The Scary Tale of the Purgatory Box

A long and somber procession of a family's oldest member who had died after 100 years of life took the longest path toward an ancient dark cathedral in Portugal. The entire family ranging from the youngest great-grandchildren to the oldest widowed wife were all dressed in black from shoulder to foot. The deceased widow wore a black shawl around her head as she cried throughout the service while the others held back tears. The husband and widow whose marriage lasted 75 years were devout Catholics; they never missed Mass.

The priest said the funeral service in Latin, which nobody understood. After the service, the widow slowly walked to the back of the old church and approached the ancient box that indulgences were dropped in. She was taught the medieval quote that "as soon as money in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory's fire springs." She knew her husband had to be in purgatory because he committed many sins for which he confessed a few. When the widow reached the coffer she knelt down on her knees, gently put her hand into her pocket and took out an old silver "real" coin that she had saved for this occasion. She slowly angled the real above the slot, then she dropped it down.

When she heard the coin hit the bottom with a thick, metallic sound, she felt assured he would be in heaven soon enough. Then she bowed and silently said a prayer. After several minutes, the coffin began to shake violently at the front of the cathedral. Everyone including the priest turned around to see the coffin lid shoot open. Their eyes opened wide when they saw the deceased head of the family rise up from the coffin with smoke curling around the corpse. He turned his head and looked around slowly until he saw the family at the back of the church.

He groaned loudly as he tried to get out of the coffin. His widow stared at the coffin and cried, "Arturo! You're back!!" She didn't walk toward him because she became afraid as smoke continued to encompass his body. He grunted loudly, saying, "Am... in... hell!" The body now stood in front of the coffin and it walked with great difficulty, like a zombie, down the aisle toward the widow. She opened her arms, ready to run to him, but the priest stopped her.

As the corpse made its way, it grunted like the Frankenstein monster. Its face and hands opened to the widow began to decompose as well. After a minute, the head turned brown which morphed into a skull as its white hair shrunk into nothing. The smoke cleared as the body became a skeleton in the black suit stopped, it said, "Love... you... all." in a faint, bloodcurdling gurgle. Then the body turned to dust as its suit crumpled to the ground.

The horrified faces of all the family members stared at the black suit lying in the aisle. All ran out of the cathedral, including the priest who crossed himself. Later, he entered the church carrying a cross to spiritually and physically defend himself as he stared at the ash covered black suit. Then he stared at the diabolical coffer which he decided to burn.

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The Eggplant Matters

An eggplant is a vegetable that is jet black to purple in color with an oblong shape, or it can be tubular like a cucumber or nearly round. A member of the nightshade family of vegetables, its cousins include tomatoes, bell peppers, and potatoes. The eggplant that you might find in the vegetable aisle of your grocery store originated from a wild variety in India. Either the plant, the vegetable, or its seeds must have traveled well since it has made its way through much of human history to end up growing in China, Africa, Europe, South and North America. I found one source that claimed that eating eggplant will improve your vision. I found another source that listed vegetables that are known to improve vision, but eggplant was left off of his list (he does not like to eat eggplant).

But, you don't like eggplant either, do you? Unless you grew up in a family that ate it, you are likely to pass by the dark obese-appearing eggplant and choose a more colorful vegetable for your dinner. Folks who have never had it and try it, are often disappointed when they cut into an eggplant and encounter a spongy mass of flesh and seeds. Walk away, then come back to the cut eggplant on your kitchen counter and you will discover that you like it less because it turned brown. Slice it into little pancakes, coat it with flour, shower it with salt and pepper, and then fry it up in a pan. Now, it will be brown again, grease-soaked and spongy in texture. Yum!

I am not proud of the second paragraph, but I have told you nothing that you would not discover on your own. I cannot find a good source to explain why early European eggplants were the size of hen's eggs, thus the name. Probably, some Medieval horticulture geneticist engineered the size to be more appealing and portable. Today, the name fits the vegetable we find like the pants you wore at age twenty. But, if you switched from eating a high-calorie food to low-calorie/high fiber eggplant (prepared without frying it), you might put yourself on a weight loss path to fit into those pants again.

I implore you to give eggplant a chance. Perhaps you might give it a happier new name since you won't find it shaped like an egg. One author referred to eggplant as a Stygian vegetable, sourced from the Greek Mythological River Styx (which carried the dead to the underworld known as Hades). But, the River Styx was allegedly where mighty Achilles was dipped by his mother, who held him by his heel. The water made him invincible (except at his heel). But, this is a myth. Perhaps Achilles ate an eggplant and became invincible that way. Now you see that eggplant matters! #TAG1writer.

