I’ve been left alone with myself–like many others–for weeks now and I can’t say that I’ve encountered too many surprises in my moments of introspection. The following is probably too long for you people in a hurry, so the short version is that I’m getting more introverted the longer I stay isolated. Continue reading “Who Do You Become When You’re Left Alone With Yourself?”
Category: Uncategorized
The Wearing of Masks
The Inside Job That Won’t Go Away
My moods have been roller coastering through this coronavirus crisis, and I’m finding the effort to maintain my optimism hard to maintain. My morale can shift multiple times in a day. Despite dispensing a lot of semi-useful advice on the professional blog, I’d be lying if I said I had my collective s#!t together. This is when being a “highly sensitive person” (or equivalent) has a tremendous downside. Today I’m going to talk to myself and try to remind myself of ways to think constructively in the midst of constant turmoil. Maybe my reminders to myself will help you. Continue reading “The Inside Job That Won’t Go Away”
Working on My Inside by Working on My Outside
When I get into a funk, which has been the case off and on lately, I’ll often spend a great deal of time in analysis mode: figuring out what’s going wrong, trying to identify ways to fix it, and setting myself (theoretically) on a path toward healthy thinking. Here’s the thing: despite 30+ years of journaling and time with and without therapists, I’m remarkably bad at fixing myself. However, one thing I am good at doing is setting external goals and then achieving them. This is what I’m preparing to do with my 2020. Continue reading “Working on My Inside by Working on My Outside”
Movie Review: Star Wars IX The Rise of Skywalker
Fair Warning: This review contains major spoilers because it was nearly impossible for me to say anything useful about the film without explaining what it contains. I’m posting more than a month after the premiere to give people a fair amount of time to see it. You have been warned.
Short version: on your first viewing, go in without expectations; otherwise, you’ll just get frustrated. Accept it for what it is, and you’ll be fine. The space fantasy comes to a reasonable conclusion. Continue reading “Movie Review: Star Wars IX The Rise of Skywalker”
What Are Emotions and What Am I Supposed to Do with Them?
I’ve mentioned a few times before on this blog that I’m a moody person. I’ve not always been thrilled with this trait. Boys/men are taught not to display their emotions (save for a few “acceptable” ones like sternness or anger or mild humor), and I’ve been going against that grain all my life. This morning, in the midst of an early-morning fog, I asked myself a useful question while journal writing: what are emotions? My answer lies below. Continue reading “What Are Emotions and What Am I Supposed to Do with Them?”
Tracking Your Gratitude
Sometime last year, I saw a Facebook meme that suggested creating a “gratitude jar,” where once a week you’d write down one good thing you’re thankful for. I decided to take up the challenge. Here are some of my observations from a year observed via positive Post-It Notes. Continue reading “Tracking Your Gratitude”
What I Did on My Autumn Vacation, Ep. 4
Given that I was (and am) a major fan of the Lord of the Rings movies–enough of a heretic to suggest that they are, in some ways better than the books–I would’ve had my Geek Card revoked if I didn’t visit the Hobbiton movie set while I was in New Zealand. After quite a bit of discussion and little success arranging said visit from the U.S., I found out Trafalgar offered the tour locally (it would’ve been nice if they’d said that in the first place, but that’s a discussion for another day). What follows are pictures and thoughts from the trip to Hobbiton and another tour I took out of Queenstown to some other LOTR sites. Enjoy! Continue reading “What I Did on My Autumn Vacation, Ep. 4”
What I Did on My Autumn Vacation, Ep. 2
Let’s see what I can share today. One thing it was impossible to ignore is that the scenery surrounding my vacation was downright breathtaking. So let’s get to it, shall we? Continue reading “What I Did on My Autumn Vacation, Ep. 2”
What Are You Supposed to Do With Yourself?
Childhood is all about learning to use your senses and body: just getting up to speed. Adolescence is about adjusting to other people: socializing and learning your place in the pecking order. Adulthood is where you take what you learned from the earlier stages to shape the rest of your life and, potentially, a partnership and family. If you’re not prone to partnering or procreating but are prone to philosophizing, as I am, you might spend more than the average amount of time trying to figure out what to do with yourself. Today’s post will take you through my process…one of them, anyhow. Continue reading “What Are You Supposed to Do With Yourself?”
The Real Bart Leahy 