Harriet Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 This is my CORVID special challenge, where crows circle overhead. Welcome to the road so dark and dreary. Spoiler I am currently struggling with really low motivation, having been sick for a fair bit of the last few months. I have also been deprived of the most powerful weapon in my ongoing battle against depression—barbells—due to the shelter in place order. Anyway, I need to be able to keep making progress toward my goals even during my low motivation phases. To that end, I am trying things that are supposed to increase one’s dopamine. I also read something that resonated with me in a thread about self-discipline. Someone mentioned ‘moving toward discomfort’ as a practice. It hit me that instead of trying to make things easier, or waiting for them to feel or seem easier, I need to practice choosing the hard thing. Every morning I’m going to remind myself of the mindset of moving toward discomfort. The habits I want to work on this challenge are CAWWSSOME (the noise a crow makes when it approves of something excellent). I don't know if I'm going to stick to them, but this is what I should/want to be doing every day: C: Cold showers for dopamine and practicing voluntary discomfort A: Art for meaningful work W: Writing for meaningful work W: Walks for mental and physical wellbeing S: Strength exercises for physical and mental wellbeing S: Sunlight for dopamine and general wellbeing OM: Meditation for dopamine, stress reduction & immune power E: Intuitive Eating for avoiding asgerd (the asthma-GERD interaction) and Quarantänekummerspeck - the worry-bacon you put on during quarantine. Oh, and I’m going to draw some corvids, because I should be doing free drawing as well as doing my lessons (blasted boxes). Magpies, crows, ravens, rooks, choughs, jackdaws, jays, and treepies. What are treepies? I don’t know. Let’s find out together. Oh. I just learned Australian magpies aren’t corvids, and neither are butcher birds, nor currawongs. Might include them anyway. Anyway, corvids are appropriately dark and gothic symbols of death. And drawing COVID-19 would be really dull. So let’s crow. 13 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Sloth the Enduring Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 In Ojibwe lore the crow is a healer of a sort. Their purpose is to help other’s find their own purpose. They remind you to continue to work and find good connections with others when you feel lost. I’m here to watch you find your way. 6 1 Quote “We might as well start where we are, use what we have and do what we can." – Caitlin Rivers Solstice Challenge Sloth: The Man with the Hammer battle log Link to post
Harriet Posted March 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 1 hour ago, Sloth the Enduring said: In Ojibwe lore the crow is a healer of a sort. Their purpose is to help other’s find their own purpose. They remind you to continue to work and find good connections with others when you feel lost. I’m here to watch you find your way. Thank you! Is Ojibwe your culture/your people, or just an interest? I appreciate hearing about nature related symbolism. That's a nicer role for the crow, and I could do with some healing and a reminder to work despite being lost. An auspicious choice, then. Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Sloth the Enduring Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Thank you! Is Ojibwe your culture/your people, or just an interest? I appreciate hearing about nature related symbolism. That's a nicer role for the crow, and I could do with some healing and a reminder to work despite being lost. An auspicious choice, then.Yes, I’m Ojibwe. Crow’s story is one I was told as a child, but didn’t pay attention to and had to find online. 4 Quote “We might as well start where we are, use what we have and do what we can." – Caitlin Rivers Solstice Challenge Sloth: The Man with the Hammer battle log Link to post
Harriet Posted March 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 2 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said: Yes, I’m Ojibwe. Crow’s story is one I was told as a child, but didn’t pay attention to and had to find online. I read a few dreamtime stories as a child, and one of them involved the crow (the story of how the birds got their colours). But the animals have human personalities rather than symbolic characteristics. I've forgotten most of the other stories. 1 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Scaly Freak Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 3 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said: In Ojibwe lore the crow is a healer of a sort. Their purpose is to help other’s find their own purpose. They remind you to continue to work and find good connections with others when you feel lost. I'm sad I have not head of this before now, so naturally I have added it to my list of Things To Learn About While In The Bunker. Quote “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scaly Freak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26 Link to post
KB Girl Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Those are really good! Crawwsome! 1 1 Quote Main Quest: becoming a decent kettlebell lifter and a great coach Current challenge: KB Girl prepares for the new year my instagram - my gym's instagram Link to post
