If you've ever stood watch over something you'll know it can be mind-numbingly boring. You stand there watching for threats, vigilant, statue still...And wondering when your next break is! Below you can see a Queen's Guard at his post in front of Buckingham Castle, probably wondering when his next cup of tea and scone break is.
To be honest he might not be thinking that; These chaps take their duty very seriously and it is seen as an incredible honour to be selected as a Queen's Guard (dismounted) or Queen's Life Guard (mounted). These professional soldiers are the best in the business, impeccably turned out and perfectly practiced. It is all they do.
So, this post has literally nothing to do with that guy in the picture, but I'm sure someone will comment about it so I wanted to add some perspective.
I've been having a difficult time lately, in my real life. Nothing too disastrous, just stresses brought about by my ailing father's situation, my own health issues, my wife's (operation coming up soon), her mum who is recuperating from cancer treatment, a little thing called the world-wide pandemic...Financial stresses, cancellation of vacations, income reductions...You know, the normal.
I was going to write a post about something else tonight, but after a quick chat with @abh12345 I decided to change tact. You see, he asked how I was, knowing I've been under a lot of pressure lately.
He asked about dad, my really old cat Merlin and other things and I appreciated the gesture of friendship. It was at that point I told him Faith and I had gotten into an argument last night. Not a slanging match, just (many) heated words that can all be traced back to the high-degree of stress we have both been under.
I'm engaged in an experiment here on hive that is taking a lot of my time, I'll talk about it later, but had told Asher I was trying to write a post as we were chatting. He commented that he was concerned about me burning out. A good point too.
Here's the thing though...I answered him with hive is why I am not burned out. He understood what I meant right away.
You see, I use hive as an outlet, a buffer between the real world and myself. I use it as a way to leave my other concerns behind, or to pour them out here. There is a surprising amount of the real me between the lines in my posts if you care to see it. I use hive to record how I feel, though you may not see it in my simple posts. I use it to fill my head with everything but what's going on in my life for the distance it brings.
Hive is not just a blogging platform, certainly not a place to make money as I have not taken a single bit out in fiat to date, and it is certainly not something that has the potential to burn me out.
Hive is like that soldier standing guard above. It watches over me, guards my emotions, holds me accountable for them and guards my emotions, attitude, mindset and thoughts from attack from internal and external sources. (Myself and others I mean).
People sometimes ask me how I maintain the work-rate here, how I have endured, persisted and maintained a high degree of consistency...It's for the reasons above. It is because I let go of the reward being financial and made it emotional instead; And I receive a lot of reward of that nature.
I have been here for three years. June 13th, Saturday this week, will be the first day of my forth year and looking back I can say that hive is responsible for many positive moments, emotions and feelings in my life over that time. It hasn't always been that way, but life isn't either; There's ups and downs, but without hive I think I would be a little lost; Sure, I'd find something else, but I'd miss what I have found here, and the people.
Anyway, that's about it. You know what? I'm not going to clean this up. What you read here is straight out of my brain, raw thought. I think for such a topic it is best to leave it that way rather than sanitise it. So, please accept my apology if it doesn't read well.
Thank you for being a part of it. All of you.
Please feel free to comment, I think it would be nice to read them, to hear how you feel, how hive has been with you throughout the pandemic, or difficult times in your own lives. Don't feel obligated, just feel free to engage if you wish.
Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.
Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209
I'm really glad you dumped your load in here today (tonight for you :). One thing I know (one of the very few) is that the wheel just keeps turning. It's fun when you are on the top in the sunshine, and not so good when you are in the mud and shit of every day life. Either way, it'll change. It seems that most of the time we are somewhere between.
I write because I enjoy writing except when I don't, then I don't write. Probably comes from some commercial writing I did for a time. Writing something salable that you just don't give a damn about is hard work.
It's sorta like my dog. He runs for the joy of it. Once in a while he gets his tail wagging so hard that it throws his hips out of sequence and gets his feet pointed different directions. He simply stops. Then tears off again.
Which doesn't mean he's not on guard duty. Just means he's enjoying the moment. Life is pretty damn simple for dogs. Eat, shit, be happy. Tomorrow is nothing, yesterday's gone. Right now it feels good just to run.
