It is Over Now
*On the shackles and bondage of fear I have placed myself*
*On the hilltops of disbelief do I dangle from*
*On the roaring belly of impossibility I now descend*
*Shadows and apparitions of " I can't" await my arrival*
*As I fall into the dark pit of failure*
*In the pit of failure I shivered*
*A harsh cold welcome awaited me*
*My soul sank into the cesspool of impossibility*
*Peace of mind eluded me*
*Down the ocean of failure*
*Sprays of shimmers shone from above*
*Opportunity was at the bank*
*My monsters reared their ugly heads*
*Fear and impossibility bounded me*
*Failure is dark and empty*
*There is nothing to be sure of*
*Only the broken songs of "I can't"*
*But it is over now*
*I am my own captain*
*The ship isn't wrecked until I decide so*
*Up I swam into the shimmers of opportunities*
*The shackles dragged me down but I won't give a damn*
*Up I go, shackles or not*
*Fear or not*
*Impossibility or not*
*I swam into my sprays of redemption*
*The shimmering crystals ridded me of my bondage*
*Its sword of "I can" ripped them apart*
*On the shore now I lie*
*Ready to drag myself off to the sun*
*And dry myself of the remnants of the river of fear,*
*Of the river of impossibility*
🌹🌹🌹🌹
Alone in the wilderness
*I am lost in a wilderness.*
*I look forth and back for a helper.*
*I sought help from the rich,*
*They are engrossed in their extravagant lifestyle.*
*I sought help from the poor,*
*Their needs are far beyond mine.*
*Where am I? I wonder;*
*What am I doing here, I ponder.*
*Oh! I am lost.*
*I am lost in the wilderness of want.*
*I want the riches of life.*
*I want to get the best out if life,*
*But am on my own.*
*Nobody wants to help.*
*Life!*
*Why Hart thou cruel?*
*So full of ups and down.*
*The rich lives freely.*
*Their offsprings get what they want anytime.*
*Here I am, wandering in my father's land.*
*Wandering in the land of want,*
*Where the opulence gets all for free.*
*The poor feeds from hand to mouth.*
*One day, I will find the route.*
*I will get back home.*
*One day! I shall be liberated from the wilderness of want.*
🌹🌹🌹🌹
You Lost Me!
It's true when i said I can't live without you,
Because now you left, and took your affection too,
I have every reason to call myself an angel,
Because you killed me, yet am alive and well.
Although loving you felt so perfect,
But trusting you along was a big defect,
Interesting how you let me go so soon,
Well you never knew i ll heal from your prune.
You looked at me in the face,
Without a second glance you ended our love race.
You lost me when you walked away.
Then I realized, life takes place behind the face.
In the night the stars came to me.
The moon and the stars wiped my tears.
Now I have no fears.
Now am liberated and free.
Choose bitcoin cash over bitcoin.
Hello read.cash family.
Bitcoin is considered the king of crypto currency because its the first of its kind and is very popular.
Crypto currency investors would advice you to trade and invest in bitcoin because the demand for it is high and its grows consistently.
They tell you its offers you decentralization, safety and security which to my knowledge bitcoin cash does the same.
What they do not tell you about Bitcoin
They do not tell you that bitcoin has become quite expensive and untop of that it is very slow compared to other altcoins like bitcoin cash.
Secondly, transaction charges involving bitcoin has become increasingly high and this is beginning to forfeit the purpose of adopting crypto currency.
Bitcoin cash offers more.
Its true that bitcoin's massive adoption has made it very slow to transact and its transaction fee quite ridiculous but that is a great advantage for Bitcoin cash users.
Bitcoin cash transactions are very fast. Imagine if you had to wait several hours before your bitcoin cash transfered from your read.cash to your bitcoin cash wallet confirms.
Bitcoin cash transfer fee are very low. Imagine if you had to send $100 worth of bitcoin to a family/friend and you had to pay $10 for transaction fee when bitcoin cash charges barely $0.001.
So if you are looking to invest in crypto currency or trade your goods and services for crypto then i would advice you choose bitcoin cash over bitcoin.
Ps:The transaction fee stated in the article might be more or less.
Cheers.
How i made my friend adopt using bitcoin cash as a means of payment.
Hey Guys!!! Its been a while i posted here and this is due to unforseen life events but i follow closely and i see what a great job @Read.Cash teams are doing with the constant upgrade.
Spread the good news about Bitcoin Cash (My story)
Few days ago I was looking to buy a new laptop as my old laptop was bad. I spoke with a friend via whatsapp who sells laptop and he had the perfect one i wanted and could afford.
Do not assume everyone knows about bitcoin cash
I made a deal with him about the laptop and offered to pay with crypto (bitcoin cash) but Alas!!! my friend barely knows what bitcoin cash was...
**The second image shows when i offered to pay bitcoin cash.**
Suprisingly my friend knew little or nothing about bitcoin cash and this was my opportunity to preach the good news about bitcoin cash to him. He downloaded a blockchain wallet and even got himself two other sales recieveing crypto as a means of payment.
Well, I won over a fan for crypto and foe bitcoin cash.
Cryptocurrency is still relatively small with around 1% of the world's population owning this asset class and while many more have heard of it, they still remain unconvinced over its use and I do not blame them, it takes a lot of mental gymnastics to fully embrace and understands the beauty of cryptocurrency so there are certain behaviours that are understandable but need to be changed over time.
Spread the goodnews about bitcoin cash.
Cheers.
Victimized (poetry)
I didn't ask for this,
Oh! No please,
Don't touch me there,stop !
Can't you hear me?
Gaspingly,I wailed.
Ecstatically, my skin you made bare,
Every fabric on me you uncover,
My wails you disregarded,
To fulfil your filthy desire
As I pushed and clawed your chest.
Helplessly,I succumbed to your grip,
As every modicum of strength in me
Vanished away as you forced it,
Every inch of your filth in me
When I did not want it.
A victim of shame I became,
Like a thief publicly caned.
Your urge had been satisfied,
Nothing else mattered
As I lay there bruised and battered.
My pride you robbed off me,
Family name dragged into a muddy pit,
Glory of being chaste left
Yet,for me,no tear was shed
As my life is marred.
From a woman you came from,
A father of one you will become.
Forget not, you're not a shadow,
Karma will soon hit you like a crossbow,
So,get ready for your deathblow.
**sayNOtoRAPE**
Written 🖊🖊 *By Delight* .
Why me - (poetry)
WHY ME?!
Why are you putting the blame on me?
Is it a crime that I am a female?
No one wants to hear my story
All they believe is story.
They told me not to walk in a dark place
Yet I walk in a broad place
And still was raped
They asked me not to visit male friend
Yes I obeyed
But still was raped right in my own house
They told me not to wear a seductive and exposing clothes
Yes, I obeyed
Hardly will you see my leg from my gown
Yet I was raped.
