Lauren's Lair: Here be dragons...

[Sephirah]

Yeah that's entirely true, Lori. Moreso for this place than most others, honestly. It's quite... I don't know. I guess there's a reason I've been here for not far off two decades. For all the ills of online spaces and the toxicity you sometimes get... Susan's has always been a beacon for people who... well... people who embody the good in the world. The understanding and kindness and gentleness that is sometimes lost. This place is a beacon for the vulnerable and the lost people in the world. There's hurt but there's also healing. There's hope and there's heart. In a world of cruelty, sometimes you need an oasis of kindness. If only to show that it isn't all dark and empty.

I thank all of you for that. You all give people a reason to go on. Even if you don't realise it.

[Sephirah]

That's the way, Lauren! I think pushing toward something you want is always better than not doing it because it might not work out - but I'm almost always a journey-over-destination person. Even if you didn't end up where you hoped you would when you started, you would at least learn a lot along the way. And you just might wind up better off than you dared imagine.

If you play the game from your heart, you win no matter what happens. I'm happy to see you making that commitment to yourself.

Welcome back.

Thank you, Pema. You are right. I don't know where this will end up because there are a lot of conditionals. But sometimes you have to just say screw it and stop trying to convince yourself why you can't do something. I would be the world's biggest hypocrite to try to tell people to live to their fullest, if I didn't do the same. Physician, heal thyself!

<3

[Lori Dee]

sometimes you have to just say screw it and stop trying to convince yourself why you can't do something.

When in school for hypnotherapy certification, we learned about negative self-talk and what a profound influence it has on our lives. I decided right then that I would no longer admit that I can't do something.

I began reframing my thoughts from "I can't do that" to "How can I do that?". That tells the mind that it is possible, and all I need to do is figure out how to make it happen.

Now, that is how I approach every problem... well, that and a lot of bacon. 

[Sephirah]

When in school for hypnotherapy certification, we learned about negative self-talk and what a profound influence it has on our lives. I decided right then that I would no longer admit that I can't do something.

I began reframing my thoughts from "I can't do that" to "How can I do that?". That tells the mind that it is possible, and all I need to do is figure out how to make it happen.

Now, that is how I approach every problem... well, that and a lot of bacon. 

Bacon is the spice of life. I've recently discovered how to do bacon and egg on toast in my air fryer (one of the greatest inventions ever). I am ever so slightly addicted. Although it's likely among the most unhealthy of things you ever ate, it's also among the most addictive, lol.

I have lost a whole bunch of weight lately because of stuff I am trying to deal with. So I don't feel too bad about being a bit of a glutton. When I feel like eating.

[Lori Dee]

So I don't feel too bad about being a bit of a glutton. When I feel like eating.

All things in moderation.

I recently saw a story about a woman who was 105 years old, still gardens, and stays mentally active doing word puzzles. When asked her secret to long life, she said she has no clue! She smokes a few cigarettes a day and has a glass of bourbon each night before bed. She smiled and said, "That must be it. It must be the bourbon." 

[Sephirah]

All things in moderation.

I recently saw a story about a woman who was 105 years old, still gardens, and stays mentally active doing word puzzles. When asked her secret to long life, she said she has no clue! She smokes a few cigarettes a day and has a glass of bourbon each night before bed. She smiled and said, "That must be it. It must be the bourbon." 

Hah, that's awesome. Maybe I need to take up smoking and drinking.

[Sephirah]

I am feeling quite insecure about my carnivore beliefs at the moment. I haven't eaten meat in a few weeks. Mostly just salads, if anything at all. The heat we're dealing with on and off is punishing. And other stuff. I just haven't had much appetite. I've lost 5 stone from everything, that's... uh... 70 lbs, or 32 Kg. I feel weak most days, but I don't have the appetite to eat much. I fear that is detrimental. But most days I just look at food and feel sick. I dunno.

Oh, but recently, apparently we had tornadoes in the UK. Typically nowhere near me, in spite of my dreams!



All there was where I live was some rain. Nothing epic.

[Lori Dee]

There is a TV show here that you would love. In the Eye of the Storm on the Discovery Channel (I think). Every time I see an ad for it, I think of you!

 

[Sephirah]

There is a TV show here that you would love. In the Eye of the Storm on the Discovery Channel (I think). Every time I see an ad for it, I think of you!

 

Trust me, Lori, I eat that stuff up. This is going to sound really weird... but my go-to when I go to sleep is a youtube video that's 8 hours long, and it's a TV broadcast of the 2011 Alabama tornado outbreak. Specifically this one...



