-- Just Removing this gem from the comments :) --
i suppose that one of my most unpopular opinions is that christianity - in it’s most liberating & progressive forms - does require a lifelong commitment to self-sacrifice. you are called, like Christ, to burn yourself in order to keep others warm.
i’m not a fan of the modern idea of “cheap grace,” which scoffs at things like undeserved forgiveness. you are called to forgive the worst people you know, even if it takes a lifetime.
while grace is abundant, free, and gentle - we find the example of Christ condescending himself to live among the “least of these,” suffering and dying - and calling his followers to do the same.
christ’s mercy never waned for those followers who walked away, but many did walk away once the calling became difficult.
while a lot of the language of “discipline” and “discipleship” gets misapplied by conservative christians to tie heavy burdens onto others, i think it’s a mistake as a progressive/leftist believers to ignore the fact that following Christ can certainly require intense levels of personal discomfort and difficult work.
yet, we don’t suffer alone.
glad to know people will still be experiencing this video for the first time this daylight savings
hermeto pascoal, iporanga, 1985
Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, has been tormented by a Brazilian man named Osvaldo for the last several years.
Dick started his truck back to the cave. "How can you live with yourself after letting me die?" Dick ignored the hallucination, the real Jason wouldn't be anywhere near here.
The hallucination this time was ruthless, mocking him every chance it got, bringing out his fears and making his gut sink. By the time he arrived at the cave his eyes stung a little but the hallucination had finally disappeared. Dick took a breath to compose himself.
"Wing! How'd it go?" Tim called out when he entered the Batcave.
Dick smiled back. "Great, got the information we needed"
Damian came over. "Did the new gas mask work?"Huh?
"Why would I have used a gas mask?" Dick swore that every head in a twenty foot radius snapped to him instantly.
Jason started checking him over with his eyes. Mother-hen "Because there was a shit ton of left over Fear Toxin in that building"
Oh "Is that why the hallucinations were worse this time?" Maybe it was the Toxin in his system, maybe it was the fact he was exhausted but he didn't think it through fully before those words tumbled out of his mouth.
Jason's hands were cupping his face now, moving his head whichever way to get a better look. "You have hallucinations often?"
Shit, There's no way I'm getting out of this, am I? "only once in a blue moon"
"You had hallucinations and you didn't tell any of us?" Oh gosh, Bruce is mad too.
"We weren't talking when they started, didn't think it was a big enough deal to call about"
"When did they start? Why didn't you tell me when we started talking again?"
I'm getting interrogated, aren't I? "Not long after Jason died and I knew how to deal with it by the time we talked again.
Tim started mumbling incomprehensibly- if it started shortly after Jason died... -before asking Dick a question. "What are your hallucinations of?"
He was reluctant to answer, Jason might blame himself if- Damian was hugging him, his head tucked into Dick's side as he rested under Dick's arm. "You don't have to deal with it alone, imbecile."
"..I taught you that" Damian only grunted affirmatively into his side. Dick couldn't find the heart to lie anymore. "I saw Jason"
Jason let out a pained sound, from the pitch Dick could tell he was trying to hold it back. Tim seemed to be in that state between caring brother and analytical vigilante. "Did you continue to have Hallucinations of him after he came back?"
"Stayed the same, the only real difference is now Jason's older sometimes."
Jason let out a croak "I'm sorry, Wing"
Dick's heart clenched, this was what I was trying to avoid "it's not your fault, if anything I'm to blame"
Jason pulled him into a hug, Damian didn't fight it either. "Shut up Dickhead."
Tim finished typing what he learned and dragged Bruce into the hug with him, he'd have to ask Dick more about his hallucinations later.
A harbor seal glides through the bay, In waters where the sunbeams play, With whiskered grace and dappled skin, A quiet dance, a gentle spin.
Majestic in its silent glide, Rules the waters, free and wide. A fleeting shadow, sleek and wise, The harbor seal beneath the skies.
Footage from our divers enjoying the magic of the sublime seals right outside in the bay 🌈 🌊
Hope wins every time the sun peaks over the horizon after a long dark night, it softens the day and baths the ground, it warms the air and we breath easier and maybe our souls uncurl a little from that protective crouch we've grown used to, maybe we let our limbs loosen, maybe we let hope sink into our skin, maybe we let it melt our misery from within.
Listen... All I know is that the kids I babysit were singing that one Gummy Bear song and next thing I knew my brain made a parody
im good friend,
im a bad friend.
i want to get better,
i want to get worse.
i have been sweet,
i have been cruel.
i have been the victim,
i have been the fault.
I have been mature,
I have been childish.
i dont really know kind of kid i am.