No where is safe for me anymore
I can't hide in my home
Because right there I was raped
I can't hide in the church
Because it has turned to Den of thieves
I can't walk in an open place
because it is not safe either.
Where can I go?
Who can I trust?
Who will listen to my story and believe me?
Who will tell me that it is not my fault?
Who will stop this criticism on ladies and
Focus on how to curbed rape?
Why ladies?
Why Female?
Why me?
This is an entry to a a poetry contest i am running on my whatsapp group to create awareness for the fight against rape.
Poem by #Anointed_pen
More to come
Stay tuned. Cheers
First Crypto currency ATM installed in Nigeria (Africa)
Yes!!! You read it right. We have always traded fiat currencies with crypto currencies via peer to peer trading system or via an exchange platform and sometimes these deals are usually not fair or you stand the risk of been defrauded of your money or cryptos.
**Nigeria gets its first Bitcoin ATM in Lagos as Blockstale begins plans to install over 30 Bitcoin ATMs across the country.**
Bitcoin ATMs have increased in popularity around the world due to the need for more options to buy and sell bitcoin.
Until now, Nigeria, one of the biggest cryptocurrency markets in Africa, has not had any Bitcoin ATMs installed. The first Bitcoin ATM in Lagos was installed by Blockstale, a new Bitcoin ATM startup in Nigeria.
The Bitcoin ATM in Lagos is located at Dazey Lounge and Bar, Ajah, Lagos State, and allows users to buy bitcoin with the Nigerian Naira.
Source : https://blocknewsafrica.com/first-nigerian-bitcoin-atm/
When this wonderful news got to myself and my friends. We knew the bright future we predicted for crypto currency and its global adoption is almost upon us.
How does this Crypto Atm looks like and How does it operate?
To get a sneak peak on how it works and how transactions are carried out on this beautiful technology. You might want to take a look at this video.
https://youtu.be/du2v8JjFQdk
What does this mean for prospective investors in Bitcoin cash and crypto in general?
This gives investors in africa more confidence in crypto currency due to the legal uncertainties that has undermine the trust and adoption of crypto. This new found confidence would mean more activities in the crypto space in the coming months and could futher increase the price of cryptos.
However, the number of Nigerians on LocalBitcoins has dropped by about 50% since the peer to peer platform strengthened its *know your customer requirements* around September 2019.
**Goodnews** is that bitcoin can be bought via the atm without the need of the "know your customer requirements". This eliminates the need to provide any means of identification before any transaction can be done as you have watched in the video above.
*As at the time of writing this i have not had the priviledge to carry out a transaction on the bitcoin atm but when i do i will be sure to update this and give you guys statistics on daily transaction limit and confirmation period into individual wallets.*
The future of crypto is bright. Spread the good news.
Cheers.
Add video features to Read.cash please
Dear @Read.Cash I understand you have a lot of on going projects to make read.cash a very user friendly and wonderful platform.
I have a few concerns though, I would like that you add a feature that enable me upload a video to further compliment my articles here on this platform rather than share a link that redirects users to a differnt page to watch the video...The duration of a video could be limited thats fine so long i get to upload a video just like it works with gifs. Thanks in anticipation for a reply or implementation.
Cheers.
Question Me (poetry)
I have walked countless miles
And I have seen many faces, places, events, and things
I have brushed shoulders with strangers
Who wore their life stories on their sleeves
And their faces
But I was too distracted by the color of their eyes
Or their fabulous hairstyles to notice,
That
They were saying to the world
As they just walked on by…
DO YOU SEE ME?
They were displaying the story of their lives
For all the world to see,
In the way that they limped through life
Or the way that they expressed a lazy smile
If they smiled at all.
Or the way they pulled their shoulders inward
Or how they were so careful not to touch
Or brush up against those they walked amongst.
And sometimes it was that distant stare
Showing that they were self-consumed and pre-occupied.
Through the millions of encounters
Of this lifetime
I missed it,
Misinterpreted, failed to receive
The communication that the strangers
Of which I am thee and they are me.
That I walked side by side with each day
Had something to say.
They spoke in their very being of their hurt and fears,
Their insignificance it seemed
And in the way, they hurried from one place to the next,
Was their scream.
That life had been unfair and that no one seemed to care
And how they were at wit’s end
And that desperation and hopelessness were setting in.
And in their abrasiveness or to the other extreme their overfriendliness
They were reaching out in a whisper
That they were alone or amongst many yet still lonely, and suspended
As they struggled to find their ground.
And their scattered energies made life appear to be just a dream.
I was never able to come to their rescue
And maybe it was not my task to do
But still, the chance was never mine to entertain
Because I missed what they truly wanted to say
That was right in front of me.
And as the world turns,
life goes on and my story continues
Yet of only a mere fraction thereof do I remember.
I have gone to universities
For them to teach me what I already know
And did not need,
And I paid them to do so.
All because there is an inkling
That there is something more Indeed.
And in truth, I am sensing knowledge that is already there,
Lingering in the reservoirs of my periphery
In records just waiting for me to tap into and access.
Experiences and knowledge of things both original and shared from this lifetime
And many lives before,
I have learned more than what I remember
I have taken in through my eyes
A million things that did not register consciously
But got lost in translation
Because mentally I could not keep up with all that my eyes took in
Of the rapid rate at which I felt things
Heard noises that went unnoticed
That got processed and pushed deep into the subconscious of my mind
Because a part of me deemed these things unimportant,
So the experiences got logged in file 13
Somewhere in the backroom of me
Yet all these things are still there
Lying dormant
And about them, I have a knowing
An experience with.
So Ask me, question me, about many things
And allow us both to be surprised
At the answers that were long ago forgotten but once again shall manifest.
Triggered by the questions you request.
*All Images by Pixabay.com*
Crypto knwoledge : Be careful of Wash Trading In Cryptocurrency.
What Does Wash Trading Mean In Cryptocurrency?
When it comes to cryptocurrency we've often thrown with several terms and numbers and it can be pretty hard for the average user to understand what they all mean and we're always looking for simplification. This yearning for simplification has seen certain numbers become popular metrics for judging the success of a cryptocurrency as well as how it is progressing. Those numbers are normally
Market cap
Coin value
Transactions on the network
Active wallets/users on the network
Many novice cryptocurrency holders look at these figures and base how they are going to invest and where they are going to invest, which is why there is an incentive to fudge these numbers and massage them to attract investor capital.
One way to manipulate cryptocurrency is through wash trading, which has been a popular tactic for many coins especially during the bull run of 2017. The practice has died down since then in relative terms but it doesn't mean it been completely removed from the ecosystem and still thrives in obscure parts of the blockchain space.
**What is wash trading?**
Wash trading is a form of market manipulation in which an investor simultaneously sells and buys the same financial instruments to create misleading, artificial activity in the marketplace. First, an investor will place a sell order, then place a buy order to buy from themself, or vice versa
Wash trading is used to move the price up or down depending on the goals of the company while also improving the amount of trade volume per day and make the coin seem more actively traded than it actually is propping it up and making it more attractive to investors.
