Thoughts on Mindfulness, ADHD and distraction

Last summer I did a video about my thoughts on mindfulness relating to ADHD and how cell phones distract us from the now. It’s available here and it weirdly enough covers a 4 Musketeers reference (hmm…maybe I should go a full goatee this coming summer instead of the break…either that or refresh my memory on fencing so I can embrace my swashbuckling side).

The Now, and a Story of What Could Happen

“I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now” – Edna Mode

I’ve got for you a new speculative fiction along with some random thoughts below. But first, the story: Corporate Bliss – a Story Told in Emails. It’s about capitalism, life, and depression all through email conversations in an office setting. Comments welcome here or on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram…

And I’m not depressed, but Winter always makes me reflective. I wanted to post some memories my mother has shared with me. I then thought, “What about me? Who will I share my memories with?” I then thought of other LGBTQ2SA folk with no kids. Or of couples who were childless. Or even single people. Who sings their stories after they are gone?

“Who cares” but as time goes on, and the world changes, often it’s the slice of life that give colour to the past. Telling you I remember being a teenager and on a bus with school mates singing along to The Pointer Sisters “Jump” and you can say “So what?”

Yet. Point out that at the time, I was still dealing with my sexuality. I had been bullied in elementary. I was mostly ignored in Junior High, but wasn’t part of the “In” crowd. In high school, playing football suddenly made me part of the “In” crowd because I was a jock. And it was….an education in tribalism, and why it was and still is, an utter load of bullshit. Hating someone because he/she/they are not part of your religion, your family, your nationality, they don’t like sports, they look different, etc. etc.

So, with that as context, when I say it was a bus of football players in gear, singing and jumping to that song “Jump” after coming home from a football game, the colour in this slice of the past is bright, as it was a happy moment for me – I felt I was part of something, part of a crowd, a team. Yet it’s a memory tinged with sadness as I remember feeling lonely because it was also a lie: I made sure never to let my eyes linger on another guy while in the change room, knowing I was different even while on the outside I appeared to be one of the crowd.

New Story – Future News Bulletins from 2050

Future News Bulletins from 2050: a  new story in pictures on the Multimedia tab! Similar to an earlier story of mine “Virtual Afterlife” it’s a story from the future told in pictures. Why? I was thinking of the whole piece in terms of Twitter blurbs/news aggregator websites and as I’m a writer and not a designer, this is the best I could do. I also had a bit of fun with the fake hyperlinks beneath each story.

I would like to add – you can probably guess the real life political family to which I refer. Growing up in Western Canada, I’ve found it amusing how some people easily demonized this family and from there I formed a “what if” scenario.  While I am a progressive thinker, what bothers me is the increasing hyper-partisanship among voters, politicians and talking heads. You see it on both sides of the spectrum – either the individual is “Great Leader” or “Great Satan”. Instead we should be looking at and judging the person and their actions – despite whatever attachment you have to him/her/them.
I’m also throwing these images up on my Instagram feed.

Random thoughts #23

Years ago, I had a T-shirt which, in big bold letters, stated “Have A Day” and included a neutral smiley face. I found it curious and funny how many people read “nice” into the words. Pattern recognition and pre-judging based on past experiences. But I loved it when I’d pass the random person on the street and they’d quietly giggle at my shirt. It’s the small things sometimes – noticing both sides of the reaction, and taking joy or amusement in it. But I’m also older and (hopefully) wiser to realize people sometimes are on auto-pilot due to things in their life, and what they’re doing at the moment. I’ve been on the clueless side too – once realizing 5 HOURS LATER that a guy may have been making a pass at me.

So I guess I’m saying, “Have a day – with the good, and the bad, learn, grow, don’t cling to pain, don’t expect happiness, accept reality as it is, breath in, breath out, be nice to one another if you can because we’re all going to end up as piles of dust eventually, so why not strive to get those pleasant fuzzy feelings in the meantime?”

15 Minute Hate – new flash fiction

Warhol mentioned 15 minute of fame but in the flash fiction (or future speculative fiction) I’ve written, it might be more like a 15 Minute Hate. What happens when the government regulates the outrage machine on social media. Is it a better or worse world? As it is a draft, any feedback let me know on my Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages.

Cree [Nehîya] Language Learning

I’m learning Nehîya Pîkiskwewin [“Cree Talk”, pronounced nay/i/yah pee/gs/gway-wn]. This is thanks to the Calgary Public Library, the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary and teacher Ernie Poundmaker. Recently, when I was on the Facebook page “CreeSimon Says” someone asked the Cree word for “cat”. A couple replies came, but my mind was blown by them.

What I can gather so far…I *think* the traditional word is “Minōs” [pron: mi-noose]. That was cool. But my mind was blown when it was indicated the slang/modern Cree is “poosees” [yes, pronounced the same as pussywillow].

The reason? Back in the 70s, my Aunt (maternal aunt so, the word would be “nisikos” – knee-si-gos or kne-si-kos) had a house cat at her farm called “Pussy Cat”. So, given that my Mom [“nikâwîy” pron: knee-gah-wee(yuh) with the yuh almost silent] and her sister had *some* exposure to Cree in their youth, my aunt may have called the cat…uh, “Cat Cat”.