I am a giant sucker for wild weather. I think because I am a Brit and we never get any, lol. But that's probably top of my bucket list... to chase a tornado. They are horrifyingly beautiful. I can see why people get enraptured by chasing these things.

[Sephirah]

Oh, and in other news... my Xbox Series X died a couple of days ago. So I had to get a new one. They are not cheap. I know that gaming is kind of a niche thing here, weirdly, and that won't mean much to most. But it was kind of a lifeline for me. I blame the heat. Hot weather and technology doesn't mix. I am almost scared to use the new one. Another reason to hate summer!

[tgirlamg]

Trust me, Lori, I eat that stuff up. This is going to sound really weird... but my go-to when I go to sleep is a youtube video that's 8 hours long, and it's a TV broadcast of the 2011 Alabama tornado outbreak. Specifically this one...



I am a giant sucker for wild weather. I think because I am a Brit and we never get any, lol. But that's probably top of my bucket list... to chase a tornado. They are horrifyingly beautiful. I can see why people get enraptured by chasing these things.

Hey Girl...

Enjoy the video then go eat something!...

I lived in the Ames, Iowa for a few years and we had one hit near our end of town and mess up a few houses... I went outside to see if i could see it and the sky was all green... very surreal!... Used to see ones starting in Denver area too when i was working... they would start spinning and coming down out of the clouds then go back up... never saw the funnel touch down but, sometimes they came close to it... Nature is cool! 🌪�🌪�🌪�

Hugs!

A 💕

[Sephirah]

Ash, you are truly a special person. Thank you for that. That video was massively haunting. And it is easy to just disregard the utter carnage these things cause just because you have a schoolgirl fascination with them. I have seen that green sky you speak of. It's otherworldly. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you. I feel scared but envious at the same time. It's all magical until everything you built in your life gets wiped off the earth.

It's only enchanting while you're safe. For people who lose everything, it's a tragedy. That is the Janus nature of this kind of thing.

Nature makes us all feel very small, all the time. And that is no bad thing. Thank you.

[Pema]

Tornadoes just have an other-worldly feel to them. I grew up in Kansas. For my entire life, we had regular tornado drills in school, similar to the fire drills, except we all filed into the basement instead of outside. And we opened the windows instead of closing them.

I've seen the green sky and I've also seen a line straight overhead where the left side was dark green and the other was clear blue. It was incredibly eerie, as still and quiet as could be, no birds, nothing - and then the sirens went off.

In 2001, my grandmother's home of 50 years was a casualty of a large tornado in central Kansas. She had died the year before. The house wasn't leveled but was damaged beyond repair. In a bedroom, one of the windows, casing and all, was lying on the bed. In the living room, most of the chimney was gone, mud was splattered on the walls, but a glass-doored curio cabinet filled with porcelain figurines was unharmed.

I've seen things myself and heard many stories about massive devastation with pockets of undisturbed fragility. It feels completely nonsensical.

[Lori Dee]

It was incredibly eerie, as still and quiet as could be, no birds, nothing - and then the sirens went off.

This is what I remember of the green sky. I lived in northern Illinois for over 25 years. Sometimes the sky wasn't green if it was near sunrise or sunset. It's like you can sense the danger. It is such a creepy feeling.

Growing up in California, we became accustomed to earthquakes. We would run outside to watch the driveway or sidewalks crack. We never thought about the danger. But when I went to Illinois, I never got used to those sirens and the creepy sky. You could stand outside and look up at the clouds swirling in a circle overhead.

[Sephirah]

Amazing. I love hearing first hand experiences of all this. Thank you so much. Some of the cloud formations you folks get over there are beyond belief. I learned of something called a "mothership" cloud formation, because that's kind of what it looks like. Something out of Independence Day.



That genuinely blows my mind.

I am sorry to hear about your grandmother's house, Pema. You are right and sometimes it seems like Chaos Theory at work. Two homes next to each other, one is totalled, the other is untouched.

Earthquakes freak me out, Lori. As much as I would try to chase a tornado... the merest hint of an earthquake and I'd be like NOPE! Dealing with the forces inside the planet seems like on a much larger scale. It all makes you feel very insignificant.

[Pema]

Thank you, Lauren. Honestly, after my grandmother passed, the house wasn't especially important anyway.

Naturally, in my young adulthood, I moved from the Midwest to the West Coast and traded tornadoes for earthquakes. I experienced my first one (mild) within months of arriving. A couple of others have been more substantial. I can't say I prefer one over the other.