Here are 5 things you should know.
1. A lot of small restaurants (especially cultural restaurants) that are open on holidays aren’t open cause they don’t celebrate the holidays, they’re just trying to survive.
2. When an obviously angry person says they aren’t mad, they are not trying to be difficult.
An experience shared: ” I’ve been to therapy on and off over many years, and while I’m no expert, one of the big things I learned is that anger is often a secondary emotion. Anger often stems from some initial feeling of hurt, or fear.
Learning this changed me in a big way, and I almost never stay angry anymore, because I can quickly see through the anger for what it really is. Someone who hasn’t learned this will be likely to say the phrase “I’m not mad.” while they are actively angry, and this is because they are probably trying to communicate that initial feeling that caused the anger! When more people understand anger for what it really is, discussions can be had instead of arguments.”
Notre Dame of Maryland University PDF that mentions this
3. If you are a California resident, you can access all of Coursera for free.
Here is the Direct link to register for CA residents
Coursera is one of the biggest providers of MOOCs (massive open online courses) out there and has thousands of courses on a wide variety of topics from machine learning to mental health and well-being.
4. Amazon deal price may not be a discount.
This time of year, many folks are looking for deals online, Amazon being a favorite. Many items will show a discount next to the price (like -20% or -60%). You should know that the discount may not be as awesome as it seems. Many times the item’s price was increased days before and then discounted back to the original price so that now it shows the -% discount.
keepa.com shows a graph of the price of items on the Amazon item page so you can see for yourself if the discount is real or not.
5. People you know might be socially isolated without your knowledge.
Western societies tend to be more individualistic while putting relatively high standards on (the quality) of social interactions and “personal branding”. This problem has been increasing significantly in the last decade. This results in many, especially more neurodivergent and anxious, individuals finding it hard to connect to others while still feeling the pressure to appear “normal” and socially healthy.
This reinforcing loop creates even more distance between those who feel socially isolated and those they do interact with.
So what’s the appropriate way forward?
- try to give people your full attention when you’re with them, allowing a safe and open atmosphere.
- try not to judge other people. Any negative emotions you might show with regard to others can be taken as hints not to interact with them. This doesn’t just make isolated people more isolated but also convinces isolated people not to interact with (for them) potential friends whom you just judged.
- try not to judge yourself. Your bad self-image might convince others they’re “even worse”. Especially, since you’re pretty awesome already!
- try to broaden your “friends horizon”. You might have friends but others won’t be inclusive. Just like giving another music genre a chance, also give other types of people a chance.
The social part of life is hard as is and people are suffering mentally for it. We are social animals, yet we pretend to be perfect individuals. The younger generation seems to be suffering an increasing amount of anxiety and isolation. The aging older generation is locked in, unsure how to find community.
Let’s teach each other what universal love is about while keeping our own opinions to a minimum and moderated, and other opinions validated.
Everybody does and says stupid sh*t sometimes, but often people are loving and pleasant when you see through their fears.
Help spread love, your way.
