Despite being one of the most visited websites, Reddit is not for everyone. I have a lot of issues with that platform, from the users to the company itself. That being said, it does have pockets of gold nuggets, and this, my friends, is one: r/lifeofnorman.

The premise of that subreddit is very simple — it’s about a very ordinary, average guy named Norman. People write about very average things that a very average Norman does. It’s cute, it’s wholesome, and it’s a quaint little community. The subreddit tags itself as “a collective story about a remarkably unimportant individual.”

But it is sad. Though peaceful and can be wholesome, it’s dark to see a life so unremarkable. The problem is that I see myself as Norman a lot. I don’t go on adventures. I get anxious about how I present myself to the world. I play by the books. I am depressed and lonely. The worst of it all, I don’t even have the positive attitude Norman brings to his day to day life. Hopefully I don’t end up like Norman, but if I do, the positivity he brings to his life is all I can wish for.

life of norman was originally published in 100 Naked Words on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As we walked into the meeting room at the church last night, neither one of us knew what exactly to expect, we were surprised to be greeted warmly by every individual in the room. This was a safe space, a place to share your own personal story, if you wanted to, and listen to other’s stories, testimonials, and prayers. We both walked away with mixed feelings, one of us uplifted, the other…at least not in a bad mood about it all. I consider the experience a learning one, I may return, even if might not have been his cup of tea. I learned that Celebrate Recovery is not necessarily to “fix” yourself or someone else, it’s more about growing closer to God and accepting that you are not in control. I learned that I am not the cause of my son’s addiction, I cannot control him, or cure him. As for myself, I learned that there are way more issues to be dealt with in a program like this than simple chemical or alcohol dependency. People were there who had control issues, excessive worrying, behavioral issues, lying excessively…all sorts of things. Just having a community to fellowship with, in a safe and loving place, based on bible study and Christian principle, make it a place I would feel comfortable to belong to.

Do I have an addiction? Sure, don’t we all? Do I consider myself an addict? No. Do I have issues that need working on? Yes. Do I want to get closer to God? Yes. Do I love to sing hymns? Absolutely! That alone made me want to go back.

Obviously, I got more out of the meeting than my son, he literally bolted for the door when it was over, while I lingered talking to the ladies in my group a bit more. His cup of tea might be more along the lines of what Al-anon has to say or (provide) but either way, he will be going to some kind of meeting if he wants a place to stay with us. I pray we find something that works for him, that God finds a way into his heart, and that as a family we continue to support him in his recovery, because in my humble opinion, it may be a matter of life and death.

Celebrate Recovery was originally published in 100 Naked Words on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When the snow covers the earth, erasing from the landscape all the vegetation that covered meadows and plains, she remains waiting, patiently, in her warm bulb-home, without despair, being certain that the moment will come.

The cold will increase, the ice will cover everything around it, others would think that everything is over and they will surrender to the hands of death, but she does not, she is still waiting, even though everything seems lost.

It will be buried under the snow for months, but it will not be discouraged, because the winter does not last forever and when the snow begins to melt, she will know that it is the right time and will open a small window through which a green twig will appear, alone , apparently weak, but it will go through what remains of snow and as soon as she look at the sun, it will unfold beautiful little leaves and prepare to show off.

When the leaves have shaken the dream of such a long time and feel the rays of the sun, even if it does not warm them, just by seeing the light, they will let their beautiful flowers resurface in the landscape.

White, fragile, smooth, beautiful, these wonderful flowers have not only defeated adversity, but they announce to all living beings that survived the winter, that spring has come and that life is not over.

That’s how we are, like snowdrops. we fight to stay alive, but our struggle, like theirs, is not a burden or hurts us, it is an exercise of life, commitment and strength. If we resist storms, we will bloom in times of heat and calm.
Like the snowdrops, let’s not stop fighting, our time will come.

Una vida de lucha

Cuando la nieve cubre la tierra, borrando del paisaje toda la vegetación que cubría praderas y llanos, ella permanece esperando, pacientemente, en su cálido hogar-bulbo, sin desesperarse, teniendo certeza de que el momento vendrá.

El frío aumentará, el hielo cubrirá todo lo que esté a su alrededor, otros pensarían que todo se ha acabado y se entregarán a las manos de la muerte, pero ella no, ella sigue esperando, a pesar de que todo parece perdido.

Quedará enterrada bajo la nieve por meses, pero no se desanimará, porque el invierno no dura para siempre y cuando la nieve empiece a derretirse, ella sabrá que es el momento justo y abrirá una pequeña ventana por la que se asomará una ramita verde, sola, aparentemente débil, pero atravesará lo que quede de nieve y en cuanto mire al sol, desplegará unas hermosas hojitas y se preparará para lucirse.

Cuando las hojitas se han sacudido el sueño de tanto tiempo y sientan los rayos del sol, aun y cuando no las caliente, solo con ver la luz, dejarán que sus hermosas flores resurjan en el paisaje.

Blancas, frágiles, tersas, hermosas, estas maravillosas florecillas no solo han derrotado a la adversidad, sino que le anuncian a todos los seres vivos que sobrevivieron el invierno, que la primavera ha llegado y que la vida no se terminó.

Así somos nosotros, como las campanillas. Luchamos para seguir vivos, pero nuestra lucha, como la de ellas, no es una carga o un peso que nos duela, es un ejercicio de vida, de compromiso y de entereza. Si resistimos las tempestades, floreceremos en las épocas de calor y calma.

Como las campanillas, no dejemos de luchar, ya llegará nuestro momento.

A life of struggle was originally published in 100 Naked Words on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

I need all the prayer warriors out there to join me as I pray this week goes smoothly. We are giving our son a hand, once more, in an attempt to provide shelter and assistance as he battles his demon. He got off to work this morning with just one push from me, tonite he is supposed to start attending meetings. He and his girlfriend have separated while he tries to get his life straight. He battles ADD, depression, and alcoholism…He needs all the prayers he can get. While you’re at it, please say one for us too. We all have a long row to hoe. Thanks in advance.

Prayers Welcomed was originally published in 100 Naked Words on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

So I managed to find work — hooray! I’m a Customer Success Manager at a construction tech start up based in Melbourne. It’s my first experience working in a proper start up.

I’ve always found start ups fascinating, not just for sheer potential for upside if you’re in the right place at the right time, but how the decisions that are made on a daily basis can literally be the life or death of the business.

In a few words, it’s been chaotic, hectic and busy. Nothing I didn’t expect, to be honest. I also don’t mean those in a negative way either. By their nature, there’s a lot happening in start ups and not enough resources to cover all your bases. Trade offs have to be made to keep the business growing.

That’s the best part too: the trade offs are also at the micro level, done by every employee. In a healthy tech start up, there are going to be too many bugs to fix, too many feature requests, too many customers pulling you in different directions. As much as you want to do it all, you can’t. Decision making has never been more important.

Being part of such has made me realise that people in of themselves are like start ups: not really sure what we’re meant to be doing on this earth, but trying to figure it out along the way, not having enough resources to do everything we want to do and ultimately making decisions that shape who we become.

Making sense out of chaos was originally published in 100 Naked Words on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.