https://rickybrowne.com/rss/tags/tag-reflections.xml Posts tagged #reflections from The Record archive. https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(9).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(9).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT mind reflections A Shift in Weather, A Shift in Mind I had a little bit of a patch last week where the world got dark. This may have been a simple case of bad weather affecting my mood. But the world felt darker, colder, and more sinister—like my rose-colored, happiness-infused glasses had fallen off, and the rot and mold were now visi... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(78).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(78).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT mind reflections Firstly—and thusly, whatever that’s supposed to mean—the work I put into Grace this past term has really paid dividends. She was starting to look a bit chubby in the cheeks, which was a good sign we were giving her a bit too sedentary a lifestyle. But instead of spiraling into guilt about not giving my little princess... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(62).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(62).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT creation faith mind reflections Grace is a bit behind on learning English, and there’s not much I can do except sit on the sidelines and encourage my girls, as Liz does her bit to help her improve every day. Why Can’t You Do It, Fat Head? Good question, learnid reader. It comes down to how I convey information and how others receive it. Generally, i... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(60).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(60).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT reflections Sep 05, 2025 The King of Ick Ack Ock I'm good at Ick Ack Ock, or Scissors, Paper, Rock as some call it. To the point where, when my wife and I are deciding who will get up and grab the Cornettos out of the freezer, she refuses to play it. She gets cranky at the thought. The other day, my daughter and I played, and she... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(46).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(46).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT reflections Planning a Little Break I'm considering sending Grace to Grandma's today. Grace returns to school on Wednesday, and after spending two solid weeks with her during the holidays, I still need to navigate two extra days. It's not that the holidays haven’t been a blast — I've really enjoyed spending time with the little tu... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(45).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(45).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT reflections I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been—hovering around 150kg, which in pounds is roughly three thousand. Despite that, I actually feel good. I’m back leading a more active lifestyle, and it feels like it’s finally sticking. It took ages to get back on track because I kept setting the goalposts too high. The resistance was so... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(41).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(41).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT reflections What a Wonderful Day to Be Alive I hopped out of bed, took my laptop to my desk, sat down, opened it, and the screen wasn’t working. My first thought was, “Oh, this is because I wrote an article yesterday titled Why We Should Socialise the Tech Giants.” Turns out it wasn’t Zuckerberg. It was the screen lock on my keybo... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(31).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(31).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT reflections The Book: A Reluctant Journey Through Sobriety My latest book, coming out shortly, is called Fat Loser w/ a Laptop. It takes you through how I went from struggling with alcohol to giving it up. The sad part of that story—and a recurring theme in the book—is that I didn’t stick to it. After eighteen months off the grog,... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(24).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(24).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:08 GMT reflections Straight out of my head. I’m not going to stop writing, but I need to find a seam I can stay in. Today Liz goes back to work after three weeks off. The holidays were meant to be about Grace, and mostly they were, but I’ve drifted back into work mode again. I can’t help it. I need to work. That’s just true. I don’t fu... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(22).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(22).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:07 GMT faith reflections I’ve shut down this week. Something in me has gone quiet. There are a few possible causes. I stopped drinking again on Sunday, and I might be dealing with withdrawal. My energy is low and my thinking feels foggy. I’m also about to be interviewed by Sharon from the local paper. That’s stirred up self doubt. Being seen... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(19).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(19).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:07 GMT creation mind reflections When I was in the grips of mental illness between 2002 and 2012, I was sustained and driven by trains of thought where I was thinking about the world and societal issues and how to overcome them. A lot of it was aberrant thinking that I overcame after that period through increased awareness and knowledge of the self a... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(18).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(18).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:07 GMT creation reflections I wrote one prose poem for the book and now I feel wired. Probably too much caffeine. It sharpens the nerves and makes resistance louder. It’s 4:36 am and there’s more project work I could do, but instead I’m writing this. I know the pattern. I get things done by avoiding something else more important. Still, one poe... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(17).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(17).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:07 GMT mind reflections I’m starting something new because I don’t want to touch the three unfinished pieces I already have. That’s probably saying something, even if I don’t want to unpack it right now. Life feels hard more often than not, broken up by short bursts of fun and distraction. I wonder if I should look more closely at my actions... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(11).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(11).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:07 GMT mind reflections Let me start by saying how blessed I feel to be living in a household with two wonderful girls—Grace and Liz—who love and support me, and who I totally enjoy loving and supporting in return. Yesterday, Grace and I had a big fight. But truthfully, I wasn’t really angry at her. I was angry at Liz, and she’d gone to work... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(10).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(10).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:22:07 GMT reflections A short account of sleep, meds, and mental gymnastics The Midnight Typist I'm up at 12am typing this. It would be okay if it was 2–5am, because then I would have had a good night's sleep — I go to bed early. The issue I'm having in the last seven days is that I am going to bed wired. This happens every now and again w... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(82).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(82).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT reflections I haven't been writing much lately. One reason is that I have a lineup of books I've been working on for the last two to three years, all of which are in various stages of completion, so I'm trying to finish them. The reason they are all coming out close to each other is that you get to a certain point in writing, edi... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(75).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(75).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT creation mind reflections I never really had a mentor. People have always given me advice, as people do, always willing to fix the wayward child. However, I've never listened if the information was directed at me. I've had people who considered themselves my mentor, but I'd always resist being taken under a wing. I have always learned the har... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(69).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(69).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT faith reflections You are a Christian now, you're part of the tribe, and you should keep working on your faith so you can develop your own voice and be well healed. But this is your life, you don't need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Be you. Forget about appeasing everyone and do it your way, Work through it, you don't nee... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(68).