Tanktimus the Encourager Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Following along. Crows are particularly metal, as a group of them is called a Murder. How much more metal can you get? 2 2 Quote Current Challenge Original 1,2,3, R 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51 "By the Most-Righteous-and-Blessed Beard of Sir Tanktimus the Encourager!" - Jarl Rurik Harrgath Link to post
Jupiter Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Love it! Following! 2 Quote Battle Log, Current Challenge 2020 Challenges: Challenge 1, Challenge 2, Challenge 3, Challenge 4, Challenge 5, Challenge 6, Challenge 7 Link to post
bigm141414 Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Oooo, here for some more metal and some Cawwsome activies! 1 2 Quote "Pull the bar like you're ripping the head off a god-damned lion" - Donny Shankle Link to post
Harriet Posted March 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 2 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said: Following along. Crows are particularly metal, as a group of them is called a Murder. How much more metal can you get? ...crows in full plate? 1 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Scaly Freak Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 4 minutes ago, Harriet said: ...crows in full plate? Bloodborne has a Crowfeather set of "armor". 3 Quote “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scaly Freak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26 Link to post
oromendur Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 <mythologist de-lurks> Collection of Raven Tales (Wikipedia) How to salute a magpie Shradh I also imagine this thread will soon come to the attention of Huginn and Muninn and become Allfather-approved <mythologist re-lurks> 2 1 Quote hröa Periano, sanar Eldaro, fëa Núnatano (body of a Hobbit, mind of an Elf, soul of a Dúnadan) Memories of a former Age [ 1 | 2 ] ~ Return from Mandos [ respawn ] Recent sojourns in Middle-earth [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 ] [ Current: Hobbitry ] ~ [ Tracking spreadsheet ] ~ [ Instagram ] ~ [ Books ] The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day. ~ Steven Pressfield, The War of Art Link to post
Harriet Posted March 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 48 minutes ago, oromendur said: <mythologist de-lurks> Collection of Raven Tales (Wikipedia) How to salute a magpie Shradh I also imagine this thread will soon come to the attention of Huginn and Muninn and become Allfather-approved <mythologist re-lurks> Oooh, thank you. This is great! I have never tried scratching the tongue of a magpie with the sharp edge of an unmilled silver sixpence and dripping human blood into the wound, but I will be sure to attempt it next time I get the chance. 1 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Scaly Freak Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 50 minutes ago, Harriet said: Oooh, thank you. This is great! For really great stuff, look up connection between crows and valkyries... 2 Quote “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scaly Freak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26 Link to post
Xena Posted March 24, 2020 Report Share Posted March 24, 2020 Did you draw the pictures in your intro post? If so, I'm impressed! 1 Quote Xena, Level 14+ Valkyrie Ranger January 2017 December 2016 Oct/Nov 2016 Link to post
Harriet Posted March 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 3 hours ago, Xena said: Did you draw the pictures in your intro post? If so, I'm impressed! I did. Thank you! 2 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Harriet Posted March 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 I did all the things today, except get sunlight. That wasn't available. Working on a crow painting but it's not done yet. Huh. I had pretty much talked myself into buying a couple of kettlebells--one lighter and one heavier so I could get some challenging work in. But they're all out of stock or will take 1-3 months to ship. Grr. 3 1 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Mad Hatter Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 13 hours ago, oromendur said: <mythologist de-lurks> Collection of Raven Tales (Wikipedia) How to salute a magpie Shradh I also imagine this thread will soon come to the attention of Huginn and Muninn and become Allfather-approved <mythologist re-lurks> Ooh this is awesome. Here for cawwssomeness! 2 Quote Link to post
raptron Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 Let's get cawwssome, indeed. 1 Quote Raptron, alot assassin 65 | 64 | 63 | 62 | 61 | 60 | 59 | 58 | 57 | 56 | 55 | 54 | 53 | 52 | 51 | 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 Link to post
miss_marissa Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 On 3/23/2020 at 9:15 PM, Harriet said: CAWWSSOME (the noise a crow makes when it approves of something excellent) yisssssss 1 Quote Current Challenge # 39 | #38 | #37 | #36 | #35 |#34 | #33 | #32 | #31 | #30 | #29 | #28 | #27 | #26 | #25 | # 24 | #23 | #22 | #21 | #20 | #19 | #18 | #17 | #16 | #15 | #14 | #13 | #12 | #11 | #10 | #9| #8 | #7 | #6 | #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1 | Battle Log Instagram | Goodreads Link to post
