The Over Think

     Most of the guys I've known personally who have called themselves feminists, also had this contradictory belief women should sleep with them based solely on that fact. Also, most of the guys I haven't known personally that call themselves feminists come across the same. It really seems the guys who make a point of calling themselves 'nice guys' instead of emotionally maturing end up as alt-right or double down and become pseudo-feminists. Of course there's exceptions, like the cast of Star Trek TNG, but in general day to day life it's pretty rare in my experience to find a male feminist who is actually actively feminist.      It's also never sat right with me that women can't even have a single word for themselves. Even female anatomical terms have been co-opted for use as derogatory terms. Historically, so much of the language around women is basically, "like the male version but a little off". -ess, -ette, the occasional -ine or -trix. E...

the clearest sign that the patriarchy is severely damaging to men is how fucking stunted of a human being do you have to be to uphold a system as damaging to others as the patriarchy? it’s brainwashed so many men to the point they seriously walk around like, ‘there is no patriarchy in ba sing se.’ this isn’t a ‘woe is men, the victim’ post. it’s a holy fuck men, stop being selfish in a way that is harmful to absolutely everyone, and start being selfish in a manner that heals the shit they’ve done to you post. as a human being, you deserve happiness. you deserve to feel whole. and feel good about yourself. as an individual human being you have the same intrinsic value as every other human being that has ever lived. and you deserve to experience that as a fact. unfortunately, society is twisted. largely due to the patriarchal structure that has tainted pretty much every aspect. so to be the person you have every right to be, with the types of relationships you deserve to have......

             I should probably start this off by saying I'm not the biggest fan of the Bible. I've read it cover to cover multiple times, and some parts, like the sermon on the mount, countless times. When I was young, it was pretty much the only source if you were interested in things spiritual. And everyone around me agreed, it was the only reliable source. It was all I knew, so I made sure to know it quite well.     I'm not about to get into why now I don't really care much for it, there's a laundry list of issues, from poor translations to even poorer interpretations. There are people who get a lot out of it and live very fulfilling and compassionate lives thanks to it, so I don't think it's a terrible book or not worth reading. It's just not for me. And while I understand the people who use it as a weapon against other people, the major issues are with them and not the Bible, it's still difficult to completely separate what the Bibl...

    I made a promise to myself the first time I sat in front of a canvas with a paintbrush. While painting, I was not ever allowed ever allowed to interrupt what I was doing by second guessing myself. While I was painting, I could never view anything I did as a mistake. Just keep going. The process is the point. The experience, the moment. The art I sought was the doing. The end result, the finished painting, was a byproduct.      I never started with an idea of what the painting should look like, in order to work without ever judging whether I was executing the idea like I wanted to. Can't fall short of the target if there is no target. Even more importantly, can't worry about failing if the only goal is to do.      Pick a brush, pick a color, pick an area to apply the color and just do. A lot of times the painting would start to look kind of like something and I would nudge it along in that direction as I went. But still there were no mistakes. ...

     If someone believes talking to plants helps them grow, whether or not it actually works, it harms no one. And the person who believes it helps, it makes them happy in that moment. It helps them grow. It's therapeutic. Living in a world where chatting with their philodendron helps it thrive helps them thrive.      It's not delusional to want to live in such a world. And if it helps someone heal, then it's a beautiful thing. No one who talks to their plants insists on laws and jail time to force other people to converse with flora. It's simply how they choose to live, and helps them find balance in an often unbalanced world.     How many beliefs have we once held tightly to, only to now barely remember, or have forgotten completely? Things that in the moment seemed extremely important, that are now just faint memories. Some were beneficial, and helped get us through, led us to better ways to be. Others we only know of now from the shape of the ...

     The only thing that is more painful than loving everything, is not.     The heart was made to love. To give. However many layers of ego and hurt and lies and desires you layer over that, it doesn't change the fact it exists to love. The sun continues to shine behind the clouds, even if you put an entire planet between you and the sun, it is still there, still shining.     And what does that have to do with turning lead into gold? In the spiritual sense, the concept of transformation, is just about letting go. It is a mental process of understanding, your heart is always shining, it is always the sun, you can close your eyes to it, but you can't stop it. The lies we tell ourselves, the illusion that we can be less than what we inherently are, are the impurities. They don't prevent us from being gold, they convince us that we are lead in spite of the fact there is only gold.     Your heart is generating compassion for all things. It is con...

           There is so much in this world I do not understand. So much that I have to accept I will never understand. There is only so much time to learn and experience, just in regards to what mankind has to teach, that I cannot possibly take it all in. And then there is the infinite amount of things no human has yet discovered or experienced that will forever be a mystery.     And so it is critically important to make peace with that. I can accept it so that it is not a stumbling block to growth, or not and live in some kind of delusional fantasy. The fantasy is very appealing, what an amazing ego boost it must be to dismiss experts because I know better. To believe all news I disagree with is just propaganda. To always 'know' I am in the right. I can see why so much of social media is filled with people who embrace the fantasy.     I am sadly, however, attempting to make peace with my lack. Embrace it even, as a fundamental part of th...

       One of the unquestionable highlights of the Star Wars Universe is... well, the universe. Or the galaxy at any rate. It just may be the best example of world building in fiction, or at least on par with the best. Which is both wonderful, and utterly frustrating. Because so much of it is either not fully fleshed out or it's left to supplemental materials to explore. So my hope is, with the Skywalker saga dragged limping across the screen to it's death, Disney explores the galaxy. Focus on continuing the world building prior to doing anything else near the scale of the trilogy of trilogies.      So here are some ideas, ways to fill out the richness of the universe without making the Star Wars brand stale(r).     Film noir style movie on Coruscant, not long after the Empire takes over. A hard nosed former Republic police officer joins with the Empire security forces, glad that someone is finally bringing law and order to the streets of Cor...

    I get it. As a romantic love story, Anakin and Padme was terrible, Hayden was god awful and Natalie limped through those parts of her role. There was no chemistry and the dialogue was terrible and there was no way Padme realistically fell in love with Anakin. Except...     Star Wars isn't a romance saga. Anakin and Padme was not a love story. The dialogue was actually all too real when taking into account what was actually happening. Hayden Christensen gave the most underappreciated performance in a trilogy prequel to a popular sci-fi fantasy trilogy ever. And considering what Natalie Portman was subjected to after becoming a successful young actress (if you don't know I'll briefly sum it up: guys are gross), she clearly leaned on that experience while acting in scenes of being ogled and objectified that must have been all to real for her.      Also, quick aside, Darth Vader was not a fallen hero. That was not the prequel story, and the story ...

        The quick and easy explanation for how midichlorians work is: Like plants converting sunlight into energy that is usable by other forms of life, midichlorians convert the Force into something that can manipulate and be manipulated by other forms of life. However, quick and easy is not my way, and my blog is not The Over Think because my brain settles for the simple explanations. So let's go a little deeper. Over-complicate with me.                Imagine, if you will, an energy that permeates the universe. Around and within all things. It is absolute infinite potential. The Force. The problem is, the Force is energy in it's subtlest form. So subtle nothing can act upon it, nor can it act upon anything, it is an infinite potential energy that remains forever at rest. It is also unknowable, as nothing can touch or taste or measure. To even call it energy is a misnomer, that's just a stand in word, to descri...