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The Greatest Pleasure In Life

Very often, the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. There are great joy and satisfaction to prove others wrong and build the life you want. And yes, at times, a person must travel many roads to find its true nature. But I dare you to show them that they are wrong about you.
Do you let the negative opinions of others be a roadblock to your dreams and success? Should you agree with anyone who tells you that it is impossible to achieve? Why would you let other people define who you are?

If I have only one suggestion to make, it is never to let anyone tell you what you can do and cannot do. These people who can't do something themselves are just afraid or gave up on their dreams and hopes. All they want is to try to bring you down too by telling you that you can't do it. And it is always the greatest pleasure in life to prove them wrong.

So, blow people's mind and surprise them because it is your life, not theirs. In the end, it is about you and what you can do. Life is also about proving that all things are possible. Showing people, they are wrong is by far one of the best satisfaction. And never let another person's opinion define you.

Life's Greatest Misconception

It is a fact that the greatest pleasure in life is doing what other people say you cannot do. There are and will always be individuals that will come into your life and tell you about the things you cannot do. But the thing is that it is still up to you to whether you listen to them or not. The term "I can't" is one of life's greatest misconceptions.

"Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right." - Henry Ford
So, not only the word "Can't" is such an ugly term, but you must banish it from your vocabulary. Your mindset and attitude are everything. When you make some adjustments to how you think, you begin removing the negative thoughts you tell yourself. It helps you leave that place ruled by fear. And you then can make significant strides towards your desired dream and end result.

Whatever is Your Greatest Pleasure

If you are like me, you refuse to believe that things are impossible. And it does not matter what your dream is. Whatever it is, you can do it, and that is the greatest pleasure in life. It can be creating a new app, or a different type of project, or launching an existing one into another country, or getting a better job. Know that anything is possible!

"Impossible is a word only found in the dictionary of fools." - Napoleon Bonaparte
Thus, it always seems impossible until done. The word "Can't" is used by people who are scared, and project their fears out into the world. It is employed by people who cannot see past their current limitations. They do not take into account that if given the right mindset, they too, can begin manifesting their dreams and succeed.

Yet, those people prefer to find excuses not to pursue their desires. They even start to damage your greatest pleasure, your work of making your dreams come true. But why do people do such thing?

Fear the Great Enemy

Perhaps, it is the fear of failure, making a mistake, or embarrassment. Maybe people are scared of change. I agree, when embarking into the unknown or taking risks, it is a reasonable and healthy human response to have such feelings. But there is no beauty without struggles in life.

So, you have to recognize that the fear you might have is just a temporary emotion. Realize that it does not have a chain tied to you. You can move, so you can set yourself free. Just remember that you are a miracle of nature and only need a shift in perception to see life's greatest pleasure.

But again, for some people, it is safer to do nothing rather than start something new. They live in their comfort zone and do not want to rock the boat. However, life never begins there but rather at the end of your comfort zone. What a gloomy world it would be if everyone listened to those who said it is impossible to do.

The Greatest Pleasure in Life

The greatest pleasure in life is to do what makes you feel most alive. If people tell you can't get a good life without a formal education, do it anyways. They might say to you, for example, that there are too many actors. Well, become an actor, and prove them wrong anyway.

Furthermore, people may tell you that you have to fight fire with fire, and believe in an eye for an eye. Then be kind to all anyway. If someone says to you that you cannot have it all, show them it is not true. And many will tell you that you cannot make money at something you love, have a good family and social life, and be successful. Then do it all anyway.

"Don't ever let somebody tell you that you can't do it! You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you: you can't do it. If you want something, go get it. Period!" - Quote from the movie 'The Pursuit of Happiness.'
Move Forward Anyway

Most people think that one of the deceptively simple ideas is to move forward. Yet, it is the very secret to success. You should always be looking for the next bit of ground to take and move forward. Do not be fooled by illusory obstacles that stop other people or what they tell you.

So, if you can make it your default setting, you will move forward to what others say is impossible. And when you move onward relentlessly, you can build the world you want to live in. Therefore, it is the greatest pleasure in life when you do the incredible, and your dreams do come true.

"Spend every second of your time moving forward. That is how you are going to get where you want to go." - Tom B.
All Possible - The Greatest Pleasure

So, anything is possible if you have a clear vision, are willing to do the work and move forward. Try not to use the word "can't" for a day or two and replace it with "I can." And see what happens. You might be surprised by the results. In any case, you will undeniably obtain a new level of confidence and who knows, new opportunities may present themselves.

Therefore, in this world, there is not one single thing that can stop you. The day you feel that your vision, determination, goal, and passion direct you to a purpose, the power at your disposal become limitless. So, when you protect your dream and move towards it incessantly, it is the greatest pleasure in life because you are doing what people say you cannot do.