This is all quite nicely articulated and makes a lot of sense. I always work hard at managing attitude, stress and emotional state of mind but sometimes it spills over the edges. I went shooting today, blasted a few hundred rounds and had a good time. I needed that, just like hive I guess, an outlet.
I'm not quite a dog despite being called G-dog in certain circles, but I value an uncomplicated life. Like your dog I guess. 🙂
Don't worry about me, I'm not having a breakdown, that's not my style...Just stress spilling over the edges. It happens. Writing helps, shooting helps and hive helps. Thanks for your comment.
I'm sure you know how to make a low order explosion into a high order explosion. Try to contain it. My experience is that those that talk about and deal with their stress rarely blow completely.
My motorcycle is a great stress vent. I don't care what else is happening when I'm a half hour into a ride I'm IN. Everything else gets in line and can wait until I'm ready to engage it. A nicely tattered target can do the same.
Guns and motorbikes have a way of making problems disappear, for a time at least. I agree completely with you.
!ENGAGE 30
ENGAGEtokens.I tried reading this but it hadn't been cleaned up. I threw my phone in the bin in disgust.
I don't blame you...It's all shit anyway...I ingested some shrooms before writing it.
Hehe, nah, it's good obvs. You know I'm fucking with ya. Its true, at the bad times it can be quite a support, a retreat if you will from the hassles and pressures of everyday life.
How weird am I...Most people go to a tropical island for a retreat...I go to hive. I must be kooky!
Lol, I knew you were joking. I mean, it is magnificently crafted so I feel comfortable dropping it like it's hot Snoop Dogg style.
Oops, wrong Snoop Dogg.
This is actually how I dance...After 3 beers. Prior to 3 beers I don't dance at all. After 4...look out!
Lmao...!
haha, nice!
Hehe, that's exactly how I dance but that's before the beers!!!
Your saving up the tropical island for later :0)
Yeah, tropical Tasmania (coldest place in Australia) October hopefully. Need a break.
I bet you're a good dancer.
I need a break too. Getting a new tent, that might be the type of travelling I can do this year. Oop North!
I am an ace dancer. Like a horse that has been slapped on its arse!!
hahaha, i need a new phone tell me where!
In my back bin, get digging!!
Kinky bastard! Think I'll stick with my Nokia!
Haha, at least you're safe playing snake with that!!
All of a sudden, it's my favourite game ever! :D
LoL!!
...seems like we are three the ones who had one of those old 4x4 indestructible Finns fuckers.Hahahaha
Hey man hope things get better and many of us are doing things tougher at this time some more than others obviously.
It's all ok mate, we have a roof over our heads, although I was out in the dog house last night, warmth and food. The basic needs. So many others doing it tougher. It doesn't negate one's own issues, but puts them into perspective I think. Thanks mate, much appreciated.
Basic needs covered is the main thing👍
Agreed.
It's what it is. If we look at the reward, it seems we are spending unnecessary time here. But this bonding with this platform keeps all of us going.
Stay well!
I agree that It's what it is, because if it is what it isn't then it wouldn't be what it is and then we'd all be confused. Lol.
Yes, the relationships I have formed here, the ones who are around often and comment with relevance, are very valuable. The disingenuous ones not so much.
Thanks so much for your comment.
Psych Eval. cancelled...
Turns out your NOT Bat Shit Crazy after all...
Just Human :-)
Yep.
I felt while reading how much I can relate with this. And many others too. I think that doing this just for financial reasons would lead to burnout. I saw reading through your posts the emotion behind them. It is obvious you are not writing here as a chore, in fact, just as you said, you write here because you feel like it.
A buffer for the real world.... This Hive feels like a protective cocoon doesn't it? I feel like the more you can let it out, the more it helps.
So nice to have someone ask you how are you dealing with the pressure. I felt in your latest posts this feeling of having a lot on your plate now, I could feel it. Did not dare to poke the matter, rather than to show genuine engagement.
It must not be easy to have so much stress now. Cat, surgery, dad, health..... I can't imagine how it must feel and I think you're doing pretty good with all of this.
I send you and Faith and Merlin all the good vibes I can possibly can. 13th of June is a special day, I must prepare a virtual cake.
