear one. May you be at peace.
I think more people read than you think, it is just that there is so much content out there. And right now, Steemit rewards the writers more than the readers and commenting. I happen to be someone who comments often, but many people do not vote on the comments, even if they reply to them!
It would be nice for there to be a push to create a better balance between writing and reading. There are many contests and ideas to reward writers, maybe we could come up with ideas to reward readers? Minds does this by rewarding you every time you go through your feed.
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That is a very good idea. I have a friend on Minds who is encouraging me to participate there. I am just too busy with Steemit. But perhaps one day. Many blessings and thanks for taking the time to comment.
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I prefer Steemit to minds for the general content and the curation. On Minds, many people are reposting content they find online to get rewards. That being said, the overall interface over there is somewhat easier to use. They have more of a Facebook model, with a newsfeed and blog. It is worth looking into in order to think about what we can do to improve Steemit. :)
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You are a spiritual man sir.youve basically stated proofs that the cosmos i is guided by supreme being.statements that prove spirituality
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Thanks for the very kind comments. I hope you are blessed and at peace.
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Yes sir i am
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A song most fitting.
I am glad that you are doing what is best for you. Spirituality does not need a religion's limitations. Write for you and what makes you feel good. You will then be surrounded by the people that will lift you up and keep you there ^_^
Write for you, that's what I like to read :) Stay safe, be healthy and strong. xxx
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Thanks. I've been having some health moments lately. That affects my attitude. I think I'm back in the saddle once again. Blessings.
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I hope that things are good for you. That you can be at 100%. Proper time for proper healing. You are a good man and knows what is right ^_^
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I think that's a shame that people do this really. I will gladly read the post of whomever my attention happens to land as the number next to our names really has no bearning on the truth we convey.
I really appreciate the depth of your thoughts and musing. Thank you.
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I appreciate your comment. I could perceive there was a real, thinking, caring human who wrote it. Did my heart good. Blessings.
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I think it depends on who the person is. I never leave a vote on a post I haven't read, and not all posts I read get a vote. Yours as well as several I follow seem to gather both, but i am picky on whom I follow, and weed the list down monthly.
There are many initiatives as well that allow higher SP accounts to find newer members here that produce quality work, such as the Pay It Forward Curation Contest started by @thedarkhorse. I usually try to give about 15-25 votes per week there, and have actually found a few people that I continue to follow and interact with.
Water rises to its own level, and I notice many good people are drawn to your posts and energy. It just takes time for others to know you are here.
As always, I look forward to your spiritual observations. Thank you, my friend.
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I appreciate your kind and thoughtful responses. There! Three cents for the man in the front row! Wish it could be more. Hopefully one day soon. In the meantime I'll check out the Pay It Forward contest. Blessings.
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I think this is the only position from which true self-expression can emerge. Everything else takes into consideration reactions of others (will they like/vote/reject blah blah). And of course, having got into the mid-high 50s, there will be more eyes on your stuff anyway. Everything else follows.
To stress about payouts and other 'financial' issues on Steemit is, IMO, to lose the possibility of this 'enjoyment' and 'satisfaction' - which is different from the excitement of a big payout/drooling response.
PS love the opening image of the magician (which I've seen before on your posts) with all the symbolism and the little elf and fairy :D
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Indeed, my best audience is myself!
I've let go of my expectations and will take it one day at a time, following a much better guide: my spiritual intuition.
As for the magician pic: I spotted it at a garage sale and knew it was meant for me. In fact I relate to it. I've come to believe in past life energies, both ancestral and individual and know that this pic is a good visual reminder of who I am. Oh, and of course he is smoking some fine herb which I do on occasion!
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Amen to that!
Yes me too - 'Anger' and 'Abandonment/Rejection' are my allocated/chosen streams :D
I notice that the hour-glass sand has almost run out - must mean that the Magician's time has arrived! 🔆 🔆 🔆
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Highly rEsteemed!
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Well thanks for the resteem Mr. Bacon. I do appreciate it very much. May you be blessed and be at peace.
