Are we all not connected in instincts, urges, and desires that easily meet the eye? And below the surface, do the pieces that make up each of us up not resemble one another endlessly, like fractals of the same resounding whole?
One could make the case that we are all pieces of the same being, only finding separation in perspective. Much like the individual parts of the human body only seemingly operate independently, yet are tied to one another inseparably.
Confessions of the Damaged 1.1 explores this idea, among many others, encouraging us to face ourselves through the perspective of another.
This lovely book was written by I+Everything AKA @selfhelp4trolls AKA @whatamidoing AKA Zack under the first moniker. With a passion for exploring the bonds we share as humans across culture and time, Zack has branched out in a variety of ways to connect folks with themselves and others.
You can find him around the web highlighting this magic through his books, music, and podcast, which is called Untangled Knots. After meeting this longtime Hivian and friendly face on chain through his posts, I was excited to dive into the first part of Confessions of the Damaged!
This is a read that will take you out of your body given the chance. I found myself noting the similarities between my own existence and the flow of the ocean, the bird that sits outside the window, the wind blowing the curtain back and forth... I found myself pulled into synchronicity with each detail that is not just me, but everyone I've met before.
While traveling through the daily life of a homeless man, we experience his thoughts laced together with memories of the past in this volume. I thought on the phrase "homefree" as I read. Many have chosen to call those who live on the streets this instead of homeless, with the idea that it highlights their humanity better. Having been without a home by choice in the past, I've always liked the term. Reading this book made me like it even more as I ruminated on all of the mental and physical prisons we are known to throw ourselves into in life.
It seems to me that we often place the parameters that define happiness on complex variables that have too much power over us. Too many options to "fail". Too much possibility for the negative to suffocate the roots of joy. Sometimes success is being able to share not-so-stale bread, a dry pair of shoes, or a warm seat to doze off in. This read made me think about how celebrating the things we tend to overlook is a massive success in itself; how such things can be freedom.
Beyond these layers and levels of achievement that a capitalistic world would have us believe are the most valuable, there lies something so much greater. Connection with our inner selves, with the natural and spiritual world around us. This novella felt healing, a read that wiped some fatigue from my mind. I don't want to say too much more about what my takeaways were, instead I would encourage you to give it a read as well and see what you find in it!
If you'd like to support a kick-ass Hivian by purchasing his book, or perhaps checking out his other work, you can find him on:
Patreon
Amazon
Ko-Fi
YouTube
I hope you enjoyed my review of Confessions of the Damaged 1.1!
This sounds like a good thing to share at PYPT, to make a thoughtful book available as well as spread the word about a good Hive author!
I've been sleeping off some kinda ick the last few days but saw you shared it- you flipping rock! 💗💃
I need to swing by PYPT soon, it's one of the few things that lines up with the time difference here, been missing fam chat a lot too but that's at 3am for me and I'm a zombie by then 😵
!LADY !PIMP
View or trade
LOHtokens.@grindan, you successfully shared 0.0100 LOH with @thekittygirl and you earned 0.0100 LOH as tips. (1/2 calls)
Use !LADY command to share LOH! More details available in this post.
I love how you explore the connection between all of us and the idea that, despite differences, there is a common essence that unites us. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I'm glad you enjoyed checking out my review of this awesome book! Cheers 😄
I loved this, It was exactly what I was going for! The distinction we make between living and non-living, human cognition vs. that of other animals, makes sense for us to go about our day, but it’s so clearly incomplete.
Life is full of so many patterns, and many of these patterns don’t give clear evidence but still hint at the possibility that consciousness is everywhere, it interacts in ways that go beyond our 5 senses, and that life speaks to us.
The timing that I saw your post was one of those interesting synchronistic moments. I had posted an explanation of my new EP on instagram that I hoped would generate some interest around it among IRL friends and the algorithm wasn’t having any of it. I posted at 6:30 instead of 7:30 so engagement was down to 1/4 from a few weeks ago and I was pulling out my nonexistent hair at the ridiculousness of these systems.
I quieted my mind and just accepted that there is more at play then just algorithms and trusted that my work would reach the people it was meant to reach or to serve it’s purpose in allowing me to grow and evolve. Then someone said they might want to use my songs in a theater production (Lo-fi as they may be) and then right before I went to sleep I saw your posts which were a clear sign to me that the algorithms are a distraction and that 10 likes instead of 40 doesn’t really mean anything with regard to true impact and relevance. It only measures a single avenue, not even necessarily the most important one, as someone else talking about your work can be 10x more powerful than talking about your own work.
Thank you so much for letting my stories reverberate out a little further ❤️
Also I think I mentioned it before but I hope we can chat somewhere. Feel free to reach out anywhere or give me your social media or discord or whatever
Sorry for my way slow response homie!
I'm so so SO happy that you liked my review AND that it could boost your mood during a rough algorithm time!! It took me a bit to organize what I wanted to say because I found such an incredible amount in this read- so much in fact that I've read it twice now 😄 will def be back to read the other parts when I have some time!
It's fantastic that you are staying positive and trucking along creating awesome stuff. It's beautifully ironic that your words made me think on how success shouldn't always be measured by the markers that society puts the most weight on, which gave me some space to give myself grace and celebrate the things that I find joy in... Then my take on your writing was able to spread that back around to you 💚🙌! It's beyond cool that we can lift each other up through different yet similar stuff that we all face!
I have a strong feeling that you'll get a lot of breakthroughs as time goes on; all of the various content you create is truly unique and I believe quite needed in the world! ✊
Speaking of which, is your EP available outside of Insta? I don't use any social media other than Hive and YouTube but would love to give it a listen! I do have discord also, my sn is grindan with a _ at the beginning and end (that turns into markdown on here 😂). I think I'm in your sever on there 🤔, will pop over to check and send ya a friend request!
Keep being rad and bright hearted my friend, I'm certain that your work goes so far beyond what any number ticker could show! 💗
Wowwwwwwweeewwwwww thank you so much! It’s 3:30 AM here now and I was just about to go to sleep when I saw this but I will leave a proper comment tomorrow
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️