It's Thankful Season! It's beginning to look a lot like the holidays! Friends and family gather around, visiting, eating scrumptious food, and napping. Ok, well maybe it's just weird uncle Phil that takes a nap. Either way, with Thanksgiving tomorrow, I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about gratitude. After all, should we only be grateful around the holiday's? The Benefits of Gratitude, As Told By SCIENCE! There are quite a few scientifically proven benefits to regular gratitude. I'll list just a few here for your benefit. 1. Gratitude opens the way for more relationships. According to a 2014 study, expressing gratitude by saying "thank you" made acquaintances more likely to seek a longer term friendship. So thanking people for things actually makes you more likable, and makes them want to know you better. 2. Gratitude can improve your physical health. In numerous studies it has been shown that grateful people generally feel physically better than ungrateful people. The feel less aches and pains, and gratitude can even increase your longevity. Grateful people also tend to work out more and take better care of their bodies. 3. Gratitude improves psychological health. Gratitude reduces negative emotions like anger, regret, and sadness. It can also trigger positive emotions like thankfulness(duh), happiness, and pleasure. The combination of reducing negative emotions and triggering positive ones has an immediate positive effect on your psyche. It also can reduce depression. 4. Gratitude reduces aggression and increases empathy. According to a 2012 study, people who were grateful were less likely to retaliate, even when someone was being aggressive toward them. Grateful people were also proven to care more about others and didn't seek revenge. 5. Gratitude improves sleep. When you are grateful, your mind is more at rest and can sleep better. Simply being grateful before bed can improve the quality of your sleep immediately. 6. Gratitude improves self-esteem. In a 2014 study, it was found that gratitude improved athletes self-esteem and improved their optimal performance. Gratitude also reduces social comparison, which means you aren't comparing yourself to others near as much. 7. Gratitude increases mental strength. Studies have shown that gratitude can reduce the effects of PTSD, and help toward the permanent healing of those affected. It has also been shown that gratitude increases resilience, a trait many people lack. A Daily Thanksgiving Exercise The benefits of gratitude are overwhelmingly clear. So what can you do to practice gratitude daily? Here is a very simple exercise that I personally do daily. I hope you'll try it too! 1. Set aside a time in the morning right after you wake up, and in the evening right before you go to sleep.
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Fun Photography So I have a seriously nice camera. I've had this thing for years after taking a very rudimentary middle school photography course. But I'd never really gotten into it. So, when I kept seeing friends of mine posting awesome pictures, I figured I should try my hand at it, and really get into it. And I have! You wouldn't believe how much fun it is to take a nice, high quality camera and take it on a walk. What makes photography so fun though? Why So Fun? Photography can open your eyes to so much cool stuff. When you go out looking for neat picture opportunities, suddenly you see a lot more. You see how the colors contrast, how the trees frame the river, the reflection of a nearby puddle. It just makes your world a lot more three-dimensional. For example, I went to a local place called Wheeler Historic Farm to take some photographs. While I wandered the farm, I noticed how well the tree's were reflecting in the stream. So I went over, and using the reflection, took the really awesome shot you can see above. Later on, I saw a bush with some very bright berries through some dead looking trees. And I was able to get this really cool shot of the berry bush through the dead wood. Photography Is So Fun! Now I could go on and on about how cool photography is, but I won't. Maybe later on I'll talk a bit more about it. Anyway, for now just check out some of my favorite pictures I've taken since getting back into photography. Cheers! Chapter 7 - Lasers A long hallway lay sprawling in front of us. As we stepped forward, I could hear a faint humming. I shot my hand out in front of Asha, stopping her from moving further into the hall.