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I call you a spiritual warrior, friend and sounding board. I have a deep respect for your sight, wisdom and skills of writing, sharing ideas, feelings and insights. I am most impressed with what you have been sharing, this post particularly. Not too many people would choose to be vulnerable and share like this. It impresses me most when people take risks and share at this level. That is how we learn about one another at levels most only dream about. Bravo to you my dear spiritual brother.
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One day, @wwf, I'm going to come visit you in the far north. (Hopefully in the summer!) Would love to embrace you in person. Many blessings.
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Thank you for your honesty and openness. It is a risk, and by doing so, I believe you will inspire others... myself included, to risk and truly engage. I fully agree with what @wwf replied. You inspire with your writing ... and your philosophy and spirit speak volumes about the love you have for your fellow mankind. I would also consider myself a fool, as you have described it. The journey of life can be filled with wonder, if we just open our eyes, raise our gaze and look around. Maybe that is why I see rainbows in the morning sky, diamonds in the snow, and feel delight in watching the antics of two-week-old-chicks. Peace.
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Such a pleasant response @angelfire808! I do appreciate your kind remarks and upbeat attitude. Many thanks and blessings.
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As usual, there's a lot here. I'll concentrate a little on the reading dilemma on Steemit first, then maybe a little on the spiritual part.
It's sad, but not surprising, that Steemit has a user reading problem. It's basically the same wherever you go throughout social media and the internet. A lot of it can be attributed to visibility—people just don't see what you've written.
After that, it's something else. Time people have/believe they have to read, a general dislike of reading, preference in what they read, etc. Some topics are just going to be hotter than others no matter how awesomely the others are written.
Reading in the U.S. has been diminishing for a while. Males, in particular, don't do a whole lot of it, and females are starting the downward cycle, too, though not so quickly. I'd say that the majority of users here are still male, and if anything, they like their posts shorter and less complicated. Less thinking means they can use their brain power elsewhere. :)
re: spirituality
In some fashion, to some degree, just like you, we are all on some form of spiritual journey. Some of us recognize it as such and find ways to find meaning or purpose in it, the rest of us don't realize or don't want to, and spend most of their time in conscious or subconscious avoidance. In my mind, that doesn't really work that way because there's constantly something spiritual popping up all the time to say, "Hey, lookee here! I'm still here even if you ignore me!"
Now, I have a particular path I am on, and you have another, and in reality, we're all on slightly different paths even if we're of the same religion. And, I would say, many of those are parallel, while others may not be.
At some point, though, it seems to me, they all feed into one. At what point that happens, it depends, but it happens at the moment of truth. When the truth is finally reached, whatever that is and wherever that might be. Not our own truths, or that of others, but the truth.
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Funny, I just noticed that when I came to your comment I sat back in my chair, and mentally prepared to read something significant. You do get awards for this sort of thing I recall, but irregardless of that possible motivation, you certainly are one of the great ones. And I appreciate your comments.
I've been having some health issues and that affects my attitude, but seem to be back in the saddle again. I made the terrible error of having expectations. it is far better to accept what is. Many blessings.
And yes, won't we all be astonished to know the full truth of things one day. I'll be seeing your there to be sure.
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I'm sorry to hear you've been ill. That's not ever fun, and definitely can undo any positive attitudes we might care to have. I thought for a brief moment I may have said something wrong, but figured life was getting in the way of a reply, so no concerns there. I am glad to hear that my comments were received and appreciated. :)
As for being "one of the great ones," I'm not sure how to take that, other than maybe simply saying, that's very kind of you to say, but that's probably higher praise than I can live up to. :)
Oh, it's just human nature to have expectations. It's what motivates us to be better and improve, I'd say. However, accepting what is is needful, too. Can't be too happy without it, right?
As far as getting awards—if you're talking about Asher's leagues, I could get an award for finishing in the Top 10, just like everyone else, but as you know, there's not a metric for the content or sentiment of the content. Whatever award their may be is strictly transacted in appreciation, if any, between the reader and the commenter.