Life is one long series of events, some good and some bad. I'm usually placed well to enjoy the good and to mitigate the bad however at times the bad outweighs the good; It doesn't mean there's not good there, just that the balance of focus needs to go to the other.
I don't have a bad life, in fact I am rather fortunate to have a good one however lately it seems I've had to focus on areas of life that I would rather not.
Yep, the 13th...It's been a long hard road. I'll probably do a post or something I guess. I've posted 1.6 times per day over that time, for every single day, over 1000 of them. So many comments, conversations and people, many who have come and gone.
It's easy to maintain a good work rate, a few comments here and there, less easy to do it for years. I think the key to it is to do so with relevance and interest and not to speared oneself too thinly. Four hundred comments a week spread amongst 400 users is one comment per user...Pretty pointless. I call that comment-spamming. That's just me though; I prefer a little more depth.
Don't worry about virtual cake Mary...Bring over a real one! Lol.
Wow so much work in so many years. I totally agree on the spamming thing. Why bother to spam when you can bother to connect? I would value only 10 comments from people I care about here rather than 100 which do not reach my soul at all. Quality is better than quantity.
Mmmmm cakeee😍😍😍 Now I want some 😂😂😂
Which flavours of cake you like? I am crazy about chocolate cake with caramelised nuts. Nom nom nom. And pancake cake. And I also like fresh summer cake with fruits and whipcreams. I love raspberries and strawberries on top of cakes.
I also love a lemon cake and cake with mousse. Chocolate mousse cake. Omg omg if I start to think about food I can't stop talking ahhahahhahahah
Merlin is a lucky one on this, I am sure the only cake to set his paws on fire would be catnip cake😂😂
Hmm, what sort of cake do I like...I would like to answer this but it would be a long answer. It might be better to tell you what cakes I don't like as it's a shorter list. So...
I don't like...Umm, I don't like...Err...Mmm, it seems there is no cake that the G-dog doesn't like!
Catnip cake...I'd probably go halves with Merlin on one of those! Lol, Like I said, any cake is a good cake.
Hahhahah, I like alll cakessss yummmmmmm. There is one cake I tried once and... I was torn... Carrot cake. Not sure if I would try again. It tasted good but... Dunno. Something about carrots put in a cake that seems wrong to me😂😂
I love carrot cake. It's all about the icing! Gotta get that right.
Yum yum😍
!ENGAGE 30
ENGAGEtokens.Thanks Galen, I appreciate a mention in a post like this and glad our short chat changed your approach to this evenings effort.
Those who have made the effort here the last few years have something more than tokens, it's the ability to hit people up privately or in public forum, and have a natter, about anything.
I've come to consider that very important, especially at times of stress - family, corona, moving countries, etc.
Hopefully you had a good sleep and are back on it today :)
erm... Asher, would you mind to reveal me where and in what servers/channels you @tarazkp & @galenkp use to hang out and have those meetings for those live chit-chats? I'm not one who frequent chatrooms across Discord or anywhere else. But curiously, the few times I've been snooping over there, pretty often I've been looking for your usernames to see who of you are around. And until now never we crossed paths.
Hi, well I rarely go to the general rooms in any of the 50 million servers I seem to have joined. This discussion was private.
I think I probably check in the LEO chat the most, but that is still rare.
You are right, it's much more than somewhere to gather tokens and I appreciate the people equally as much as the platform itself.
I'm all good today, refreshed and looking forward to a productive day.
Thanks for your comment.
Have you tried a visit to a bouldering gym (they are open again).
I went today, there is something raw and real holding onto a wall 3 meters in in air, as your muscles start to fatigue and gravity is pulling you down.
I have a shoulder impingement and cannot raise my arm. I could try one-armed though I guess. I've been before actually, a few times. Had some fun. I don't mind climbing etc.
Hello dear friend @galenkp Good evening
I'm very sorry about your father, I know very well what you feel and the emotional burden that that means.
Much the same thing happens to us and we use the platform as a ground wire.
A few years ago I wrote that the platform was my online psychologist.
Most of us have something to get away from real life and spend time on the web. I don't know if it's the best, but it feels good. There are really very good people here, who empathize with what happens to us, genuine relationships, who eventually become a great friendship.