In some cases, we've even seen collusion with exchanges to assist in wash trading or actively misreport the data on a certain coin.
Why is wash trading so popular
Have you ever heard of the term fake it until you make it? Well that's primarily the reason why coins try to wash trade. To give off the appearance of being highly active and having ample liquidity in order to attract traders onto their platform.
While there is no direct financial harm observable for traders on platforms that engage in wash trading — the lack of meaningful market data can fool traders.
This could get investors to jump on a coin while its "hot" and encourage them into taking positions in illiquid tokens without realising that there is possibly no significant market activity available at all.
Keeping your eyes open
It's important to do your research before purchasing any coin and review multiple data sources and both positive and negative sentiment about a specific coin. Don't simply invest based on numbers, especially one or two basic figures and look at other fundamentals such as GitHub commits, partnerships, use cases and much more.
*Thanks for stopping by.*
*Cheers*.
Crypto knowledge vii: what is satoshi (A break down of bitcoin)
Hello Readians (Lol i had to coin that out from read.cash). I would just like to share some basic information about the break down of bitcoin value.
There was a time not too long ago where Bitcoins were a dime a dozen, no letterly, you could even get like thousands for a dime. While most of us never knew about them back then or did but didn't pay attention to Bitcoin, it kept gaining value.
As Bitcoins were lost over time
As the cost of mining grew
As the demand for an alternative store of value surged and
As an investment in blockchain technology started to trickle in.
This little digital coins began to increase in value. Now the time of owning a single Bitcoin is becoming harder and harder and out of the hands of many of the world's population.
**A whole or a Piece Dilemma**
Bitcoin is currently seen as an investment to most who are new to the space and want to take advantage of its consistent increase in value over time. While many would like to own 1 BTC, many feel discouraged because they cannot hold a full BTC and do not invest.
A misunderstanding many new cryptocurrency investors have often make a mistake to avoid BTC when deciding to invest. They prefer the idea of holding a whole of another token than a piece of BTC.
**Bitcoin breakdown**
A bitcoin can be broken down into many pieces up to eight decimals after the comma with the smallest unit of value being a **Satoshi**. Every **Satoshi** you own has the same characteristics as a full Bitcoin and will increase relatively in buying power along with the price measured in a total BTC.
The ability to break down Bitcoin into smaller parts means anyone can invest and own an amount of Bitcoin they are comfortable with investing, using or HODLing.
Here is a break down of the accessible units of Bitcoin.
**Abbreviation >> Name >>>Unit In BTC**
**BTC >>> Bitcoi >>> 1.0 BTC**
**mBTC >>> Millibitcoin >>> 0.001**
**µBTC >>> Microbitcoin >>> 0.000001**
**SAT >>> Satoshi >>> 0.00000001**
Which means you don't have to own a BTC outright you can hold various pieces of them and add them together over time. It's a very accommodating system that aims to help all of us get involved.
**It doesn't stop there**
While the Satoshi is the smallest value on the BTC network, it is not the lowest overall. As the introduction of the lightning network begins to grow with new nodes being added each week.
Bitcoin now has a second-layer solution for solving transactions that are faster and doesn't require the mainchain to secure the transactions allowing the network to confirm transactions in milli-satoshis, which is literally a thousandth of a satoshi.
Thanks for stopping by.
*Cheers*.
Crypto knowledge vi : How to trade your bitcoincash from read.cash
I decided to make this post because @Stella raised a concerned in the comment section of one of my articles that she still doesnt know how to withdraw and trade her bitcoin cash from read.cash.
**Congratulations!** If you have made your earnings and probably being tipped by one or two persons here on read.cash. This article would provide you an easy guide to help you send your money.
**Different Cash Out Requirements**
There are many things you must have when cashing out Bitcoin cash from read.cash. Here are a few:
An external wallet
A bitcoin cash wallet address
A bitcoin or altcoin address should in case you wish to convert bitcoin cash to another type of crypto.
**Step by Step guide to sending your money from read.cash.**
Login to your read.cash page
Click the menu bar close to your fund balance
Select send my money from the menu bar
Insert amount in usd that you wish to send
Paste your bitcoin cash wallet address that you might have copied from your external wallet.
Note that your coin would be lost if you copy a wallet address other than bitcoin cash wallet address
If you wish to convert to other crypto, then select convert to other crypto at the top of the transaction page.
Select your choice of coin you wish to convert to and paste its wallet address i.e ethereum would require you paste an ethereum address.
Hit send and your bitcoin cash would be sent.
**How to trade my bitcoin cash to Fiat currency.**
Fiat currencies are simply local currencies used in our respective countries for day to day payments.
Since crypto currency is yet to be adopted globally we sometimes need to convert to our fiat currency to spend them.
The following are two ways by which you can convert your bitcoin cash to fiat currency with ease:
**Peer-to-Peer**
Peer to Peer is simply a way of trading cryptos between you and your friends. It is quite safe with minimum risk.When selling Bitcoin cash in peer to peer, you can decide which payment method you want the buyers to use. These include:
Cash deposit: You can ask the buyer to deposit cash into your bank account. However, you should always ask them for proof of ID and proof of Payment before releasing your Bitcoin cash to them.
Bank Transfer: You can ask the buyer to send you a bank transfer payment. Before trying this method on how to cash out bitcoin be sure to always request proof of ID from the buyer before going ahead. Once you have received the money, you can release the Bitcoin cash to them.
Meet in person for cash: You can arrange to meet up with a buyer who is local to you, and they will pay you in cash for your Bitcoin cash.
P2P selling is safe if you know what you’re doing. However, it’s important to be aware of fraudsters.
**Third Party Broker Exchange**
**How it works is like this:** You deposit your Bitcoin cash into the exchange, then once the exchange has received your Bitcoin cash, you can request a fiat currency withdrawal. The most common way to do this via a bank (wire) transfer.
I hope this information was helpful. Kindly drop your comments, questions and contribution.
Happy EID MUBARAK to all muslim brothers and sisters.
Cheers.
Crypto knowledge v: Crypto market makers.
Market making is an indispensable but misunderstood sector of the crypto industry. I would like to share a few details about crypto market makers.
**What do market makers do**
Market makers, also known as liquidity providers, play a fundamental role in asset markets by simultaneously quoting bid (buy) and ask (sell) prices for assets on an exchange. By quoting prices at which they stand ready to buy and sell assets, they facilitate price discovery and liquid trading by other market participants. In addition, by quoting prices on different trading venues and arbitraging away inter-market dislocations across different markets, market makers increase overall market efficiency.
**Market making in crypto markets**
Digital asset markets lowers the barriers to entry that impede the general public from market making in traditional financial markets. In particular, individual traders have direct market access to digital asset exchanges, enabling them to provide price quotes and execute trades programmatically using the same APIs as professional firms. Digital asset exchanges also provide market data feeds free of charge.