As it is, I've waived any award STEEM for the time being, so that's not even a motivation right now. I'm still participating, though, so making comments is still a part of that. The actual content is just want comes out at the time and is free of any other motivation other than reacting to the post or comment. :)
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Aah, you have such a way with words. I've always said that writing is like a foreign language: at first one struggles but as one continues to write, one can become quite fluent.
It seems that as we age our ailments become a common and well addressed part of our conversations with others. I try and avoid that, but I'll share I've been dealing with this condition for about 25 years now. It seems to be a combination of insulin resistance, adrenal fatigue, and inflammation/poisoning from toxins and heavy metals from painting. I think I've shared I was a painting contractor. Had to retire last year due to illness.
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Oh, yes. I remember the house painting and the heavy metal poisoning. The other things I don't remember knowing about. Anyone of that on it's own is plenty, though, so I'm sorry to hear about everything combined. The fact you've gotten this far over the last 25 years is an achievement unto self, I believe. Probably not much consolation, I guess, but there's always going to be better days and worse days.
Well, I've been writing for most of my adult life, in one form or another, and so yeah, after a while, you can learn how to craft sentences. It's funny that writing books and writing newspaper articles tend to be on different ends of the writing spectrum in many ways, but they also have a lot in common. You don't really want any wasted space in either, surprisingly, but you also want to flesh things out enough for the reader to get something out of it. So, I try to incorporate that as much as I can in anything I do here on Steemit.
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I am something, I am no-thing, I am everything. :)
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Indeed, I think the quote, "I AM THAT I AM" means that. A good thing to remember too in our mixed up world. Blessings.
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I have qoutes those versus many times :). Ty for the reminder. Followed Resteemed, ty sir.
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I think of myself as a bit sensitive to energies too. It often isn't fun for me. I feel similarly about religion. I enjoy taking in the devotion some people feel.
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Women are typically more sensitive... but you know that. It's a Yin thing. But also those with strong Water signs in their astrology are very sensitive too. There is an energy in various religions. For most the theology is ridiculous but the energy of the positive principles is strong, i.e., faith, hope, love, charity, forgiveness, etc. Many blessings.
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I now get it, there is a time for everything and purpose for anything, it'sa pity thatpeople do not know that.......
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Indeed one of the key principles to a happy life is to be able to "let go". The Buddhists, as well as most other religions, have a principle they live by, essentially it is "It is what it is...go with the flow." So there are vast changes in store for all of us. Trying to hold on to what was is very stressful indeed.
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Oh my dawg! The bible ripped off the Bee Gees! I'm sorry Mr. Mercury but if you don't worship the flying spaghetti monster then you must have been sent by the dark one to destroy us all. When you do, I for one will be having pepperoni and pineapple on my tombstone, but hold the yeyo! I want to go to the highest place, just not that one.
Hail Eris! or not... ¯_(ツ)_/¯
P.S. Love the wizard looking dude,
betcha that's salvia he's chiefing on.
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Funny thing about that pic. I stumbled across it at a garage sale and had to have it. I instantly knew it depicted me. And yes it is some very fine herb indeed.
After hundreds of generations of very devout Catholics I have the genetic drive to worship. But for now nature captures my devotion.
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It's a lament here too - but more because I'm so busy writing I don't have TIME to read. I have been trying to change that as there are so many wonderful writers here, including you. I do think that this writing malarkey is partly for us, too - especially when it's more deeper, spiritual or personal musings!
And so too, I am also a fool - but that's just a good thing, in this context.
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Yes, I guess when it is all boiled down to the purest essence I write for myself. I think though, too, that we humans yearn to be known, to be heard, and understood, and ultimately to be loved simply for who we are. I suppose that is what I want more than just to have people read what I write. And I suppose, too, I'll have to have a readjustment of my expectations: and simply accept Steemit is an Odd Platform where, if one closes ones eyes and then listens very carefully one can hear thousands of ass kissers smacking their lips (not you or I to be sure). Blessings.
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Oh I agree. i think it's a week of disillusionment for a few of us here. I hear that for sure. xxx But it's also lovely to meet people who do seem who they are, and it's fairly easy to tell. Or maybe it's easier to tell the ones that aren't? xx
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