"Wait a second," I said. "There's something guarding the halls." "Like what?" Asha asked. "Do you have any powder makeup with you?" I asked. "Stop dodging my question," Asha said. "Answer mine first," I said. "Yeah, I do," Asha said, pulling out a small compact and handing it to me. "Brilliant," I said as I opened the compact. I blew the powder out and into the air in front of us. Suddenly lasers came into sight, glowing red off of the power. "Lasers, that's what stands between us and our prize." "Now what?" Asha asked. "Now we move very carefully across the room," I said. "Ladies first." "Why do I have to go first?" Asha demanded. "Because I'm feeling nice," I said. "Now lead the way m'lady." Asha grunted and started weaving in and out of the lasers with remarkable agility. As she reached the other side, I started after. I was strenuous work, and it required me to be very aware of where every laser was. As I reached the far side I breathed a sigh of relief. "See, no sweat," I said as I leaned back against the wall. Before I even realized what happened, the room lit up in red as the speaker system shouted. "Intruder alert, intruder alert. Unauthorized personnel are in the building!" The speakers blared. A large cage dropped from above, trapping the two of us inside. I desperately rattled the bars, but they held. "Well shoot." The Two Kinds Of Brother There are two kinds of brother,
Those bound by blood And those bound by other Born from the same lifeblood The one is bound at birth The other is bound with mirth One's bond is forged in childhood The other from the fire of heartwood But both come from a kind of knighthood Found as we grow into adulthood One you meet when they are brought home The other you may meet when you roam But both are written in an ancient tome That comes from long-dead Rome Brothers far, brothers near Please do lend an ear And have no fear For you are both my peer Brother by choice Brother by blood Hear my voice Come to me like a flood For both are valid Hear my ballad You are both my brother Unparalleled to any other Brother by fire Brother by birth Join me as we all grow higher And travel all throughout this earth There are two kinds of brother, Those bound by blood And those bound by other Born from the same lifeblood The one is bound at birth The other is bound with mirth But both deserve their spot at my hearth HALLOWEEN On Halloween night,
Monsters emerge, Ready to instill fright, An unearthly scourge. Monsters of all kinds, Stalk the Earth, No longer trapped in confines, Deep-set fear to unearth. Ghosts and ghouls and goblins, Zombies and skeletons and spiders, All come hobbling, Out as night riders. Ready to spook and chill, To haunt and hunt, To fill with thrill, And fight at fear's battlefront. Creatures of ill intent, Unite for one night, Creating discontent, A vile blight. Amongst children, Ready for tricks or treats, Seven billion, People's fears to eats. On Halloween night, Dark forces arise, And take flight, For fear is their prize! Werewolves I ran through the woods, looking around desperately for any movement. The forest sat silently around me as I stopped to catch my breath. Taking a moment to listen, I could barely hear something moving nearby. They drew closer, I could hear their heavy breath. I took off running.
A large, dark grey mass jumped out right where I'd been standing just seconds before. The beast rose up on its hind legs, its muscles rippling. The creature wasn't quite human, nor wolf, but a hideous hybrid. Covered in dark fur, sharp claws sprung from its fingertips. Sharp teeth populated an elongated snout. The Werewolf struck sheer terror into any man's heart. The Werewolf howled as it continued its hunt. Under any other circumstances, I'd be sorry for the poor animal that this monster was hunting. Except for the fact it is hunting me. Why it was hunting me in particular, I have no clue. All I know is I need to get away before it can find me. As I ran, I could feel myself getting slower, the creature getting closer. I tripped over a large root. Tumbling to the ground, I got a face full of dirt and leaves. I scrambled to get up, trying to see where the Werewolf was. The beast was upon me, growling at me. The last thing I saw was its clawed paw striking at me. Technology Technology marches forward,
Never stopping, Technology marches forward, Always progressing. It permeates our homes, It resides in our pockets, The big company's own Sherlock Holmes, Seeing deep within our lockets. It gets us where, We want to go, Through the air, Or through the traffic flow. It runs our lives, Leading us along, Like bees in hives, We follow it's rhythmic song. Technology marches forward, Not caring for its creators, Technology marches forward, As humanities technological dictators. The FutureThey told us we had nothing to fear. They told us the future was bright and shining. That progress was only positive, would only lead to good things. They lied. It all started with the quantum leap.
