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grief

Your Birthday

By Friends & Family, ThinkingNo Comments

It was your birthday yesterday. I always remember your birthday and the anniversary of your far too premature death. But some thing rather unusual happened to me yesterday. I felt the raw pain of grief in my heart at you not being physically there and had to stop to have a good cry. After my good cry, I lit a candle and wished you a Happy Birthday.

I have no idea why this particular birthday of yours brought such intense feelings of grief and loss. Perhaps I was more sensitive than normal due to lack of sleep. I’ve haven’t been sleeping well due to the constant pain from my nose.

At the weekend your family and friends are going for the annual meal to celebrate your birthday. This one will be a bit tougher than it normally is. But that’s okay. As much as I feel sadness and grief at your loss, I also smile and laugh remembering the good times together.

Big hugs,

Antony

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Themes from Dr Who (Series 11)

By Happiness & Joy, Thinking, TV, Online Streaming & FilmsNo Comments
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Image From & Copyright © BBC, 2018.

I’ve loved the most recent season of Dr Who. The lead role has been brilliantly played by Jodie Whittaker. There was some controversy about the role being played by a woman, to me I just thought: why is it even an issue?

There have been some fantastic themes through out the series. Here are the themes I’ve spotted in each episode:

Episode 1 – The Woman Who Fell to Earth

  • Diversity – It should be recognised and celebrated. Whether diversity comes from race, learning difficulty or sexuality (mentioned in episode 2). Shown in character representation, characters universal acceptance and appreciation different others.
  • We’re stronger working together as a team, than we are as separate individuals.
  • Only idiots carry knifes – A direct quote from the Doctor, probably in direct response to the rise in knife crime in the capitol London.

Episode 2 – The Ghost Monument

  • A Leader reassures, motivates and has the backs of their team. Shown in how Dr Who treats members of her team.
  • Brains Beat Bullets – A direct quote from the Doctor. Prior to this Doctor states: You’ve got to outthink the enemy. and after the direct quote above another: Guns make things worse.

Episode 3 – Rosa

  • Standing up for Equality – The story of Rosa Parks (see The Story of Rosa Parks) is all about equality and civil rights.
  • How dangerous and stupid white supremacy views are, including the dehumanising affect they have.
  • How racism affects the victims. Shown through character conversation behind the bin.
  • How a single person can change the world and the universe forever.

Episode 4 – Arachnids in the UK

  • Is he Ed Sheeran? – A direct quote from the Doctor. Even the Doctor knows who Ed Sheeran is, even if she doesn’t know what he looks like.
  • Irresponsible businesses and their leaders that care about the bottom line – profit – rather than doing the right thing are bad for all. Their employees, citizens living close to the businesses and the community as a whole.
  • Guns are bad.
  • Cruelty is never necessary.
  • Treat all living things with dignity and respect.
  • Togetherness is better than loneliness.
  • Grief takes time, lots of time.
  • Team TARDIS – Friendship that is built on mutual respect and coming together in a crisis, is too valuable to let go of and should be cherished.

Episode 5 – The Tsuranga Conundrum

  • The Doctor doesn’t mind admitting when she’s wrong.
  • The Doctor see’s all problems as puzzles to be solved.
  • The Doctor loves anti-matter drives, the concept and the actuality.
  • Dad’s don’t have to be perfect. But they should be there for their child and involved in their life.

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dr-who-2018-series-11-1

Image From & Copyright © BBC, 2018.

Episode 6 – Demons of the Punjab

  • A fixed event in time can’t be stopped.
  • Things are not always what they seem.
  • There’s nothing worse than when ordinary people lose their minds.
  • The Doctor believes in love in all its forms. The Doctor thinks love is a form of hope – Direct quote from The Doctor.

Episode 7 – Kerblam!

  • Always answer a call for help. Observed by The Doctor always answering calls for help.
  • The best managers, the really good ones, value their staff, and know instinctively if someone’s in trouble or if they need help. A direct quote from The Doctor.
  • You should be worthy of the job or position you hold.
  • The Doctor doesn’t like bullies, conspiracies or danger, said to Yaz by The Doctor.

Episode 8 – The Witchfinders

  • History has sometimes been hard to women.
  • We’re all the same. We want certainty, security. We want to believe that people are either evil or heroic, but that’s not how people are. A Direct Quote from The Doctor.
  • True knowledge has to be earned.
  • Start with the mysteries of the heart.

Episode 9 – It Takes You Away

  • The Doctor loves her sonic.
  • Some people will sacrifice almost anything to see and be with dead loved ones.
  • The living must let go of the dead and continue to live their life. They can still remember them, it’s just not good to live in the past.
  • Friends help friends face up to the truth, not hide from it. A direct quote from the Doctor.
  • The sheep revolution is just over 100 years away :).

