“Keep It Simple, Sufferer…”

[wannabefreeParticipant]

Okay… We’ve all heard the Acronym Keep it simple Stupid, But as we all well know, we are not stupid, Absolutely not. So my partner has come up with a new version of the revolutionary KISS theory of not looking too deeply into things.

Keep, It Simple Sufferer. It’s brilliant.

Being called stupid is a putdown, a nasty putdown, to an already struggling soul. It happened to me a lot as a child. If only the idiots saying it had realised the way things like that totally discouraged me to do anything at all.

We are none of us gonna be brilliant at absolutely everything, schoolteachers beware!

I’m left handed by nature, and that was often quoted as being ‘Cack handed… Another major psychological putdown. The truth about left handed writers is that the left hand is connected to the right hand side of the brain, The creative side!

So, All you naturally Lefthanders get writing!

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

Anyone remember being told stuff like ‘Elders and betters’, ‘Children should be seen and not heard’, and ‘Little things please little minds’, when referring to modelmaking, craft skills etc.

They were wrong, Weren’t they! Definitely wrong, misinformed. And yet, I took a lot of this on, as a child. It shaped the adult person I would become. ‘Feeling small’,  ‘of little value to man or beast’, ‘Insignificant’ when compared to my ‘Significant others’ around me.

Looking back, I may not have been brilliant at stuff, especially when compared to my siblings by not so nice teachers at school. But, since school etc.  Some of the things I have done, have been pretty special, things that, maybe not special to anyone else, but for me, myself, okay…

We are all of us amazing. That we achieve anything at all, is a bit of a miracle in itself. Sometimes, the things we get to do, are better than ‘Good enough’. Way better. We achieve greater than our wildest dreams would normally suggest. It’s just a case of actually noticing these things, and also, when someone actually does compliment us on something, believing them, and accepting the praise with grace in our hearts.

So… Let’s keep things simple. The more complicated we make something, the more likely it is to go wrong. Just ask anyone who is involved in any kind of design occupation.

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

What about adding an extra S?

KISSS, as in HISSS.

Keep It Simple, Suffering Soul. Mmmmm, That’s workable.

And What about;

Happiness Is Simple, Suffering Soul? Because it is, Cos babies and children are capable of it almost from birth.

These things can become easy to remember and recall, right when we perhaps most need to.

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

Today, it is my turn to be a suffering soul… I put some Christmas lights up to sort of add some colour to the darkness…

At Christmas time, all the thoughts sort of focus over everything. Some are cheerful, but, it’s also dark and cold outside. This time of the year brings up a focus on all the not so good things that have happened in the last year… We’ve lost people due to car crashes, Covid, and many other ailments like cancer etc. It is a stark contrast, and depression sets in for the day…

As an OAP, I rely on finances a lot. The rent, The heating, Council tax and food. Grandchildren having enough to cope at school… Worries about what is going on in the wider world…

As of Christmas, both myself and my partner will be on OAP, and hopefully enough to pay our way…

That’s where K.I.S.S.S comes in for me right now, this very minute… Keep It Simple, Suffering Soul.

The money will be there… I trust my faith for that… I have projects that have literally taken years to set up, many still to do, And yet; Looking back for a moment, Everything that has happened in my life, has brought me to where I stand right now. And right now, even with its occasional downtimes, would never have happened without going through that, quite frankly, awful metaphorical rainstorm, to get to the rainbow I see today.

Life is just about okay… But only just, and that is on my good days. I just sort of ‘float’ through everything else.

I take pleasure in musical projects, I notice when the warm sun shines in through my kitchen window… I sit bundled up with clothing, and go under the blankets to breath warm air. Very basic things, but real.

We rent our home… But hopefully we won’t get turfed out… We’ve got far too much stuff to live anywhere else… The bills will be dealt with when they come, not before. Same as the credit cards.

Right now, it is literally one breath after the other, sniffing the air for pleasant odours… Pretty coloured lights give pleasure to the eyes.