While certain exchanges provide volume-based fee rebates that favor professional trading firms, they generally do not offer co-location or other features that provide significant competitive advantages to large players at the expense of smaller ones. In fact, the location of servers hosting a digital asset exchange is typically a tightly kept secret. In addition, since the digital asset exchange landscape is highly competitive with hundreds of active, globally accessible venues, exchanges who introduce anti-competitive features risk losing business from individual traders and small firms.
Yet despite the lowering of competitive barriers to market making, there remains relatively few market maker compared to the proliferation of digital assets and exchanges, leading to the extreme concentration in liquidity. Market makers for digital assets, primarily quantitative hedge funds and trading firms, are in high demand, evidenced by the compensation they receive from both exchanges and token issuers.
**Why do you need market makers?**
Market makers create important benefits to token projects and exchanges. First and foremost, market makers enable liquid trading so that buyers and sellers can readily buy and sell the asset at reasonable prices while minimizing the friction costs of transacting. In other words, market makers aim to help maintain a healthy order book with tight bid/ask spreads. Healthy order books minimize volatility and increase the stability of the token price.
In today’s fragmented crypto market, a $100k block trade of a top-50 coin could possibly result in a trader losing 10% due to **slippage**, the difference between the observed market price and the actual execution price. Lack of liquidity can also increase the risk of a **flash crash**, which occurs when a large market sell order clears out all the top buy offers in the order book and instantaneously moves the price downward substantially.
**In order to improve token liquidity, most token projects, particularly those listed on the major exchanges, and newly launched or long-tail exchanges choose to hire professional market makers, while established exchanges will also incentivize market makers by providing low trading fees and even rebates.**
Market makers exist in all markets even beyond the crypto space. Most merchants are actually a market maker because they trade the spread.
Cheers.
_some info gotten from: hummingbot.io_
This post was made by special request from @Koush .
Crypto knowledge IV : What Are Bitcoin Forks?
Open-source technology which Bitcoin is part of is great for collaboration and trying out variations of ideas to find the best solution. Since anyone can have access to the code base and creates a duplicate version of Bitcoin means some have had their own view of how Bitcoin can be improved and this has lead to forks of the original code and blockchain
The pull of the Bitcoin brand and its ability to be used interchangeably between all cryptocurrencies as well as its large market share as lead to many news investors becoming confused by the various forks available.
The psychological need to want to own a whole of something has also driven the popularity of Bitcoin forks as owning a whole Bitcoin Cash or Bitcoin Gold can seem more attractive than a fraction of Bitcoin. https://www.nichemarket.co.za/blog/nichemarket-advice/bitcoin-cash-bch
**What is a Bitcoin fork?**
A Bitcoin fork happens when two schools of thought for improvements for the network clash and the community decides to split off and persue a new idea while other remains with the original course of action.
Forks are typically conducted in order to add new features to a blockchain or to reverse the effects of hacking or catastrophic bugs like with the split between Ethereum and Ethereum classic.
Forks require consensus to be resolved or else a permanent split emerges and two coins with separate chains will go forward. Since Bitcoin is the first and most popular coin and chain, it has been forked numerous times into various projects.
**The history of Bitcoin forks**
Going into the various forms of forks and reasons why can be a bit complicated so I will only deal with Hard Forks of Bitcoin in this post of which there have been three that have had considerable uptake.
The following is a list of hard forks splitting bitcoin by date and/or block:
Bitcoin Cash: Forked at block 478558, 1 August 2017, for each bitcoin (BTC), an owner got 1 Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Gold: Forked at block 491407, 24 October 2017, for each BTC, an owner got 1 Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
Bitcoin SV: Forked at block 556766, 15 November 2018, for each Bitcoin Cash (BCH), an owner got 1 Bitcoin SV (BSV).
Bitcoin Cash
The first big fork in the Bitcoin network came in the form of Bitcoin Cash which was due to the rising fees in Bitcoin Transactions. The community was split on how to resolve this and some decided to hard fork to increase the blocksize.
The adoption of bigger block sizes was seen as a way to turn Bitcoin into a more suable currency than a simple store of value and this a new coin was born.
Bitcoin Gold
Bitcoin Gold (BTG) was a Hard Fork that Implements New Mining Algorithm in July 2018. The actual algorithm that was developed by Zcash and modified the algorithm into something called Equihash-BTG. The new algorithm requires more memory than the one that was originally developed by Zcash.
The stated purpose of the hard fork is to change how Bitcoin was mined so that application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) miners could not mine and centralise the Bitcoin Gold blockchain.
Bitcoin Satoshis Vision
Bitcoin SV isn't only a fork of Bitcoin but a fork of a fork. Bitcoin Cash was split on 15 November 2018. A hard fork chain split of Bitcoin Cash occurred between two rival factions called Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV.
Bitcoin ABC (short for Adjustable Blocksize Cap) which would maintain the block size at 32MB.
While Bitcoin SV, short for "Bitcoin Satoshi's Vision," that would increase the block size limit to 128MB.
**Sticking a fork in it**
Despite these projects having the name Bitcoin in the title, they are not Bitcoin or associated with Bitcoin in any way and are completely different projects. They have their own wallets and blockchain and need to be traded and treated like any other altcoin.
Have you bought any of the Bitcoin forks? Which one do you own? Why do you believe in Bitcoin forks? Do you believe they improve or only disrupt the ecosystem?
I own some bitcoin cash and i believe it has a promising future.
Cheers.
My read.cash Journey Will Continue...I love it.
**One day my friend invited me to take a ride**
On a platform called read.cash.
So I left Facebook and other platforms.
We rode through worlds and adventures without end
**Amazing food recipes at your fingertips**
I learnt great food recipes from different parts of the world. I havent had to try them yet because of the lockdown and restriction of movement but i will sure do.
**Looking to grow your crypto knowledge**
I had before this journey known about cryptocurrency but upon arriving i learnt more and my understanding about crypto broadened.
**Hey! You wrote well, keep this token**
Hahahaha amazing right that while on this journey you could even get tips for your wonderful articles. Yeah trust me when i had my first tip while on this journey from the legandry @koush . I felt over the moon.
**I want to continue this journey with diversity and other opportunities**
I dare to continue to breathe In this new paradigm,
An enigma in plain sight to which many are still blind.
As I move through phases and stages
That beckons me to greater worlds and opportunities.
Now I am rising and standing tall, unlike my former years...
I love this journey.
Cheers.
Beyond the Surreal To Serenity
Awakened once more from the days of dreaming
I remember this place my home from long ago
I remember this world that always nurtured me
Once upon a long time ago
Far removed from lifetimes
When all our abilities were online within
When we knew our power and our brilliance
When we worked and accomplished and evolved
In a blink, in a quickening.
We walked the path
And earned our way to maturity
Seldom did we make regretful mistakes
Our focus was laser sharp
And we were mindful of our actions
Responding when the situation met and warranted a reaction.