Episode 10 – The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

  • Doctor Who doesn’t like vengeful murder or the talk or the threatening of it.
  • The Doctor is fine destroying anything that can be rebuilt. Buildings and the like.
  • Following blind faith is wrong.
  • Rather than revenge, be the bigger man. It takes great strength to do this.

My Hopes for Series 12
More aliens and travel to other worlds. Essentially more Sci-Fi.

Write soon,

Antony

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1 Life Lesson I’ve Learned for Every Year of My Adult Life

By ThinkingNo Comments

Life is about growth through learning and experience. So here’s 1 lesson life has taught me for every year of my adult live:

Age 18 – The importance of good and lifelong friendships. What makes a good friend including care, kindness, a sense of humour and loyalty.

Age 19 – The importance of having joy in my life. Creating opportunities for joy, seeking it out and chasing it are all essential activities for me.

Madame Tussaunds Blackpool on a thrown

Me on a thrown

Antony-Simpson-Writer

Me

Age 20 – That I’m never going to please everyone. Not everyone will like me or get me. That doesn’t mean I should stop trying. If I can make somebody laugh with a funny story or a joke, I’m going to do it. The smile or laughter is always worth it for me.

I just accept that not everyone is going to be pleased with what I do or don’t do. As long as I am happy with my intentions, actions and omissions, that’s good enough for me.

Age 21 – A diagnosis of a chronic illness (in my case type 1 diabetes) starts with grief. I mourned the loss of my working pancreas and cursed my faulty immune system.

Age 22 – Independence is extremely important to me. Getting my driving licence and being smothered in a relationship both helped me to realise this.

Age 23 – In the outside world many people are far to happy to psychologically tear strips off you. So inside your home should feel safe, full of compassion and be filled with a feeling of care. How I felt at home when I was younger and buying my own apartment helped me to realise this.

Age 24 – Sometimes I just have to do certain things, otherwise I’d always wonder What if?

Heartbreak sometimes heals with the passage of time. A lot of time. More than days, weeks or months. Years. Sometimes even longer than that.

Sometimes the heart doesn’t heal at all, it just scabs over like a scraped knee. Ready for you to pick at it or for something to come along and reopen the wound.

Age 25 – Not everyone gets to live a full and long life. This feels unfair. Life is precious.

The shock of an unexpected death is a thousand times worse than the grief of the loss. It is spiritually, mentally and emotionally exhausting. The disbelief that comes from the shock can last years and make it impossible to grief.

Age 26 – There’s something magic about new babies and they smell totally awesome.

Age 27 – The past is a nice place to visit, the future is a nice place to imagine, but you shouldn’t live in either of them. Live in the present.

Age 28 – The extreme highs and lows of mood I’ve had since my teenage years are not normal. Most people have a pretty stable mood.

Mood stabiliser and antidepressant medications saved more than just my mind, they saved my life.

Age 29 – Travel broadens my mind, fills my heart with goodness and strengthens my soul. If you have the opportunity to travel do. I learned this through visiting India, which has a special place in my heart.

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Me with the Taj Mahal in the background (2).

Age 30 – Creativity enriches every aspect of myself. Stories (written, films, etc.) ignite my imagination and develop my empathy. Art and sculptures help me appreciate the beauty that the creators saw in the world around them or in their mind. Music helps me to feel and gives me the opportunity to dance.

To create something, whatever it is, is a learning process. Sometimes creative projects go well, other times not. But I always learn things from them. The process of creating something makes me feel alive and all lit up – even if it’s just a blog post like this one.

To share something I’ve created with the world makes me super-anxious. But when somebody tells me that my creative project has had some sort emotional resonance with them it becomes a privilege.

soulmates-cover-page

Soulmates (Short Story)

The Finished Product: My homemade candles look great (1).

The Finished Product: Just 1 of the 22 completed (unlit).

The Good Teen (Short Story)

Age 31 – When you do something you love for a job, it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like a vocation and a passion.

Write soon,

Antony

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I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Some Hopefully Inspirational Quotes from Yours Truly

By Happiness & Joy, Inspiration, ThinkingNo Comments

This is the sixth and final in a series of inspirational quotes blog posts. The first was 14 Inspirational Quotes on Gay People, the second was 14 Inspirational Quotes on Love, the third was 10 Inspirational Quotes on Self-love, the forth was 13 Inspirational Quotes on Friendship and fifth was 16 Inspirational Quotes on Life.

Here’s some hopefully inspirational quotes from yours truly:

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Some Hopefully Inspirational Quotes from Yours Truly (Antony Simpson)

And here’s a lovely quote to finish this blog post series on:

“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.” – William Shakespeare

Blog soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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