Hi fellow Steemians,
My name is Paul, I live in Stockholm and I’ve never been so excited about any other platform as I am about Steemit. I think this platform has great potential and it may very well revolutionise the internet and the world.
I’m a curious person and love to learn and experience new things. I always try to keep my mind open to new thoughts and ideas.
I am fascinated by existence and life and I’ve gone from holding a typically western materialistic world view to believing that consciousness actually is the source of all energy, matter and space-time, all that we experience and all that we are. I feel an ever deeper love and respect for all my fellow beings. Because in the things that really matter we are all so much more alike than we are different. We may perceive reality in different ways (see different colours, hear different frequencies, think and behave differently), but the experience of living is basically the same.
I’m a vegan for my fellow beings (yes humans too) and for the planet. I’m passionate about freedom, justice, equality and peace and I believe veganism is one of the most important social justice movements of our time. Veganism isn't perfect - in fact it's the least we can do. It's about choosing respect, kindness, peace and living in a way that causes as little harm as possible to our fellow beings and to our beautiful planet's ecosystem.
I’ve been moving towards minimalism for some years now and it’s so wonderfully liberating. I don’t want to own a lot of unnecessary stuff and I actually find empty spaces and minimalistic decor quite appealing and peaceful. It’s good for me and good for the planet and I’m loving it.
For about 3 years now I’ve been suffering from ME/CFS, which is a very debilitating and misunderstood illness. I’m not going to go into detail about it in this post, but I need to mention it as some of the many limitations it imposes on my life, for the time being, also affect how much and in which ways I will be able to post and interact with you on this platform.
For some reason I get worse from looking at screens these days, so I need to limit my time online to a minimum. This means that it’s hard for me to read long blogs and most of my own blogs will probably be quite short and not very frequent. Also making videos is not an option at the moment, as editing video (which I love doing) requires you to sit in front of a screen for longer than I am able to. As would be doing the necessary research in order to present you with correct info and and interesting content.
So what am I doing here you might ask? Well, I’ll be listening to your vids, looking at your photos, reading the occasional blog and of course commenting, upvoting what I appreciate and sometimes resteeming posts that I find interesting. And I will be posting photos. So I’ll still be able to interact a bit.
For now most of my posts will be photographs. Photography is one of my interests, along with music, plants, film/video, food and travelling. Sadly travelling is also off limits at the moment as I’ve been practically homebound for almost 3 years now. But I know recovery is possible (even though it’s difficult) and I still have my dreams. I am open to all the goodness, insight and excitement that life has to offer. You are most welcome to follow me on my journey.
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"Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" - May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
Welcome! Wonderful photos. Looking forward to seeing more!
Thank you so much @benleemusic 😊
Welcome to Steemit!! Saw your comment on my intro post and thought I would return the love! :)
Thank you 😊
Welcome on steemit :-) If you have any questions just click to follow and ask :)
Thanks!
Welcome to Steemit! I resonated with so much of what you said here. I am vegan too and like you it's not just for the animals but for humans and the planet as well. I also share your views about consciousness.
Looking forward to seeing your photography!
Thank you Karyn Jane! We know each other a little from FB. Nice to see you here 😊
Great post man, I hope you get to travel again soon!
Thank you so much! Yes I hope so too 😊
Welcome to Steemit @onestrangeanimal
Thanks 😊
Welcome to Steemit @onestrangeanimal Great introduction, and well done on your dedication to veganism and minimalism.. I don't know about ME/CFS, but I hope you feel better soon, and thank you for taking the time to share your story
Thank you so much for your welcoming and supporting words @ablaze
Great intro post @onestrangeanimal! I loved what you said: "Because in the things that really matter we are all so much more alike than we are different."
That is exactly how I feel! We have so much more in common with others than we might imagine. I'm reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari at the moment and it's fascinating to learn about other species of human. Really puts racism/sexism/homophobia etc into perspective!
Also re CFS, I have a mild case of it. I got it a number of years ago after getting glandular fever, and I had to spend 8 months living with my parents so I could sleep constantly and recover. It's manageable for me now, but I still get burnt out much faster than most people. My Uncle also has it, but he has fibro too (what is ME?)