The time came when we moved on
Ascending back to our origins
Now we have been called to return again
To rescue and guide and protect the children
Of our lineage.
And now is the time that they too must remember to transform and ascend.
With them, we will merge in this place of surreal serenity.
Crypto knwoledge III: What Is the Bitcoin Halving?
What Is The Bitcoin Halving
Many of us who are now in the crypto space were attracted by the news of Bitcoin and how it continues to grow in price every year. While it is an inflation rate like any other currency (meaning new coins are minted each day), it is still a deflationary system as the number of coins created become less and less with time up until the last Bitcoin is mined.
We recently hit the milestone of 18 million Bitcoin in 10 years and 3 million to go, as their will only ever be 21 million Bitcoin. However, the next 3 million BTC will take a total of 120 years to produce, with the last one being minted in 2140.
So how do ten years get you 18 million but 120 years will only add 3 million more? Well, a lot of it has to do with the Bitcoin having process.
What is a bitcoin halving?
The Bitcoin halving or halvening as some like to call it is an event that happens once every 210 000 blocks. Once 210 000 blocks are added to the chain, the rewards miners receive for doing their work is cut in half. Miners will earn 50% fewer rewards for their work, meaning that less Virgin bitcoin is created.
The current reward for completing a Bitcoin block is 12.5 Bitcoin, but it will be reduced in the next halving to 6.25 coins per confirmed block.
**When is the next bitcoin halving?**
The bitcoin halving already happened 18 May 2020, when the number of blocks hits 630,000.
**Why are Bitcoin halvings important?**
The theory is that as less Bitcoin is added to the system, the ones currently in circulation become more valuable over time. The limit on new supply means owners will charge higher prices if demand remains strong.
While we can see that as Bitcoin becomes more popular and having gone through three halvings, we've seen price growth, it's by no means a consistent uplift.
Looking at circumstances surrounding each halving, we see different behaviour due demand for bitcoin and prices can fluctuate wildly around this time.
**Less is more**
As current BTC owners continue to HODL, as we see more and more, BTC lost forever in wallets and cold storage. We will see the circulating supply continue to shrink as time goes by.
We will also see more Bitcoin locked up in the Liquid and Lightning side chains removing them from the main circulation. These side chains will require liquidity for the time being as they are used to settle specific smart contracts.
All these reasons, along with the halving, will bring even more scarcity to the market. Couple with it the irrational FOMO in the crypto space and you have a recipe for real price action. We could see it be the catalyst for new all-time highs and continue to push the currency to new heights
Crypto knwoledge II: What Is Blockchain Interoperability?
If you've tried to follow blockchain news and updates and you're not the most technically inclined, then you're probably drowning in words you don't understand. Speaking crypto is like learning an entirely new language and I'm not even talking about the coding, I'm referring to all the jargon being created in this space along with unique coins and concepts.
As the latest update in Ethereum called Istanbul starts to get closer to deployment, you may have noticed that the term "Interoperability" will be thrown out a lot as a future game-changer for blockchain projects.
**No blockchain can exist as an Island**
There are hundreds of blockchains available and being used for various reasons some are public, some are private, some are main chains, and some live as side chains, and with all this data being decentralised across various blockchains it means this data lives only in one environment
Currently, one blockchain does not know information that might exist in a different blockchain.
For Example, the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain exists entirely independently of the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and does not know any information recorded there — and vice versa.
**A loss of opportunity**
Blockchain-based projects are isolated from each other, despite existing within the same industry and working with the same technology it's hard and sometimes impossible to transfer information across chains.
As different projects choose different chains to build their projects on it can lead to isolation and projects can lose out on precious resources, data, users or value because chains cannot transfer information between one another.
**What is Blockchain interoperability?**
Interoperability when it comes to the blockchain means having a language that all chains can understand which would result in the free exchange of information or value across all blockchain networks without the need for intermediaries.
In an interoperable ecosystem, you can interact with users from other blockchain networks without spending resources on the translation or experiencing downtime.
**The benefits of Blockchain interoperability**
This means more robust and reliable Peer To Peer exchanges, this means better Decentralised exchange facilities, this means less reliance on centralised exchanges, this means saving on transfer costs across chains, this means allowing dapps to run on multiple blockchains and so much more.
**Creating one universal blockchain language**
If chains can start to speak to one another it will take decentralisation to an entirely new level, reduce costs as resources can be split across chains and consumers can reap the benefits of various blockchains.
Fewer blockages on the blockchain
So what do you think of being able to move across chains? Do you think it's the next phase in blockchain evolution? Will we see less tribalism around projects? How do you think it will change the way we use blockchain apps?
Let me know in the comments :)
Cheers.
Crypto knwoledge I: What Is Liquidity In Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is still trying to find its feet in various industries and use cases. For the moment the majority of investing for profit and loss taking are done via exchanges as people trade it as a speculative asset.
A large part of cryptocurrency value at the moment comes from buying and selling it for various altcoins or fiat pairs and trying to ride peaks and troughs in the market with the intention of making a profit.
Price obsessed
If you're only into cryptocurrency for the money, then swing trading and day trading should be where you would focus your energies. You would hang out on exchanges and follow information regarding market and price changes.
You will see countless content, websites, YouTube channels and more solely dedicated to the price and price moves of cryptocurrencies and what that means for investors.
One of the critical factors in buying into a cryptocurrency as well as price changes is the amount of liquidity available. I'm sure you've heard this term before, so what exactly is market liquidity as it pertains to cryptocurrency, and how does it affect the price of coins?
Let's take a look, shall we!
What is liquidity?
Liquidity refers to how much of an asset is available on the market for sale and the ease at which an asset can be exchanged (purchased or sold)for cash without affecting the price of that asset.
The more liquidity in the market the less chance of slippage, which means the price changes due to a large order going through.
For example, making a large order of a coin buying could push up the price and you would get less (of that coin) for your buy-in
While on the opposite side, selling a large order could push the price down and get you less for your sale
Investors want to avoid slippage as much as possible and look at order books on exchanges to see how much liquidity is available at a specific price point before buying in or selling.
Why is liquidity significant?
In terms of cryptocurrency, liquidity is scarce and is a Marco problem for the entire space, if it weren't we would not see the massive price swings synonymous with space.
Stability and manipulation
You all know the term pump and dump? It's become famous during the ICO era and any shitcoins had high valuations due to their lack of liquidity.
An illiquid market can allow a single large actor or group of actors to manipulate the price for their benefit and then sell off to the next round of investors effectively playing hot potato with the coin to see who gets stuck with the loss.
The more liquid a market is, the more stable it is with plenty of traders on the other side willing to fill the buy or sell order with minimal impact on the asset's price.
**Transaction time**
When you have more buy and sell orders available you are able to fill orders quickly instead of having to wait for other traders to sell or change their orders to match yours to fill your order. This makes transaction times a lot faster and traders can execute orders strategically to take advantage of inevitable price swings.
The more liquidity the larger the orders can be and the bigger the payoff, making trading with high liquidity much more attractive.
