32 Comments
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H Malette Poole's avatar

I am a 74-year-old introvert, still reading and still thinking. I hope to do so until shortly after my last breath.

However, it makes me sad to see how many don't have a clue how to do either.

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C Leonard's avatar

You made this old lady smile, anyways!

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C Leonard's avatar

I had to learn to LIKE being alone with thoughts; to welcome the quiet and the lack of chaos I was so familiar with growing up…

So I talk to myself, a LOT. It’s intelligent conversation, after all😉

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

So great you learned to like being alone with thoughts 😌If a person can stand up and face the onslaught of criticism from their own selves without backing down, they will never be able to stand up for themselves against existential forces that want to control us. Thanks for listening!

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

Sorry, turned a negative into a positive there, correction: if you can't stand up to self-criticism, you won't be able to stand up to others' criticism of you. Yikes f I finished my coffee already

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francine sael-romeo's avatar

This speaks (volumes) to me- I just turned 65 and I am so enjoying my retirement and my alone time- - how can anyone get bored? I love my own company, yet, if I am bored with myself I can pick up a book and be transported somewhere else. I say there just aren’t enough hours in the day. When I was younger, I thought being an introvert was a bad thing but as I matured I learned to embrace my introversion and find the pluses everywhere.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

"Picking up a book" is becoming less common, sadly. Where I live we had a complete internet and cable TV blackout for a couple of days a few years back, and many people were going nuts without them. I asked a few people, uh, don't you have reading materials? Ya know, books, magazines? Blank looks or no's were the response.

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francine sael-romeo's avatar

Lol- I’m surprised they didn’t try and hide that. When people see me reading, or I might mention I’m on my way to the library- I always hear “Oh, I love to read” and “I read all the time” as if they have to prove something to me and tbh these very people I find out later don’t read at all or are reliving some glory days from hs where they read a number of books in a row and labeled themselves a “reader” and testifying to me will somehow get them points- It won’t but I just smile and say “that’s nice”

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HI2thDoc's avatar

I guess the people I spoke with were guileless. Not necessarily deep thinkers

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meryl selig's avatar

I was hospitalized for over a month during March and May. I never turned on the TV ; didn’t watch any movies. I confess to reading my Substack writers and podcasters.

Otherwise, I chose to stay “in my head.” Sometimes thoughts were formed and linear. Other times, they seemed non-verbal. By the time I was discharged, I felt light and focused; my interior seemed quiet and orderly.

This is a “good” that accompanies the not-good of chronic disease.

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Aocm🇨🇦's avatar

You get a lot of practice, that's a great spin, life lesson for my kids was find the positive & deal with it! I've been practicing for abt 15yrs and still getting there.

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Gloria Watanabe's avatar

Many humans aren’t much smarter than apes, so how far has the human race, as a whole, really come.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

The complete body of knowledge of the human race has been advanced by a very small percentage of all who have ever lived. Seems like that percentage is shrinking day by day

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SeekingReason's avatar

These are great! I think you are on to something with god overseeing the manufacture of penises. It makes sense considering the religions obsessions with anything related to sex. And perhaps is a partial explanation for the numerous religious leaders perversions toward it.

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HI2thDoc's avatar

Sorry, but the panel about chimps, the 1% difference in DNA between them and us, and the lack of conceptual/complex thinking inevitably made my mind turn toward MAGAs. Sorry

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Bob Lewis's avatar

Math is a game you play in your head. Between that and distance running, I've spent a ton of time in my own head.

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Merlin Marquardt's avatar

Well, yes.

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Lyn Brown's avatar

Ann Landers used to say, « It’s ok to talk to yourself, as long as you don’t call yourself ‘Your Royal Majesty’ »!

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Merlin Marquardt's avatar

Aren’t we all introverts? Why aren’t we all introverts?

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tecolote42's avatar

What does it mean to be an introvert masquerading as an extrovert? Been doing it for 45 years. Maybe it's proof that Life is a Cabaret? :D

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Ann's avatar

What if god was/is a woman? Does she still handle all those penises? Is that how you spell penises?

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Steve's avatar

Excellent questions.

Very doubtful God is a woman. If she was, then she was some bad-ass, mean bee-atch burdening y'all with that monthly curse. :O

If she's handling so many millions of them, then she has the best job ever. :)

Technically it's "penes" (pronounced pee-nees) as in, I will suck a lot of penes. ;)

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Karen Scofield's avatar

HaHaa 😂 your killin' me Oliver 🤪 will reStack ASAP 💯👍😂

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Richard Hughes's avatar

I enjoy your thoughts and your comics. Please keep them up.

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Oliver Markus Malloy's avatar

Thank you Richard! 🙂

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Raven's avatar

I will never walk past a church clock tower again without thinking about a penis as I don’t believe in religion of any sort it gave me quite a laugh. 😂

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