Sergei VanBellinghen, Personal Growth & Success Expert, Founder of First-Class Lifestyle & SergeiVanBellinghen.com I help and teach people how to get a fresh start and have a brand-new style of living after a divorce, loss or if single. I do this by using self-development techniques to help you grow, succeed and have a better life. Remember, it's not just about growing but also about ending the routine. It's about the lifestyle of working less, living more and enjoying life! Find Out How! Visit my Website [http://sergeivanbellinghen.com] and come to discover how I can afford to stay home and travel anywhere I want.

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Milkman by Anna Burns

Milkman is a novel by Anna Burns. It won the Booker. It is a book. It's a fiction book about a place, a place which is not named, but we know where it is because its divisions, borders, red lines, call them what you may, are currency in its social fiction divide and international renown. It's a place that's part of somewhere else, or isn't, depending on your view of history, even though it's the present, its present that is the only relevant place to inhabit. There is another place over the border, and, yes, another one over the water, but in the past those from over there have often been this side of the ditch to leave their marks and then go home again, or not, which is at the root of the problems of this place with its border, its division, its divides, this side of the water. The writing style that graphically conveys this compicated history and endlessly complex social interactions is by necessity oblique and, on the face of it, like its subject-matter, impenetrable. There are often no paragraphs, no line breaks in the consciousness stream, such as this one.

Like anywhere, there are people throughout this place, but, unlike almost everywhere, they very rarely have names, or if they have them, they don't want to use them, believing, clearly, that the name would incriminate, accuse, label, even identify in this situation where to be known always carries risks. If you are Milkman, or even a milkman, you can live with the label, possibly because it strikes fear into those who hear it, fear of association, or of reprisal, or of identification, or even of not getting your pinta. That's what the capital letter can do, or undo, if you don't have one, just one, at the start, making a word a name, but not a name to identify, only a name to label. Letters at the start of paragraphs are capitals, but then so are those at the start of sentences. So, if you see one, who's to know if it's a paragraphs,or just a sentence...

But then there are lots of labels this side of the water. There are labels above all others, which might determine where you live, might reveal what you believe, might dictate where you might walk, and where you might not, where you might drink, or buy chips, where the rest of the shop snubs you and you might even forget to pay, for your chips, of course, for you are always likely to pay, eventually, in other ways. It's these labels that make you walk faster through the ten-minute zone that divides the divisions, the road where you are being watched, counted, logged, photographed, recorded, identified as identifiable, in the future as well as in the present, which itself will become a permanent past if your name, still unspoken, receives the celebrity of appearing on someone's file. If you're lucky, or perhaps unlucky, depending on who is doing the recording, you might even have a paragrph of your own.

Unless, of course, you are that Somebody McSomebody who is already known, already logged, already identified, probably already filed, in which case that Somebody McSomebody would probably not want to be seen, not want to venture into that ten-minute no-somebody's land, not anybody's land, that works like the border between over there and over here or the ditch between over here and over the water, keeping apart, keeping division. Unless, of course you are family, in which case you are known as brother or sister and by number, first, second, third etc., or you are known intergenerationally, like mama or papa or granddad, who might even still have a name, like one of your brothers, which is better not said in any case, being that it would be recognized, labelled, identified or merely chiseled into a headstone. That's always the risk, especially when your family is known to be sympathetic to causes unspoken in private but inevitably adopted in public, because the photographs, the records, the files prove you still live over there, on that side of the ten-minute zone that marks the division. And you might even possess via family association, one of those surnames that identifies, and thus demands a paragraph of its own in Somebody's file that probably has the word secret stamped all over it, just like all the other paragraphs that aren't supposed to be there.


And, when you have decided who you are or who you might become, should you agree to continue to see a milkman or other for the purpose of something other than acquiring milk, then you need to watch your back to make sure your maybe-boyfriend is not watching you while you are at your deception, which is not deception, because you're not trying to deceive. And then, in the end, you are at the end of the book, which is not really a book, but a train of thoughts, events, thoughts about events, and analyses, rationalizations of the irrational, all inside the head of an eighteen-year-old woman, who happens to come from one side or other of the divide, in the divided the land, that's one side of the border and another side of the water ditch that separates it from over there. You have travelled the roads, lived the short lives, felt the threats, been taken to all the places the eighteen-year-old has deemed you will see, felt the confusion life has brought to her life, and experienced the lack of ending that inevitably applies to things that have no end. The only certainty, and this at least is certain, that this book, that actually might not be a book, but thought, experience and imagination, is a worthy Booker and arguably one of the greatest achievements in the history of things that generally are called books and are thus worthy of paragraphs of their own.

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