For the next hour, I will endeavour to not worry about all my life problems at once, in a sort of whirlpool of water, or tornado of wind. Other people will be doing the same, so I need not worry about them right now…

So Today, Up until bedtime, and most likely beyond…

I will try my hardest to;

Keep It Simple, Suffering Soul.

More later…

Let’s all try…

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

And when I get to bedtime…

I will stop completely, cos bedtime is for rest and recuperation…

When I awaken, then it will be time to practice the K.I.S.S.S. Routine all over again…

And so it goes on… Gently…

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

Tonight I will be sleeping in a strange room, a strange bed…

I won’t check the mattress… I have natural defences… Keep It Simple Suffering Soul. That is my watchword now, it seems to help me get through the day…

If I can get on-line, I will try and post on here later today…

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

Today I managed to keep things simple… But it wasn’t easy… A house with dogs running about… Children crawling on the floor, building up their immune systems. The same way as always…

I had my outdoor shoes on, as has always been the case…

We didn’t have antibacterials then nor did we worry…

Just wander around the supermarket… Choose lots of nice things, and pay at the till

I would have crawled around on the floor as a child… And I’ve survived…

Let’s all just carry on with our day regardless…

Maybe nothing untoward will happen…

It hasn’t so far… Has it?

I don’t think so…

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

Well, I am now an unemployed OAP. And bust…  I will need to work again, I quite simply cannot afford to retire now. I served my apprenticeship on leaving school, but the industry has gone… And it was quite a mucky industry!

No wonder there were virtually no Christmas lights in our street!

Anyway… I will try and find a way through, by keeping things simple, just like the character George Bailey, in the classic Christmas movie ‘Wonderful life’.

I have wonderful kids and grandkids, and great grandkids, all of whom love me, so that’s really good, and important. Children are a wonderful asset to a family. I should know, I’ve been there, done that, and worn the Tee shirt so to speak. And for that I am immensely proud, and I make sure they all know it. That’s what life is really all about for me. I may lose the car… But hey, let’s do the best we can to stay in our home. I can walk to the shops! That way I can understand the value of things. I may have to come off meds as I’m borderline epileptic. But I don’t care anymore. I have had businesses that failed, mainly due to lack of support from various parties.

Tonight I will sleep. To be honest, I was very enthusiastic about plans for the future last night, so I’m a bit short of sleep!

Tomorrow I will update my Friday night blog. I’m not sure of what to write yet, but I’ll think of something tomorrow!!

In the meantime, Let’s all try to Keep It Simple, Suffering Soul.

Wannabe

I wonder if I could take my qualifications and experience abroad?

 

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

Today I am going to send  a parcel… It will involve going to the post office in town, a short walk away…

Is everything in the box? Without checking, I do believe so, so there is no need to rip off the sticky tape, and look inside just one more time ‘To make sure’.

It is sealed up, and the postage label on.

I just need to leave it alone now… It is a cardboard box… Any germs on it? Or should I say;  Any ‘dangerous’ germs on it?

I doubt it. It will be fine…

When I was a child, we used to see food wrappings that actually had labels on such as ‘Untouched by human hand’. Mmmm! So what were they touched by!!!!????

And we’ve lived to tell the tale!

If I’ve been able to handle the box, then others can too. By the time it arrives, it will have been handled by lot’s of ‘human’ hands. So there is no way I can possibly cause harm to anyone else by merely sending a cardboard box through the post…

I’m off to the post office as soon as I finish my cup of coffee…

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

I sent the parcel!

Something else to keep simple then…

With contamination OCD it is easy to think that our hands contaminate everything they touch… But do they? Really?

How can we ever know for sure? We aren’t surgeons working inside the human body, inside the natural defences. We ar ordinary people trying to live a normal life…

So… Exactly when are our hands perfectly clean then? Straight after washing? What with?

If we work on the principle that using antibacterial gels makes our hands perfectly clean… Try something.

We aren’t using perfumed soap that is not in itself sterile (Like we did before meals as children). We are using something that we wipe on our hans, then allow to evaporate away…

If we do that then… Right now. And immediately our hands are dry, sniff the back of your hand gently.

