Your words are important

August 19, 2015 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

Have you ever felt like your words were just drifting into the wind, with no one bothering to listen or pay attention?

I’ve felt that. That sometimes you just don’t count, and your opinion, last on the listÂ of priorities. I could blame being the middle child, or the quiet friend, all the psychological markers that come with the disorders connected with narcissism.

Or I can just admit that everyone wants to be heard at one point or another. Even if it’s just by one thoughtful ear, or one that doesn’t understand at all. (Reason #1 I talk to our rabbits) We all want to feel like our voices are heard, and our opinion matters. Because when we care to say something or have thought about something enough, it hurts to feel invisible. Granted, these “episodes” are few and far between and I can’t remember the last time I’ve actually felt voiceless. (I’m lucky, now, OKAY? I’ll stop humble bragging now)
For those who are still feeling unheard, don’t let it slow you down. Write it down. Call a friend you know will listen. Talk to your mom. Have a one sided conversation with your dog. Break open the bank account to go to a therapist if it feels like you just can’t take another second of the feelings you’re feeling without falling apart.

Let it out.

Get a blog like this one, tell friends you trust, or the world if that’s your thing. Because I guarantee at least one person will be interested in your ideas, your thoughts, your being. It’s just the beauty of the world, and the internet, that when you thought you were the only weird one, ten others share your perspective but in different tones.

Your words are important. Remember that.

Jodythinks

Today’s borrowed thought

August 18, 2015 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. -Douglas Adams

It is a thread you have heard me pull at before, but sometimes I think I need a reminder. I have a tendency to fixate on things, and it bothers me when a path isn’t followed. So much so that I can’t even watch those kinds of movies where the protagonist throws away the successful career and goes down the rabbit hole to discover himself. It’s just not in me to explore the unstable and unsure. I have a track (or at least Â an idea of a track) and I believe in following it.

This makes me sound like a scary type A person, doesn’t it?

Pat yourself in the back today

August 11, 2015August 12, 2015 Jody AlarvaLeave a comment

Hello, everyone who’s going through a quarter life, midlife, single life, married life, crisis.

It’s me, Jody. I have been there, and I’m still there. Lost, sometimes dissatisfied, always wanting more. I recently watched the movie The Pursuit of Happyness and found myself struck by the words in the movie, “preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness”. It left me asking, will we always be in the pursuit of happiness? Or are some people perfectly happy where they are? I ask, because, while I am happy, I am always on the lookout for the next big thing, the next step. Where do we take life when we’re hardwired to look for bigger things under the ideology of ambition and success. But what is success? I know I’ve asked this before, and so far, I haven’t found anyone who considers themselves successful and is good to stay where they are. In conversations, everyone is always waiting for the next step, a higher goal.

Does it set us up for success or failure? Will we always feel incomplete because we’re always in pursuit? Or will it keep us moving, always working and always finding something to strive for.

For me, now, it depends on your perspective. I’ve always read that the most successful people are the ones who never give up, who keep on working. And then there are those who are quite cool with the simple things, those that sit at the end of the day and think themselves lucky to have their one bedroom apartment, dog, and netflix streaming.

I say, define your own success and pat yourself on the back today. You got through another night, you woke up with all your faculties, you can sing (even if you can’t hit one note), you have that cup of coffee to stay awake. Even with a grueling commute to an exhausting job that you spend 50 hours a week on that still isn’t enough to get you through your vacation in three months, it’s there, you know you’re able to eat in a few hours.

Pat yourself on the back for smiling at the colleague who looks like he’s going through something today, but is too quiet to say a word. Or for not burning the toast when you forgot to take it out before you took a shower.

Pat yourself on the back for being you, because you are awesome. You believe it today, and the world will find out about it soon.