Sorry for the super late reply. Life's just been a roller coaster lately :P

Though I realize a lot of people are not very comfortable or healthy and leave in even poorer areas and struggle even more than I do. Pretty crazy though still when you think about just how much goes into making this all work.

Indeed. But the good news is, the global poverty rate is decreasing super fast. Never before in history have people been able to live such comfortable and healthy lives. But yeah, we still have a long way to go and it's in our best interest that we use our resources mindfully, which we unfortunately don't seem to be doing.

and I'm pretty good at showing my feelings and appreciation.. Though I could definitely still do a lot more and your words here are a good reminder.

Looks like I need to learn this from people like you :) Even if I really want to thank or compliment someone, sometimes it's just too hard to deal with the fear of ending up in a awkward situation. I'm slowly getting better at it though.

And I haven't even made that much especially since I started the IFC I've been donating probably more than I've been making, however.. Even the couple thousand that my account is worth I think is amazing.. At one point when steem was at it's high in value my account was worth $50,000!

Woah! That's a lot of 0's lol! Looking at what you've done for the platform, I think you deserve every penny of it :)

After a while I realized that I'm not selling out and that it's a great improvement in my opinion to old social media like Facebook which basically steal and keep all the money for themselves.

Accepting money for the content that you provide isn't "selling out." You are simply receiving one valuable (money) in exchange for a different valuable (your content) that you provide.

About Facebook though, it indeed steals a lot including the views that YouTube should've received because pirates on Facebook take videos from Youtube, label it as their own, and publish it on their own Facebook page which Facebook doesn't take any actions against. They are even going to release their own cryptocurrency soon. I wonder if similar things will happen then too.

Thanks sauravrungta! I'm glad you introduced ayushjalan to all this. I've learned a lot from him! :)

It goes both ways buddy :) I've learned so much from you.

I was bullied when younger too and for a year or two I was a bully myself to a degree.. Glad I evolved out of that quickly, some people seem to get stuck there their whole lives!

I think for a lot of people, becoming a bully is a defense mechanism so they don't get hurt by one themselves. It's the whole "If you can't defeat them, join them" ideology or something like that. This, however, only sets you up for a life filled with anger, hate, and restlessness.

I'm glad you evolved out of that phase pretty quick. I can never imagine you as a bully.

I don't think we "need" bullies like some people do, I think it'd be great if people could just gt along and respect each other for the most part and not go out of their way to F with others unnecessarily.

Of course we don't need them. There are tons of other really good and healthy ways of becoming stronger and more resilient. But if you've survived them, you're already pretty badass in my dictionary.

Deep... I can vibe with this a lot, brought a couple tears to my eyes especially as I've been struggling even just recently with some depression and it'd be so much easier to just disappear, but.. I think I'll be grateful that I didn't.. And that I kept trying.. And that I never gave up.. And even if it's hard to live with myself sometimes, I think it's a great idea to be mindful and try to thank myself for going through so much and still being here.

Been there. It sucks big time. But I think what my journey through fighting depression taught me is that it's okay to bleed it out. Not literally of course. I mean it's okay to let people know that you are hurting and you are not emotionally available at the moment and most importantly, to ask for help if you need it.

And hey.. As much as I'd love to fall in love again and have a family, if it doesn't work out.. At least I have myself! :) I think that's one of the most profound things we can realize while we're alive. Many never get it and essentially kill themselves because they don't gt the external love that they want.. But if we can learn to love ourselves and "fall in love" with ourselves.. Then that is pretty ultimate! No one can really take that away from us.

Exactly. Something is still better than nothing. Romantic love is important but it's not the only thing that life is for. The Eastern philosophy of love works wonders for people who see beauty in everyday things and living life the simple way.

Awesome post and entry man! I'm constantly surprised by how good your writing is, though perhaps I shouldn't be? It's getting to the point where I should almost just expect it. Yet.. It's still nice to be pleasantly surprised over and over again by the writings of someone I've never met in person who lives like half way around the world. :) Peace.

That's the best thing I've read today, haha! You sure do know how to make me smile Paul :) I'm super grateful that my writings are able to spark thought inside you so often. If I can keep doing that, I'd say I've already won something more precious than the contest.

Keep in touch buddy :)