KB Girl Posted March 25, 2020 Report Share Posted March 25, 2020 19 hours ago, Harriet said: I had pretty much talked myself into buying a couple of kettlebells--one lighter and one heavier so I could get some challenging work in. But they're all out of stock or will take 1-3 months to ship. Ugggghhhh sorry 😔 1 Quote Main Quest: becoming a decent kettlebell lifter and a great coach Current challenge: KB Girl prepares for the new year my instagram - my gym's instagram Link to post
Harriet Posted March 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 Today I wrote and did art. The writing is really plodding along without inspiration, but I decided to just show up. I win when I get 1000 words or spend one hour on it... so even if I just stare at the screen and stab a few keys, I will meet my goal for the day one way or another. I also went for a walk, got some sunlight, and am on track to get my exercises and meditations done (6 sets and 3 sessions per day, respectively). I had my cold shower. It was dreadful but I live yet. So... I was talking with my father about the virus crisis, and something hit me. I had looked at the shelter in place order and thought that I just have to get through three weeks. But this isn't going to be over in three weeks. It could be several months until we're considerably safer (either because they've com up with treatments, or the rate of infection has dropped, or enough people have had it already so that there is space in the hospitals). Even if they lift the shelter in place--which they will have to, because otherwise the economic costs will start ruining people--we will still have to decide for ourselves how much risk to take on and how to stay safe and sane. So I need to have a little think about what I'm going to do if, say, the gym doesn't open for five months i.e. the rest of my time here in the USA. Or if it does open but I decide not to go. Hmmm. I can't just keep eating pasta forever. And I probably need a more ambitious and comprehensive workout plan. I need more than just emergency coping plans. But I don't have to decide on that now. 4 Quote Let cheese and bread and mead crowd out our secret desires for power and domination. Link to post
Scaly Freak Posted March 26, 2020 Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 50 minutes ago, Harriet said: So... I was talking with my father about the virus crisis, and something hit me. I had looked at the shelter in place order and thought that I just have to get through three weeks. But this isn't going to be over in three weeks. It could be several months until we're considerably safer (either because they've com up with treatments, or the rate of infection has dropped, or enough people have had it already so that there is space in the hospitals). Even if they lift the shelter in place--which they will have to, because otherwise the economic costs will start ruining people--we will still have to decide for ourselves how much risk to take on and how to stay safe and sane. So I need to have a little think about what I'm going to do if, say, the gym doesn't open for five months i.e. the rest of my time here in the USA. Or if it does open but I decide not to go. Hmmm. I can't just keep eating pasta forever. And I probably need a more ambitious and comprehensive workout plan. I need more than just emergency coping plans. But I don't have to decide on that now. Looking at countries where the epidemic started before it came here, can give us a good idea of what to expect. In some parts of China they have been quarantining for a couple of months and given the state of the US health care system and lack of direction from our pseudo-central government, the US as a country is probably going to be hit a lot harder than they were. So yes, we're in this for the long haul. And bravo for you, for realizing you don't have to make decisions and long-term plans yet. 2 Quote “I've always believed that failure is non-existent. What is failure? You go to the end of the season, then you lose the Super Bowl. Is that failing? To most people, maybe. But when you're picking apart why you failed, and now you're learning from that, then is that really failing? I don't think so." - Kobe Bryant, 1978-2020. Rest in peace, great warrior. Personal Challenges, a.k.a.The Saga of Scaly Freak: Tutorial; Ch 1; Ch 2; Ch 3; Ch 4; Ch 5; Ch 6; Intermission; Intermission II; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9; Ch 10; Ch 11; Ch 12 ; Ch 13; Ch 14; Ch 15; Ch 16; Ch 17; Intermission III; Ch 18; Ch 19; Ch 20; Ch 21; Ch 22; Ch 23; Ch 24; Ch 25; Intermission IV; Ch 26 Link to post
Xena Posted March 26, 2020 Report Share Posted March 26, 2020 1 hour ago, Harriet said: But I don't have to decide on that now. Yeah, it's hard to plan long-term yet. Take on what you can over the next week or the course of this challenge. Your idea of trying some KB stuff seems good though. I know the gym is important to you, so I think figuring something out sooner rather than later is a good idea. It doesn't have to be a permanent solution, just something to try for a while. 2 Quote Xena, Level 14+ Valkyrie Ranger January 2017 December 2016 Oct/Nov 2016 Link to post
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.