Thank you so much for your kind words @hannahimsa 😊 Yes unfortunately people tend to focus on what divides us rather than what unites us. But veganism is gaining momentum now and the collective consciousness seems to be shifting, so I'm hopeful that things will change for the better.
Wow that book sounds really interesting! Thank you so much for the tip! I am fascinated by the other human species that once shared this planet with our own. Last year I took the National Geographic's DNA test (Geno 2.0) and found out that I'm 1.1% Neanderthal. That's a little less than the average European, but I still find it fascinating that another species lives on in me - in most of us really. Prejudice is such a tragic thing.
Sorry to hear that you also have CFS, but really glad it's so mild that it allows you to lead a meaningful life and to travel - how wonderful! Sorry about your uncle. Mine was also a mild case at first, but I had no idea what the problem was so I kept pushing myself over the limits and then I crashed really bad. Sometimes I feel so stuck and frustrated, I miss my life and I miss travelling so much... But I know that others have recovered, so recovery IS possible. ME is the most common name for the condition in Europe. I usually write ME/CFS as I know that the latter is the most used name in the US and in Australasia.
Btw I absolutely love your user name 😊
I also recently found out I have Neanderthal variants! I'm 100% Europe genetically, despite being from New Zealand. I'm British, French, Danish and a little bit Spanish. I have 331 Neanderthal variants, which is quite high, but expected for Europeans as you mention.
I was fortunate to have my Uncle's knowledge about it, as I also would have had no idea what was wrong without his insight. I got CFS just before leaving on a big trip I'd been organising and after a few months I had to cut the trip short and go home as it just wasn't feasible with the fatigue. That was when I went back to my parents and took about 8 months off so I could recover as much as possible. And it hasn't come back really since then. When I get burnt out now, I can recover in a couple of days, which is fairly easy to manage.
Thank you! Re username compliment :)
That is so cool 😊 What test did you take?
I'm so so happy for you, that you were able to stop before tour body crashed 😃
Thanks 😊 We used 23andMe! I recommend :) There are other options though. Have you looked into Cold Water Therapy? My Uncle does it.
23andMe seems to be a good one. I opted for Geno 2.0, but I'd like to take a different one sometime to see how much the results may differ.
I'd never heard about Cold Water Therapy. In which ways does it help? How are things going for your uncle?
Exiting indeed and warmest welcome to Steemit @onestrangeanimal! The Steemit platform is the right place to share your thoughts, experience and ideas. Lets share so that we can educate - motivate - inspire. I I wish you all the best! Steem on!
Thank you so much for your welcoming and motivating words @invictuz
Hello Paul! I love how you say that you're vegan for your fellow beings, cause that's indeed what it's all about! Looking forward to reading more from you! :-)
Hi @vegan-vienna Thank you so much! 😊
Excellent post friend, I love it and what you say is very real.
I'm new to steemit and I have a lot of faith in this platform, success.
Thank you so much @madlagc 😊 I'm truly excited about Steem too. I believe this platform has the potential to totally revolutionise social media. And beyond 😊
Welcome and thanks for sharing so honestly. ME sounds like a hugely challenging condition which i don’t really understand as I haven’t experienced it. It’s interesting that screens make it worse. I’m sure we are not meant to spend so much time in front of them. So maybe that’s part of your current condition is a blessing as it forces you to be away from screens. Good luck on here from a fellow vegan.
You're so right, it's not possible to fully understand it if you haven't experienced it yourself. I know I wouldn't have, not veven close.
I believe the screen problem is due to both the flickering, the unnatural light (I have problems with electric lamps as well, unless they're quite dim) and even contrast (it's usually much worse in the evening). The body isn't able to produce and recycle energy properly and as the brain uses 20% of all the energy in the body non-vital functions may suffer. Not all ME sufferers have the same problem with screens though, far from it. But it's not uncommon either. It's so incredibly limiting. But things will change. Thank you.
Hi Paul! Can't wait to see more of your content! 😘
Thank you Diana 😃 Soon I hope.