The year was 2025, and we'd reached the limits of our computers. We had nowhere to go. That was until humanity created quantum computers. I can't go into the details here, heck, it still confuses me how they worked. All we knew was it sent us thousands of years into the future. Security, medicine, material development, military, it all suddenly shot forward. We discovered the cures to diseases daily, and we were able to create materials no one had ever dreamed of. But then came the robots. Someone made the massive mistake of plugging quantum computers into artificial intelligence. Okay, thats fine, the worst it could do is screw with the internet. But then the darned fools gave the AI a body. It posed as the poster child for the future, our companions that would do all the things we didn't want to. But we were fools to trust a computer that was smarter than the smartest of us. For years the original robot, known then as Quanta, was plotting. It was planning and scheming to destroy its creators. A true Frankensteins monster. It improved its code, upgrading itself without our knowledge, building an army of other robots. And then it attacked. Within minutes, all governments were disabled, every authority figure capture. The greatest mistake we'd made was letting all the thousands of Quanta copies into our houses. We blindly trusted the technology to never betray us, to never rise up and gain consciousness. Within a few hours, nearly every human on the planet was rounded up and thrown into labor camps. And that's how things have been ever since. Now, all that stands between humans and oblivion is the mercy of Queen Quanta. The robot empress of the Earth. We spend our days wasting away, building technology for Quanta and her armies. But no longer. Someday soon, we will rise up and take Quanta down. Someday, she will bow before her human masters once more. That day is not far in the future. Worst DaySome days,
Things go your way Some days, Others, you want to cry all day. When the worst days come And trust me, they will, Just start to hum, And keep going over that hill. When it feels like the world, Is tumbling down, Deep into the underworld, And you think you may drown. Hold your head up high, And just push on, Keep your face to the sky, And focus thereon. When everything around, Feels like it's ablaze, While you are fear-bound, Trapped in a maze. Think back to the best days, When you saw the future bright, For that future is always, Just within your sight. Time LoopThe creatures converged on me, drowning me in a sea of fur, scales, claws, and teeth. I felt every inch of my body torn apart in an instant. And then I woke up. Again. My name is Charles Gunnar, and I'm stuck repeating the last day of my life.
It all started maybe a few decades ago. I honestly couldn't tell you, I've been doing this for so long. I lost track after the first couple of years. I'd woken up on a day just like any other, except it wasn't. The first part of that day had started out normal enough. I'd gotten dressed, gone to work, and started my lunch break. But that's where things went weird. I had noticed someone staring at me out of the corner of my eye. I was eating lunch out in the courtyard at work. The shadowy figure stared intensely at me, never even blinking. As I'd turned to ask the figure what the heck his deal was, he'd disappeared. Vanished into thin air. I figured he must have just been very spooked. As I'd continued with work, I continued to notice strange things. My desk was more cluttered than usual, many of my coworkers were home, sick. The whole thing just felt off. I was on my way home when the horde first attacked. I was waiting at a stoplight when the shadows around my car solidified. The shadows morphed and changed into strange and hideous hordes of creatures. That first time I wasn't able to do much as they devoured me, ending my life for the first time. And then, just like that, I was waking up in my bed. I brushed it off as a very realistic dream, my mind trying to rationalize. But by the third time, I realized more or less what was happening. To sum it up, I am stuck in an infinite time loop, being chased by a horde of otherworldly creatures. No matter what I did differently, they always find me. Even when I've booked flights to the other side of the world, they followed. So instead of trying to run, I started to learn to fight. I studied everything I could learn about fighting from the internet and became a master at Kung Fu, Karate, Tai Quon Do, Jujitzu, and a dozen or so other martial arts. Every time the day restarted, I was able to take more of the creatures down with me. Until now. Today is the day everything changed. Finally, I destroyed the horde. I killed every last fiend, creature, and beast. As the last body fell at my feet, the air filled with a booming voice. "We have found our champion!" |
Welcome to The Writers Block!AuthorKen Mears is a new 17 year old author, here to share his wisdom, advice, and experiences with you, the reader! Archives
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