As you say, we do not do it for the money. there are many things more important than that.
I loved how you related hive to the royal guard. I was tempted to dedicate allusive words to these guards, they really are extraordinary how they do their job.
I wish you a beautiful night and a happy rest
I agree, there are some very nice people here...All of us are just everyday people and that's what makes up a community. There will be good and bad and fortunately we have the ability to chose who we associate with.
I think I did a post on the Queens Guard once...I might do another. They are a professional outfit, all taken from actively serving soldiers in other military branches and polished up for their duties.
The quality of the people here is what is going to be the difference to stand out as the best social network, much work is missing, but we are on the right track.
It is true, it is good to have the option to choose with whom we want to spend much of our time here.
That's a great tribute they deserve it they do a great job
Have a great day dear friend
Aw man. This is a tough time for you isn't it?. Here I was depressed cause i am almost 7 months lagging behind from my undergrad and thinking what a tough situation Im in. And there you are going through so many things and carrying the weight of the world on you back. Hope everything will be okay one day mate. I know you are a survivor. Gun lovers are strong..
So many people are in situations where they are stressed and with the addition of the virus-effect it is exacerbated.
I'm all good, that was the point of the post. I use hive as a release and I think it is a good thing to do. I feel sorry for those who sit in front of their computer thinking, now I have to make some money on hive. I sit there with other rewards in mind.
We all have pressures and stress to some degree and have to deal with them, approach them, in the best way we can. Your issues are not negated because of mine, just as mine are not negated by someone else's. Stress and pressure is unique to each of us and common to us all. I think that by talking about it we can possibly help ourselves and others.
I'm not in a depressed state, just very stressed and pressured with everything that's going on, and hive provides me a bit of relaxation. It's good like that.
Thanks for replying.
So happy to hear that. I know you're not depressed, just stresseed. I'M the one whose kinda depressed, lol. I just thought you'd feel better if i said something positive. Some words of empathy.
It would be a lie if I said I am not here for the rewards or trade options. But for me, the opportunity to explore those intricate thoughts people put out while writing something or engaging with others means more. Hive is kind of the worlds first decentralized online melting pot, at least for me. Sitting in this crappy apartment being stuck is not the ideal life everybody imagines i guess. So the best thing i can do is observe peoples thoughts and show them my own along with the things I like in the form of writing in Here. And the rewards are just added bonus.
In your post you said you never took out any in fiat. That takes some hardcore dedication mate. And you taught me some in the process. So the one whose thanking should be me..
!ENGAGE 25
The financial rewards here are a factor for all of us and I agree, it would probably be a huge call for someone to say otherwise. I have taken some out to Bittrex to trade with but it all goes back into hive eventually. When hive first stared I had about 24,000 and am not closing in on 56K or something like that so I have worked at it. Someday I might take some but for now I'm happy to let it sit. This is fun for me, not a job.
I hope you can find it within to break free of that depressed feeling; It is easy to let it take over and hard to break it. We're here for you if you need and, as with me, you can use hive as a sounding board if you need to.
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Ah, its terribly unfortunate to hear that mate. It's good to have an outlet, since no person can feasibly keep their emotions constantly bottled up. I know from personal experience, that it's a bad idea. For some, shouting from the rooftops help, or maybe play a game. Hive is one of those vents, not just a platform to share stuff.
I do wish you well, and that things will soon get better for you and everyone. Stay strong, and never be afraid to vent out a little bit. Cheers, and love :-)
I'm not one to spazz out much, however I certainly feel my emotions just like everyone else. Shooting guns helps, which is why doing so yesterday was so important. I think this COVID-19 situation can exacerbate the issues, and maybe why I felt inclined to write about it. It's also nice to see a few supportive comments. Being a gun owner I don't really have the luxury of spazzing out or feeling ultra-depressed for obvious reasons. I know how I feel, and how to change it, and that's all a person can ask. Thanks for your comment.
True, and what us outsiders can do would be to support you along the trials and tribulations of life. Covid-19 certainly throws a wrench into things, but there's always light at the end of the tunnel. Take care, mate :-)
Will do Zack, thanks.