The selfie

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Each week over the last sixty eight weeks I've run a little engagement initiative here on hive. It started during an enforced work-from-home-lockdown period at the beginning of the pandemic as something fun to do and with the hope a few would get involved.

I set a topic on Friday and invite people to engage in the comments then on Monday wrap it up and hand out some hive to a few who got involved. So far I've handed out over 4000 hive in those weeks, but more importantly met new people, built relationships and had a lot of fun!

In week sixty eight, this week, I decided to do a phone photography topic and invite people to share and explain a photo from their phone, a photo of basically anything. You can see the post here if you're keen to get involved.

One of the options people could choose was a selfie, which a few decided to do, and whilst I shared a phone photo in the topic post already I thought I'd do a selfie post as well because why the hell not right?

That's me in the photo above, taken only yesterday so it's about as up to date as it's going to get. I know, I know, it's a little frightening but it's the only head I have so there's no choice but to work with it. I'm just me, for better or worse.

I'm a fifty one year old chap and have seen some life; a lot really. I've had success and failure, did good and bad things and have gained a great deal of wisdom along the way. I'm not overly intelligent but not what I'd call stupid and I have some great qualities I believe. Generosity, kindness, humility, strength of character and so on. But I can be many other things and do so as required in life.

I don't suffer fools gladly and don't like inequality...I guess that comes through in the quote I selected at the start of this post.

I don't see colour, I see character and no matter what colour a person is if I see a poor character and poor behaviour I act (react) accordingly.

I set high standards for myself and hold low expectations of others; probably a by-product of being used and abused over the years, and this leads me to generally keep most people at arms length most often. I'm not a peopley person, but should someone hold my trust there's little I wouldn't do for them. I'm a good man to have in one's corner, or so my friends say.

I could go on, but I won't. I'm not that interesting. Nope, I'm just a very average flawed, fallible and broken chap who tries to make his way through life the best he can.

I like parts of myself, my traits, thoughts and abilities, and don't like other aspects...My eyes for instance. It's something that people comment on most often here on hive when there's a photo of me in my posts. They always comment that I have my Oakley's on. I do it to hide my eyes y'all.

There's other things too but that's normal; our pendulum's swing both ways right? I'm ok, and am not, depending on which direction the pendulum is going at any given point. I've learned how to work with it, even how to influence it however it will always, always, go one way then the other. That's how life is. Overall though...Yeah, I'm not too horrendous and have a thing or two of value about me and whilst I may look ugly, inside or out to some, I'm only able to be me and so I have to accept that and seek my best version as often as I can - Of myself and life also.

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So, this is selfie has been prompted by the weekend-engagement post and if you want to get involved follow the link to week sixty eight's topic and leave a comment. You don't have to do a selfie but are most welcome to if you like.