**Technical analysis**
One of the reasons I believe TA (Technical analysis) in cryptocurrency is a load of rubbish is due to the lack of liquidity. When a market has more liquidity it offers tighter spreads and greater stability liquidity brings. This helps the price remain stable and charting formation are more reliable and developed and to an extent more precise.
In low liquidity environments, where large trades are made it can skew all your TA in a second and human nature is one thing we cannot predict for and why price swings seem so aggressive in the space.
**Staying liquid**
Now that you understand liquidity you may want to think twice about investing in random coins that don't have liquidity sot he able to get out and take profits at a specific price becomes precarious.
I hope liquidity will become one of your many go-to metrics when investing in speculative efforts and wishing you plenty of profits in the future.
Cheers.
Going in
When life pulls you in many different directions
And out of nowhere the answer, magically appears
And you automatically have a knowing of what you can do
When suddenly before you stand an opportunity to just GO IN.
Go deeper and go all the way in, tap in
And in that instance with an undeniable knowing that you have nothing to lose.
And nothing else matters and nothing will change your mind
You are only focused on dropping down and entering in.
And once you arrive in the zone you are content to stay there, be there
And get done what you need to do.
For an hour or a day, distractions do not dominate.
You are in your perfect territory
And in those moments you are where you are supposed to be.
And if you choose to continue to go in you will master the art of zen.
In this place, you know what it takes to get it all done
What it takes to exceed your previous goals
to launch you higher Increasing your success ratio
You control the space, the field as your power you wield.
You are in complete harmony
On cloud nine in the fifth dimension of an epitome,
Yet the paradox of all you see is that you have to leave
And come back out and experience the opposite polarity
Which lands you on a constant plateau at your center in balance
As you reside in between the Journey within and the Journey on the side of out.
Beholding Brushstroke That Unraveled Me
With every brush stroke, I unraveled
As my eyes beheld every line, color, and hue
I changed
And suddenly I knew
Who I was again
Which caused me to cancel my flight
Change my clothes and rearrange my life.
I said no to so many things that I had previously agreed to do
I said yes to many others that I did not think was for me
Or where I was meant to be.
As I stood mesmerized at a painting
That would not let me just walk on by
I knew in an instant all the power and value my life held in totality
I knew my passions, my purpose, and my authenticity
I knew that I was indeed alive
As this masterpiece that contained hundreds of master brushstrokes
Held me hypnotized.
The curves, the lines the thickness fading out to the thinnest of the paint
That caused me to swoon and almost faint.
It spoke to me without saying a word
It called to me, sung to me, a song that I had never heard
And it imparted to me before I walked away, a hum
A hum, a hum of the universe,
That would forever stay in my circumference
And I knew that this hum would serve as my
Life’s navigator an indicator of whether or not I was going the right way.
The image of this painting had been imprinted on my mind locked into my cranium
Like the scent of an angel after an embrace had been rendered to humankind
Such as me. A scent that would accompany me a lifetime.
I thought I had already reached a higher consciousness of communication
From all the experiences that life had afforded me.
Yet this translation streaming through my spirit and soul
Had captured me Oh so completely.
And for only a minute I pondered
How could a brushstroke from an artist that would be a master it evidently seems
Convey, translate, transform and stir within me an enigma of a storm
That would/has relocated me back into a pure stream of knowledge that is so fresh and pure,
Where clarity and overstanding, innerstanding, understanding is the norm.
I bow, daily I bow in humble gratitude
For the day that I was led to walk in a certain direction
That would lead me to an artistic expression
That would shift so greatly my place and my periphery.
I find myself walking back down memory lane
Returning to cast my eyes once again, upon the brushstrokes that unraveled me
And so completely blew my mind
On a cellular, physical and etheric level ~ so intricately in space and time.
An Elixir of Mindfulness
*Just breathe and relax and take it all in right here,*
*At this moment.*
**It’s in the present that the magic happens.**
*It’s in the present that you are fully functional*
*And where you can find pure clarity*
*And where you can step beyond the parameters of time*
*And systems, programs, chemtrails, boundaries*
*Restrictions, and addictions and beyond the nightmares*
*And imprints that you have suppressed because you want to forget*
*Imprints that taunts your spirit from long ago.*
But we cannot continue to hold on to the past memories
*If we are to fix our relationships*
*We will do so in the present moment.*
*Because only now matters*
*What happened back then no longer has any power*
*Only the energy that we give the situation is what keeps it alive*
*And keeps it seeming to be real and significant*
*We need to let it go, make peace with it or if need be just forgive.*
By being present we can discover our true abundance
*And our power to shut down all limited programming*
*Which keeps us addicted to 'less and lack'*
*Who told you that you were not supposed to have all that you can imagine?*
*Who told you that wealth and riches were only meant for other people*
*Living in mindfulness will help you come into alignment with your own frequency*
*And move by your own true rhythms, causing your gifts to rise for all the world to see.*
And for some as wealth begins to flow to you and through you
*Step back and look at the big picture and see the reason why.*
*Money or crypto don’t always come just because others are giving*
*It comes oftentimes for you to be a conduit and a pipeline and a giver.*
*So wake up to the true-true and realize it's not always about you.*
When we wake up to the present we may discover
*That the storms in our lives did not begin today*
And if you find yourself connected to those that are making your life hell in the present
*It just may be a reflection, a residue of the past that you refuse to let go of.*
Ask yourself are you really the victim
*Or are you in limbo because your energies are scattered*
*Which is reversing the magnetic attraction that you would like to receive*
*Instead, you are a walking paradox because you are being perceived as Krypto causing the very negativity that you hate*
*To constantly be at your front gate and when negativity rings the doorbell*
*You open the doors of your heart,*
*To the hurts of old that you are comfortable replaying and remembering.*
**As you release, let go and allow peace to accompany you in the present**
*You will watch all the storms in your life disappear*
*Anything or anyone vibrating at a lower frequency*
*Cannot for long keep up with those that vibrate at a higher frequency*
*Which is the place of love, peace, happiness and joy*
*Let these accompany you in the now*
What will your world look like, feel like if you were living your ideal self?
*Take time to answer this question for yourself.*
*Think, meditate, and do whatever it takes to get a clear picture of your ideal self*
*Live your life at your best now. Don't wait for the physical manifestation to arrive.*
Quit chasing the gold and the power and wake up to the fact that you are the gold and that you are powerful beyond measure.
Cheers.
That boy will rise
Distinct among men
He will trot in the midst
Of wayward spine
A nectar of solution
He will be bathed
In milk stream
Distil with rounded gold
His body encrushed with silver
He will come, comely
Like a man
Lost in the labyrinth of wilderness
To sprawl on the virgin taste of water
For his will be
A long drought
Of savoured dream
He will come,
Alterly to alternate
His body a work of ivory
His speech offering
Figtree wisdom.
