mix writer activities

This thread is to start a mix writer challenge or activity. It works like this: a group of 2 to 4 people for example come up with a subject and write about using any technic at all. The idea is to create writing like no others and possibly with the goal to donate for the sermon s repository. Post the finish project here as well as your request for a team if you do not know who to ask as well as the subject.

May the Force be with you and your writing

written by Dwagoonie, Ashria, Silenus and Vincent



All the little Criticisms #long version



With the growth of anonymity online, criticism seems to be more and more of a trend. When it's given in bad faith, criticism can become crippling to the person receiving it. Sometimes it's just the little things that sew the seeds of doubt.

"Why did you do that?"
"You can do better than this."
"You'll never understand."

There is a curious growth lately in what is often described as "Toxic Positivity." Where even the slightest hint of negativity is met with a wall of criticism. People can not be 100% positive all of the time. Trying generally results in a never-ending feeling of failing to live up to the impossible expectations of how we behave, dress, and act. All of which greatly impacts our mental and emotional well-being.

It doesn't seem to matter what you do or say. You'll be criticized for what you do. You'll be criticized for what you don't do. You'll be criticized for what you believe. You'll be criticized for not believing what someone else believes. How you dress. How you look. Do you have tattoos? Are you overweight? Short? Underweight? The list seems to never end.

The tiniest mistake can be amplified nearly endlessly. Even if it was the best choice available at the time, it can be weaponized against you. It is in the past, it cannot be undone, but it is waiting there to be dredged up again and again when it's convenient. Your past actions used as something of a hammer to hit you over the head with. A misguided attempt to put you back in your place.

The stereotypes also never seem to end. Especially when it comes to the incredibly charged topic of gender and gender roles. You'll find people being criticized for meeting the stereotype: a man who doesn't show emotion. A woman who is "too emotional." Then people turn around and criticize someone who steps outside of the stereotypes, such as a woman who doesn't show "enough" or the "right" emotions and men who show too much emotion.

From a very early age we are conditioned to live up to the standards that other people place on us. It begins with our family and parents. From the moment we can crawl there are expectations placed upon us.

Even with the most supportive and loving family, we still have the voices of our community around us - telling us who we must be in order to be accepted. Whether it's Society or Religion the limitations of what is expected of us never seem to end. Up until the point that our own minds become the voice of obligations that others have planted in us.

The little voice in the back of our mind gets louder and louder until even those with the strongest self esteem find themselves constantly fighting against the criticism from those who do not accept them. We start to doubt ourselves and grow afraid to show people who we really are for fear of rejection.

We begin to criticize ourselves throughout the day, even when no one else is around. Slowly shifting from being concerned about whether or not you're doing the right thing and being corrupted into worrying whether or not you're doing it "well enough." It erodes away our self esteem and we begin to expect failure at every turn.

With so much coming at us from every direction, how do we break the cycle?

We must learn to be a voice against the many. To stand up not just for ourselves, but for the others around us who have been beaten down by criticism. Make a stand against the little things. Just like the way things were eroded away, you must build them back up a little bit at a time until you become overwhelmingly you.

Be mindful of your thoughts. Be mindful of your words to other people. Make a choice not to criticize, but instead develop your communication skills and approach things from a positive, mindful attitude.

This is a very easy thing to say, but may be much more difficult in practice. We need to be able to constructively criticize "things", "people", "experiences", etc. Before we ever utter a word, our intent must be to come from a place of peace and serenity.

We should pause and truly take a look at the person and thing we are criticizing and think about how important it is to the person we are speaking with. How much work has been poured into it? How open are they to criticism? Constructive criticism is a good and necessary thing, but it's about how the message is delivered, not necessarily the message itself. Be mindful of both your words and how they will be heard and received.

Going forward we must teach our children from a young age that it isn't okay to be a destructive and negative force in the lives of others. We cannot demand that they live up to our expectations. With each new generation providing an example for those that follow, we pass along these ideals and can turn the rules of social profiling and stereotyping to something less judgmental. We can face the source of many of our negative emotions and self-criticism together and overcome it for the future well-being of mankind.