#arbitrary rules

[yesterdaysprint]

The Illustrated Book of Manners: A Manual of Good Behavior and Polite Accomplishments, 1866

[itsabirditsabatitsaflyingrayson]

Arbitrary Rules, Tim Drake and #1

1. write something using words only one syllable long.

Good things come to those who wait, or so Tim’s been told.  So he waits and he waits and he waits, but the good things have yet to come.

Mom and Dad say they’ll be home soon.  They say just a few days more, they say it’s good, that Tim learn not to need all his good things all at once.  They say boys his age just think of their own wants, rich boys most of all.  But Tim waits, he’s good at it.  He does not ask for more than they can give. He waits.

Good things come.  Tim’s house is full of good things.  There is food and drink and warmth.  His mom and dad do come home in the end.  They stay for a brief snatch of time, eyes bright with the things they’ve seen far from here.  Tim asks what they did and saw in short, small ways, with care not to be too much, not to ask too much of them.  They turn to look at him, a brief glance here and there, speak with words he looks up on his own, and turn back to their own thoughts and dreams. Their time in Tim’s house is a rush, and in a rush they find a new site and they are gone.  His mom and dad come home and are gone again.  It is a small good, but it is the good that Tim can hold.  Tim waits.

[infjdoodles]

[charincharge]

I made a stupid rule earlier today that I wasn’t allowed to read @noodlecatposts new fic chapter until I finish writing my own, but this chapter is becoming so long and unruly and I JUST WANT TO READ, DAMNIT. 

Sigh. 

Back to it. (otherwise I won’t be reading until tomorrow).

[intelligentchristianlady]

America Is a Sham

The coronavirus is exposing the arbitrary, cruel realities of business as usual.

Wow...

Think about it.

[nfinitefreetime]

On the World Cup: How to Choose Who to Cheer For I haven't watched a World Cup game-- sorry, match-- yet, but I still have Strong Opinions about who should win....

View On WordPress

[iftadwascool]

if its (mostly) on all fours its a Werewolf.

if its standing up right, with clothes, is a Wolfman

[infodump-n]

THERE ARE NO RULES

Arbitrary.

Aside from the fact that it’s a fun-sounding word, it puts the very thing I despise into a single word, or almost. I don’t necessarily hate everything arbitrary, but I do hate when arbitrary things hold people back.

Especially arbitrary rules.

Arbitrary rules make my blood boil.

They hold people back from pursuing their dreams, from making their lives easier, and they’re just plain dumb.

Don’t think this means I hate all rules. They’re great when they’re based on reason and make the world a better place.

Don’t run with scissors, understandable.

Sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, of course.

Use a question mark at the end of a question; we don’t want any miscommunications happening now, do we?

But, “I can’t start a website yet”, “I can’t just go up and talk to them”, “You have to do things the way they’ve always been done”, “You have to post content consistently”, or “You have to have a niche”, are all fake rules made up to limit your own mind.

I’m not immune to arbitrary rules, although I have been working nineteen diligent years to avoid them by being the annoying kid that asks “Why?” whenever I’m told to do something.

I think karma tried to get back at me by giving me a little brother that also does this, but it backfired because now we just figure out the why’s together.

I pester all my friends and family to challenge the made-up rules holding them back whenever I catch them in the act.

But it’s harder to catch yourself.

Whenever I do, I want to yell at the world,“THERE ARE NO RULES!!”, under my breath,“arbitrary ones, that is”.

Instead, I quickly set out to do exactly what the arbitrary rule told me not to do or rebel against what it told me to do.