Crypto: The Importance of Private Keys
Money is not a foreign concept to any of us, we all know how to use it, store it and how to attain money. We often refer to money as my money, our money and like to think we hold possession of money when in fact it couldn't be further from the actual reality of the situation.
Fiat money isn't an asset it has no value, we only use it because it is backed by our various governments and we've become so used to using it. It is only a promissory note of value but has no actual value itself.
CENTRALIZED MONEY ISNT YOUR MONEY
When most of us receive money for goods or services rendered we give it to a 3rd party (the banks) to store it in our name. We would then have some sort of security to access the funds if and when we need it.
You never really have ownership of those funds and if you perhaps did something these authorities did not like, such as speaking out against corruption or starting a competing business, you could be shut down in seconds and have your funds confiscated.
So now you'll say but I can protect against that by storing money under my mattress right? Well, that is only a half measure as all the money you own is tied to your government. They printed it and they own it, while you accepted this money as payment, governments can though poor economic decisions devalue money even faster than it already does each year through general inflation principles.
We've seen countries go through hyperinflation and they can attest to the fact that government sovereign currency isn't worth the paper it is printed on.
IMPORTANCE OF CRYPTO
**Owning your own money**
Since we've been raised in a system where we entrust control to third parties, the concept of owning your own money seems weird and foreign to most of us. Having to take complete responsibility for your own funds, how you manage it and transfer it is something we've been robbed of and a right we need to get used to having and fighting for against central financial control
This is why cryptocurrency is so important and why people need to start paying attention to the shit in mentality it brings.
A fundamental property of owning your own money is your private key.
**What is the private key?**
When creating a hot wallet or cold storage wallet for yourself you will receive a public address and a private key to start managing the funds in the wallet.
The first one — the public key — can be used anywhere to send and receive coins and tokens. Basically, it is the address of the wallet itself. It is quite simple and can often change with every transaction.
Your public keys are simply a way to receive funds and are attached to you private key which manages the actual wallet. The private key allows you to restore a wallet on any device and move funds to wallets should you require them.
**Keeping your private key private**
It is important to note that with a custody-free service you have the responsivity to store your private keys and passphrases in a safe place and in multiple locations both physical and digital as a security measure.
Do not share your private keys with anyone and if you're planning to store your crypto long term you may even want to add it in your WIll and testament.
I cannot express how important it is to guard your private keys. Having ownership of your own funds is a big responsibility and for many, I can understand why it would make them nervous.
Cheers.
When Have You Hit Rock Bottom? What Did You Do to Get Back Up Again?
Honestly I wouldn't say that I have been at rock bottom myself. I mean I've had some terrible stuffs happen to me in life and I've gone through some really terrible cases, so I think I know a thing or two-- from the outside looking in-- about hitting rock bottom, but I wouldn't say exactly that I've been at that place yet.
But like I said I do have some ideas, that is albeit third person, that I would nonetheless like to share.
First I'm going to be discussing the ways by which you can know when you've hit rock bottom and then I'm going to be discussing the way by which you can get out of that position. So first what exactly is rock bottom?
Rock bottom is the situation you find yourself in life when you're at the lowest point you can absolutely be. Of course most of the time it can be pinpointed to a certain aspect of your life but the effect is always so profound overall and with such high gravity that regardless of which area it is, it affects ALL other areas of your life and you know that you are at the absolute, absolute worst place you can be.
But there is also an advantage. Because like they say, when you hit rock bottom; when you're at the basest place you can ever be, then the only logical place you can go from there, is up! You can only go up from there you can't go down again and that is a sort of comfort that should drive you.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. First what are the ways by which you can know that you've hit rock bottom?
One: You Find Yourself Alone and Life Becomes Absolutely Hopeless.
Let's face it once you become an absolute fuck up in life, and even going down and down and spiralling out of control and finally we eat that rock bottom and I repeat nobody would want to be around you anymore. Not even your own friends not even your family not even the people you grew up with. So when you find yourself completely alone with everybody avoiding nobody to talk to, you know you've hit rock bottom.
Of course when this happens you find out you're overwhelmed by an absolute hopelessness of life. Because you see no prospect anywhere, you're sited on your bed all day you know every square inch of your house and can navigate your way with your eyes closed; and your last trip outside was to visit the delivery guy who brought you pizza. Then you know you've hit the great Rock Bottom.
Two: You Look Like Shit, You're Indifferent and Lazy, You Start to Hate the World and You Lose All Drive and Ambition
Let's face it, a person who has hit rock bottom will never look attractive. So when you find yourself looking shitty everyday with your hair all messed up and disheveled and your face all swollen and your bloated and you not having the strength or the will or the enthusiasm to freshen up at any time and you don't even want to get out of bed anymore and your only hobby is to hate the world and whatever freaking circumstances got you on this mess in the first place. When u start doing these you know you've hit Rock Bottom.
Sadly, too, a sign that you've hit rock bottom is that you do not want to ever try to attempt anything anymore. You find yourself defeated and you've given up. This is when you know you're at rock bottom. And ironically this is when you need to start trying the most. Why, you ask? Simple.
Like I said, at rock bottom you're down. At the lowest point in life. Meaning you can't go down anymore. Meaning you have absolutely NOTHING to lose. So the question at that point becomes not Why? but why not?
There's a high probability that anything you do at this point will will only get you higher. It doesn't matter if it's just a little progress, but whatever you do, whatever you attempt will never get you down because you're down already! And there's such a beauty in this assurance that you can never have anywhere but there, so you keep coming up, little by little, and the beautiful thing about this is that when you see yourself making progress you get motivated by this progress to keep on trying and when you keep on trying you keep on making even more progress and on and on in that cycle until you find yourself at a more colorful place in life!
Another way you can get up from rock bottom is by realzing that most of the time rock bottom is like mining gold. I know this is a funny analogy but it's actually funny when you think about. I say that mining gold because most of the times this grave that is called rock bottom is something that we normally dig ourselves into. Sure life throws shits at us but it is also equally important the way we choose to respond to the shit.
So when you find yourself at rock bottom it means that you've made some terrible and shitty life decisions. And you should realize that this should make you feel optimistic, and not the other way around!
Because you know that if really you got yourself into the mess, then you know its very possible that it is very much in your power for you to get yourself out of it! You may have struck good by hitting rock bottom, too. And this optimism is an important way to get out. Most of the successful people around are people who've known what true rock bottom is. But they didn't let it derail them. They let it inspire them and they not only got out they became better. You can do the same.
Also it helps greatly at that point to reminisce on your life, meditate and examine where everything went wrong, pick up a book, read, get inspired by people; by people's story-- people who have been in the same place you are-- find a new hobby if you can, get out of the house, push yourself to not be lazy, and with all this I'm sure it'll be more than possible to get back on your feet again and thrive!
Dark Clouds-(flash fiction)
“Mom?, Is it going to rain?". My 16 year old daughter asked because she had this phobia for rain. The cloud had began to gather up and it seemed like we were in for a heavy down pour. One second, I took my eyes off the wheel for just a second.