It doesn’t actually ‘smell’ clean, even though, in theory, it is now sterile.

So… NEVER sniff your hands or fingers… It is not an even slightly accurate method of ensuring cleanliness. Just wash them normally and dry on the towel (The towel will be good enough regardless of whether or not we put the loos seat, if you even have one… We often didn’t), and blissfully carry on with your day. Test it… CBT it, if you like…

Likewise alternatively, just use the provided gel sparingly once only, if that is more convenient at the time.

So. Next time you go shopping, now that things are under some sort of control with Covid, Do occasionally put items back on the display. It is very likely they have already been handled by someone else already anyway.

Try it… Just once at first… And see what your own research is telling you, for real.

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

What about when a parcel arrives… Post… Courier… Whatever. It will have contacted lots of other items on it’s journey, that is inevitable.

Well… A parcel arrived for me a couple of days ago… The agent knocked on the door to explain that one bit was damp because of something else on the load. Another parcel had leaked. They asked me if I still wanted it. Well, I needed the item, so, in the presence of the agent, I opened it… The item inside was dry… So, I gratefully accepted the package.

I got the item, and disposed of the packaging in the recycle bin. No worries… After all… Couriers are not known for carrying hazardous waste. That was a week ago now, the item is in use, and I haven’t purposely gone to see if the packaging is even totally dry. None of it got on my hands anyway…

I treat it like the supermarket conveyor belt… Especially in the frozen food shop… It is an acceptable risk, arrived at jointly by myself and the delivery agent.

We have no way of knowing if something is perfectly clean… All of our lives we have been taking the risk. And have come through it… Otherwise I wouldn’t be sat here writing this!

They used to say that kids brought up in poor areas would be more rugged and resistant to illness. This is fine up to a point. We all need to be warm and dry most of the time…

Okay… Time for a cuppa and a biscuit…

Wannabe

[wannabefreeParticipantParticipant]

I’ve had to bring this one forward today…

It’s sure not easy dealing with OCD, and mental health in general… I’m dealing with a few issues… I’m coming off meds… I need to stick with this now… I’ve just got a bit of a cold today, but I’m still upbeat and cheerful… I’ve had some good news about one of my hobbies… A piece of musical equipment needs a new battery to retain it’s memories… I’d expected it to be an expensive manufacturer only part, but it turns out it needs an ordinary button cell like in a car key… They are easy to obtain. So I’ll get that sorted out in the next few days.

Keeping it simple is the art of not trying to think too deeply into things…

We live in rental accommodation, so, in theory, there is always the risk that we could be given notice to vacate… No fault evictions they call it…  So we aren’t 100% certain we will stay here… We are on the local authority list, so there is backup, just in case… But we have to be optimistic. We have indeed done nothing to upset neighbours or landlord. So we should be okay… Well… As okay as far as is possible…

To be fair… Property owners can be subject to compulsory purchase… If some scheme needs the land for some hair-brained project… We just have to go one day at a time… We are none of us here for ever anyway…

Just float along gently until bedtime…  Remember KISSS.  It is the new watchword for coping with ordinary life…

I’m due to visit a relative in hospital, in a couple of days…

In past times I would be using antibac gel on my hands almost continuously when on a ward. Everything I came into contact with… Door handles… Even curtains… And yet… I didn’t notice anybody else being so conscientious. Mind you, I wouldn’t have been watching anyone else… Unless of course to be the only witness to someone else’s actions…

Even though… Keeping things simple… Those actions were fine… The only person worrying was me… It was backfiring on me… My mental health was getting wrecked… I couldn’t cope with stuff like that…

But… If others can be less than perfectly clean, that gives me permission too. They don’t have to, and neither do I.

Yes! Neither do I! So…

Let’s keep it simple… Let germs be there… Allow ours and others natural defences to strengthen in our natural environment. It happens automatically, 24 hours a day… Asleep or awake…  K.I.S.S.S.

I’m in charge of cooking tonight’s evening meal… I will have a look in the freezer, choose something special… Mmmm… I like that idea…

Wannabe

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