(no subject)

[sasha_feather]

When I was a kid I had a long bus ride. A consequence of living in the country-- the school bus wound around the roads picking up the rural kids. I complained once to my mom that the trip was boring. She told me that if I looked carefully, I'd notice something new every day.

I live a quiet and careful life (to quote Anna Altman in Every Body Goes Haywire, and sometimes it's a boring and lonely life. But I notice something different every day. The change of the seasons and flowers blooming. New dogs at the park.

I had lunch today with jesse_the_k and we watched some animated short films. She wrote about it here.


One film we watched, called "Ryan", moved me to tears. The idea of one's struggles and pain being outwardly visible in such a visceral way is so powerful. To imagine my facial pain being visible to others or myself, as if part of my face were missing or had spikes going through it-- what a thought. There is one part where the man being interviewed says to his ex-partner, "I still love you", and his face fills back in for a moment.

Comments

[alatefeline]

Listening. I deeply appreciate the reminder to focus on the positives.

[sasha_feather]

Thanks for reading! <3

[jesse_the_k]

Ah, the visibility technique can communicate (however briefly) the awesome immensity of physical pain. The sudden brutal strangling bursts of color are the clearest visible representations of mental illness that I've seen.

Your second link goes to Altman's fabulous essay as well, so here's the (currently free) Ryan link on YT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbkBjZKBLHQ

[sasha_feather]

Ah, c/p fail. Thanks, I will fix it!

[devildoll]

I was also a country kid, and I had an hour bus ride, which was torture for me, as I am prone to motion sickness. I dreaded it every day.

[sasha_feather]

I also sometimes got motion sickness riding the bus. It was (and still is) awful, and why I don't ride the bus now. :(