My daughter’s shivering had distracted me that I lost control as my car went somersaulting off the road. Fuck!, I cursed underneath my breath as i struggled with my seat belt trying to get out of the car. Immediately, I went over to Amy’s side of the car and realized my daughter was unconscious. Panic flushed through my veins as I struggled with the door. I couldnt get it opened. I needed help.
The cloud was beginning to get thicker and darker. I rushed down to the side of the road hoping to get some help.
My vision was becoming faint as i was losing alot of blood from the wound on my left thigh. Phone!!!, i rushed back down to the car to get my phone. My sight got worse as i fumbled with the key pad.
After i called the ambulance i realized a small flame had ignited from a spark in the bonet of the car. The fire got bigger as i fell to my knees trying to get the door open. I slowly lost conciousness as i wished silently in my heart that the dark cloud would rain on this flame and save Amy’s Life.
What scares you most in life?
MEDIOCRITY.
Ever since I learnt the meaning of the word, the fear of mediocrity has become a thing that constantly drives me. It might have had something to do with the way the person I heard it from said it. I can't ever forget the scorn that was in his voice as he deplored all the "mediocre fools" in the country as he called them.
The word itself is pretty beautiful, "mediocrity", if you don't know the meaning. And I was fascinated by it and went to look it up immediately.
Contrary to what most people think, mediocrity isn't even the condition of being bad, or being terrible at something. But the condition of being average. Now if I had stumbled upon the word in a dictionary, and examined it myself in a vacuum, I might think oh well being average, that's not too bad, at least you don't suck.
But hearing that person speak it like that, "mediocre fools", I realized the connotation of the word is extremely derogatory, even if not inherently so. And this is beautiful because what it means basically is that the whole society has come together and decided that being average is a terrible thing! Just as worse as being bad.
Having that mindset I always set out for every thing determined to not be average. I will either try my best and bust my ass and shed sweat and blood than do it half-heartedly and be average or mediocre. I believe this is an important mindset for anyone to approach any case with. Don't strive to do it, try to do it the best possible way.
This reminds me of a line from one of my favorite all time poets, T.S Eliot. He said, "FOR US THERE'S ONLY THE TRYING. THE REST DOES NOT MATTER." I especially love how he points out the paradox of "trying" with this line. Basically what he's saying is that to achieve anything you have to focus on that thing alone. JUST THE TRYING. The emphasis should be on the effort, putting your best into it. Even if you fail then you at least know that you tried your best. And that is the great philosophy of not being mediocre by fighting consciously against it.
Another irony of the line stems from the fact that to "try" might be taken to mean: to do something lightly, half-assed, so to speak, without much effort. But when you focus and concentrate only on THE TRYING. It becomes more than just trying, but concentrating and thriving.
So there you have it, my greatest fear. The fear of being mediocre. And all along I can tell you its being fruitful. I haven't always achieved the level of perfection that I seek in everything but I've always had the joy that I give my all. I hope my answer proves satisfactory to you.
Cheers.
If love involves embracing every aspect of a person, how true is love at first sight?
I actually do believe in love at first sight. Call me an hopeless romantic but it happens to be how it is.
The way I see it is pretty simple. It might be not be a very popular way of seeing it but in my opinion there are different levels of love. There is of course the traditional lust, like and love, all varying with the deepness and genuiness of feelings of affection proclaimed.
But I take it further by saying that even the degree of love varies, not so much with genuiness this time--seeing as all forms of love must by definition be genuine--but with deepness.
This is where love at first sight comes in.
To me, as a member of that romantic tradition, I believe in connections and communications that go deeper than those words can convey. I suppose one of the very pre requisites of being a romantic is to have a belief in words but also understand its genuine incompetence at the same time.
Which is where something deeper is needed.
And that is how love at first sight comes into play. In any case where this happens I believe it does so because there has been a communication of this sort, transcending mere words but connecting to something much deeper and much truer, than the kinds a million words can convey.
And it is when that kind of communication occurs between two people that we can say there has been love at first sight between them.
And even though, like I mentioned earlier, this kind of love, genuine though I feel it is, might not neccesarily be at the deepest stage it could be yet. As time goes on the people involved might later get to know each other more deeply and have an even better appreciation of themselves. But again this is not to desprecate or even say that there is no such thing as love at first sight.
And when you really consider it you'd find that it does not even slightly contradict what you wrote as the preface to the question--I mean the condiction that love must include embracing every aspect of the other person.
Only in love at first the communication is more, dare I say, transcendent and on a much subtler key.
So there you have it, my attempt as a romanticist trying to explaining love at first. I hope you have been converted, if you haven't before, to a hopeless believer in love at first sight like me.
Cheers and have a nice day!
When you create something... do you create it solely for yourself... or for an audience in mind?
Thank you for this question! I absolutely love this question so much. It's one the things I constantly found myself struggling with during my creative years. And it's definitely something a lot of artists find themselves contemplating and grappling with.
In fact it was the very conclusion I made regarding this topic; or probably that was made for me, that brought me where I am today.
The decision I made--or that was made for me-- was to only have myself in mind whenever creating. This might sound narcissistic at first, but in fact its a lot closer to the opposite. This is what I wrote in my journal; Is the final step of creativity inevitably putting your deed out there?
I dont think so.
I think creativity CAN be an end in itself. You can create stuff just for the joy of creation. You CAN make art for art' s sake. There is not only a sort of sublime beauty in this, it also saves us from quite a few heart breaks and anxiety.
The kind which arises when you base the amount of joy you derive from your art on the amount of approval and admiration you get from other people; people who seem to derive a lot of pleasure in being a "critics" and pointing out all the negatives while skimming the positives.
When I wrote my novel I had it in mind to get it published. I showed a couple of people and they agreed it was good; I sent out query letters and I got a lot of agents to request for the full manuscript. And finally someone offered me representation.
But in the process of editing our communication broke down and our vision for the story kinda diverged and in the end we had to part ways. This was a culmination of years and years of rejections upon rejections from literary magazines and journals and fellowships etc.
I've always believed in making art not for the approval of others, but for my catharsis and delectation. But due to it being expedient--as I suppose it is to every artist--I tried to get my works published and seen by a lot of people and loved and admired. But thankfully I've learnt to always put myself first.
Now I'm not saying not to have an audience in mind; hell im not even "saying" anything. I'm merely sharing my story. But if I'd say anything I'd say, create for yourself, for the joy you derive from it; for the catharsis; for the fulfillment. And if you choose to share it, fine. But never base your joy entirely on the opinion of others.
Making art for coterie is invariably the best--for me, at least. I mean sometimes we create something so magnificent that we feel its a selfishness on our part to choose to keep it a secret from the world. So, benovently, we decide to share. Which is why I said having a small but appreciating audience is definitely the best option for me.
Create for yourself, and share to coterie if you must. That's my watchword.
Cheers and have a nice day!
@feebie
