I was in line at Aldi and this girl with two toddlers in front of me had her card declined and she looked so fucking sad and said “let me call my husband real quick” and it was only 18 dollars, so I just paid for it, and she was very sweet and then as she walked off, the lady behind me said `”You know that was probably a scam, right?” and like, even if it was, like what a sad fucking scam, right? 18 dollars at the Aldi. If you’re “scamming” me for some Tyson chicken and apple juice and cauliflower, then just take my fucking money.
This happened to me, too. A woman had used WIC for the majority of her stuff (which I say from personal experience is such a long and embarrassing process) and to buy the remainder of her groceries, which included diapers and wipes, she used a card, and it got declined. I bought the other $30 of her groceries because hey, I’ve been there, and now I’m not. She was extremely emotional and began to cry and even hugged me. My mom called me on the drive home and could tell I had been crying myself, asked what was wrong, and when I told her what happened, she berated me for being “duped.” I couldn’t believe she could be so disappointed in one of her children for doing something- nice? Is that the hill you want to die on? Getting mad about people needing groceries?
I once paid for a woman’s bill at the vet…it wasn’t a big one, but she was trying to pay for some medication for her dog, and her card was declined. And her lip started trembling, and she says “I don’t get paid until Tuesday, would he be ok until then?”
So I just told them to add the $20 something onto my bill, and I thought she was going to break down crying right there.
And I don’t care if it was a scam or not. Just do nice things for people sometimes.
Image description: A still image from the 90’s TV sitcom Saved By The Bell. A predominantly white crowd of people is seated in chairs, facing the same direction, and cheering. Lisa, a black woman, is seated in the front row also clapping, and looking next to her at Kelly who is in the middle of yelling and clapping. Lisa’s expression is amused and slightly skeptical. (Interpretation of scene is my own.) The caption reads “Art is presented as politically neutral as though it is not shaped by a reality of domination.”
Source: Reel to Real: Race, Sex and Class at the Movies by bell hooks
Yeah, gee, I don't, sometimes I ask myself, like
You know, what is it going to take for me not to be afraid
To be loved the way, like, I really wanna be loved?
But that I know how I really wanna be loved
But I'm, but I'm, like, scared to really, really feel that
You know, it's like you want something
But you don't know if you can handle it
The more a person lives for others, the freer and more joyful is his life. The more he lives for himself alone, the more his life is constricted and painful.
Why does one feel bored? One feels bored because one has been living in dead patterns given to you by others. Renounce those patterns, come out of those patterns! Start living on your own.
To make bread or love, to dig in the earth, to feed an animal or cook for a stranger—these activities require no extensive commentary, no lucid theology. All they require is someone willing to bend, reach, chop, stir. Most of these tasks are so full of pleasure that there is no need to complicate things by calling them holy. And yet these are the same activities that change lives, sometimes all at once and sometimes more slowly, the way dripping water changes stone. In a world where faith is often construed as a way of thinking, bodily practices remind the willing that faith is a way of life.
learning to let go and learning to relax means just freaking sticking those stickers on something. stop worrying if it’s the right place. burn that nice candle you’ve had for a year. it doesn’t need a special occasion. I’m gonna use those fancy soaps I’ve been collecting in a drawer even though they look so pretty and it means I’ll use them up. everything is temporary so just enjoy the littlest pleasures you can possibly have we all need to just let go and enjoy things while they last. the sticker’s gonna look fine on your water bottle I promise
Introverts have received the short end of the stick for over a century, in an age where persona is valued above — and often mistaken for — character. This cultural shift makes it tempting for us introverts to put on an extroverted performance when we want to wield influence.
Simon Sinek, author of the bestselling book Start With Why, surmises that human behavior can be influenced in one of two distinct ways — through inspiration or through manipulation.
I agree with the premise of his argument, although for our purposes I find the word ‘manipulation’ somewhat negative. Instead, we shall label the two avenues ‘inspiration’ and ‘persuasion’.
The key difference between the two is in the delivery. In simple terms, to inspire is to show — to demonstrate a better path through consistent action. To persuade is to tell — to explain a better path through convincing words.
Inspiration as an influencing tactic is more hard won than persuasion. It requires the desire and capacity to deeply understand the needs of another party in order to offer a solution that matches their requirements. Inspiration takes time, dedication and patience.
Persuasion, however, is the method of choice when time, opportunity and capacity are limited. We see it in politics, in marketing, and in our working environment. At its worst, it’s the fear-mongering, deal-spinning, peer-pressuring technique to inciting action. At its best, it’s the presentation of facts in an engaging fashion. Used for good or for evil, it’s the quick-win approach to getting things done.
We’re tired of being coerced, and we’re searching for the voice of reason.
That’s where we step in, my introverted friends. When we choose to lean in to our preferred modus operandi, we become the very antithesis of coercion.
Given the choice, we’d rather inspire than persuade. Just as the extrovert holds the face cards in the game of persuasion, so do we in the game of inspiration.
We recognize that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. We hold deliberate work in high regard. We believe in depth over breadth.
We’d rather wait patiently for a deeper connection than take the fool’s gold of instant gratification.
We are Aesop’s tortoise — slowly and steadily we shall win the race.
Applied authentically, introverted attributes hold the key to quiet and enduring inspiration. It won’t happen overnight, but day by day it’s not only possible — it’s inevitable — that we will accumulate the respect of others by being ourselves.
We are what the world needs, and we’re best placed for the task ahead if only we allow ourselves to be authentic.
Any situation in which some individuals prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate human beings from their own decision-making is to change them into objects.
See if the film or TV show you’re interested in has connections to someone with allegations of sexual misconduct. #RottenApples
The Rotten Appl.es is a searchable database that lets you know whether or not a film or television show is tied to a person who has been accused of sexual misconduct.
Listen, black girls still blooming in your late 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond: You are not done. Yes, we live in a culture that continues to level up on what constitutes “extraordinary” and celebrates achievement on an ever-shortening timeline. Yes, the entire world seems wholly consumed with millennials and intoxicated by great accomplishments done early (a Ph.D. by 25! An empire built in a college dorm! A nuclear family by 28! A multimillion-dollar company by 30!), but your art, your business, your invention, your ideas, your book, your contributions—whatever you have in you to give—is still urgent and necessary.
For Colored Girls in Their 30s and 40s Who Feel Like Life May Have Passed Them By by Janelle Harris
areudirty
theartofmadeline
vaporwave
gummygunk
origamiaround
tangentwithtanner
prguitarman
dededos
