all events that lead to the singularity of hollowing.
It’s as though a part of your emotional and spiritual spectrum has gone missing or suppressed to the darkest depths of the lifestream.
Where do you go? How do you break free
When the most intense aspects of you have been locked up and chained, cursed to await a judgment that may never come.
It keeps you locked away from those you love despite keeping you safe from your most dangerous reflexes — reflexes that may also help you survive.
The barriers are like walls that refuse to break. Sealed by the universe like some punishment usually reserved for the most vile in existence?
Is this my fate, to be hollow, restrained and neutered of any true inner vigor? Have I been sentenced to a life of numbness out of some false sense of chasing safety?
Time will tell, although I fear its answer won’t be a kind one but one that is crueler than any foul beast I’ve ever faced.
What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?
Going full ham in disclosure on living with mental illness in the form of Recurrent Depression. I have tried to keep my mental health issues separate from my content creation. This approach is to protect myself and possibly others outside of my creative endeavors.
The risk is great as it will expose so much. On the other hand, it may help others that may feel disenfranchised by the stigma of mental illness.
AI art imagining Tampa recovering from Milton in the style of Junji Ito.
Here’s another sobering perspective on this whole aid situation w/getting the whole county to 100% — let’s talk about…South Park.
When parts of the town were gentrified, there was a lot of construction and renovation in the desired areas. All else was left to fall apart. Those areas were where the South Park local community lived, especially the Marshes, Cartmans, McCormicks to name some families. The new, upgraded areas were given priority while the older, lower income areas were either low priority or outright neglected.
I’m glad to see our city recover quickly. However, let’s be honest about where the immediate recovery has happened first. The areas with higher income, tourism and commerce. The rest of the city, though coming together, got the lag.
Let’s also look at another perspective — geography and vulnerability. 103 years, Tampa felt exempt to even 50% a Hurricane hit. Then Helene came by and shook it up like a warning shot. Pinellas County isn’t a surprise when it comes to it but it’s Hillsborough, actual Tampa, that had been extremely lucky. Milton wasn’t a direct hit but it did topple 3/4 of our power grid. Imagine if it did arrive at its full power and gave us a direct hit. We’d have a very different conversation.
Tampa was the most vulnerable to get whacked as far as preparation to mitigate hurricane damage. That’s what people said. Milton just exposed that weakness. This is similar to a fighter who always escapes defeat. Or worse, they always win. They know they are the most vulnerable to a vicious knockout punch or submission because of their approach to combat. Then they finally got rocked by some dude. Instead of being in the ER on life support, they’re just there for a surgery. The surgery is taking less time than expected.
I wasn’t affected in the manner 75% of the city was. However, setting foot outside my townhouse complex to go to work gave me an immense dose of reality. It was like living in an isolated, well-built castle. Stepping out felt like entering a dark land of shadow. Things outside looked grim. It made me feel incredibly grateful about how well I had it. The majority of others weren’t as fortunate.