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(68).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT reflections stories Trigger Warning: This post contains words like arsehole and backside. One of the issues I discovered when moving into our new digs is related to my excess weight. I switched over to wiping my arse from the front when going to the loo sometime in the last ten years, this is because I found it increasingly difficult to... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(66).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(66).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT mind reflections I think my main problem with people, especially those which I enjoy being around and hold in regard is that I feel most try to protect and project their image, instead of being vulnerable and real with me. While this may not be true across the board, generally, they are either not honest enough with themselves, to be... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(65).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(65).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT media pop-culture reflections society Will Ferrell as Ron Burgandy Will Ferrell is the master of playing the buffoon. No one tickles me more than watching this man play the fool. Someone like Jim Carey is great because he contorts his body in ways that are laughable. But for me, it's too overly dramatic and slapstick. Will is subtle and nuanced in how he... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(64).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(64).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT faith reflections Off the happy pills It's been about two weeks since my last dose of anti-depressants. I'm a bit more cranky at times and sometimes lacking in feel-good chemicals, but I still think I'll push ahead and see what becomes of it. It's been a long time since I haven't been on anti-depressants; it will be interesting, unlike... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(63).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(63).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT funny reflections works Back at it, the write stuff, making things write, the punification of writing. Air conditioner remotes confuse me, is the sun symbol talking about providing heat, or is it saying, for use in summer. I know the answer now, but it took me a bit. I'm nearly ready to publish my 2002-2004 journal, "Fat Loser with a Laptop... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(61).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(61).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT creation reflections The goal was to make at least $50, not profit, just revenue. It cost me $45 for the site and another $45 for insurance. Then, on top of that, I had to purchase stock and various accoutrements needed to sell at the markets, including signage and a table. For me, the markets were going to be the new norm, spending weeke... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(58).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(58).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT creation reflections Sep 10, 2025 I can feel my brokenness in my gut this morning. I'm weak in spirit. Most of the time, I feel strong in myself, but now and again, that feeling unravels, and I feel particularly vulnerable. There was a time when I spent more time in ruts than out of them, but I've done a lot of work on myself, and this st... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(52).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(52).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT mind reflections Back when TV was still relevant, people under 50 watched it, and Rove Live was a thing. Rove McManus used to say, "If you can't spot the weirdo on the bus, you are the weirdo." When I'd hear him say that, I'd get nervous because, on some level, for a long time, after first developing the symptoms of schizophrenia, I w... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(51).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(51).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT reflections stories Last week, I hopped out of the shower, singing at the top of my lungs the silly songs I sing when I'm in the silly song mood. I dried myself as you do and put on some duds, still singing my silly songs; as I headed out of the bedroom and down the hall, just then, I heard my wife screaming my name from the other end of... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(53).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(53).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT creation reflections 07/03/2025 I have set the directive to start journalling about fitness. I want to turn my life around, get fit and healthy, and live an extra hundred years, give or take. I start on Monday at the gym, which I would have started earlier, but I have been sick this week. On the one hand, I am driven to do this; on the o... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(49).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(49).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT creation reflections I got up at 2am but then went back to sleep, then I got up at 4, lied on the lounge and went back to sleep, then I got up at 6, had a coffee, did some meditation, and here I am, cold feet but a warm heart. Running Ads, but No luck yet! I advertised some of my books on Facebook this week; I'm doing little tests to see... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(50).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(50).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT faith reflections It's 7 AM, a late start for Browne, but not as late as that time I got rolling drunk on tequila and woke up in a ditch 35km to the west of Tijuana, at 2PM in the heat of the afternoon, lying on a cactus I must have mistaken for a pillow. But I digress. Today's sermon is about the sin of Browne, and how he spent the ni... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(48).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(48).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT faith reflections While listening to a sermon by Allan Blanch, one of my local Presbyterian ministers, I was struck by a deep feeling that it's okay for me to be a Christian, and that it's the right thing to do. In that moment, something shifted, and I decided not only to put my faith in God but also in Jesus. I've guarded closely my o... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(29).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(29).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT funny reflections works Mondays Monday again, and while many hate Mondays, I love them, I really do; you get to start a new week, a week full of potential that hasn't had life get in the way yet. Saturdays Saturdays are daddy-daughter days, but it was more like daddy-daughter weekend, with time spent with little Turlybird at an all-time high... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(23).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(23).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT reflections 11 February 2025 Sometime in December This work is a way of escaping the real work of laying out my philosophy on life. I have a few days to go until the new year, I would have liked to be deep into my work come January, but I have the happy distraction of moving house which has me preoccupied. I am enjoying doing p... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(21).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(21).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT reflections stories 12 February 2025 Liz was stressed to her eyeballs because we went for an overnight vaycay in Narromine to appease our daughter, only to wait an hour to see anyone at the motel's reception, then we find out the room hadn't been cleaned. I've learned my lesson and will look at reviews from now on because I've never seen... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(20).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(20).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:01 GMT creation mind reflections No one in my wife's family or my family or most people for that matter ask me how my writing or projects are going or what I've been up to. Why? Maybe because that will lead to me talking about my writing or projects, lol. It's a peculiar thing that has baffled and annoyed me for a long time. And while it still baffl... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(16).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(16).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:00 GMT reflections Early January 2025 Uncle Charlie's funeral was a worthy send-off, I didn't see the burial, but the church service was special. It was standing room only and many had to watch the service on a tele in another room. I didn't think the service was going to move me to tears, while I respected Charlie and thought he was... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(15).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(15).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:00 GMT reflections Some time in January I'm a little excited to write now I'm at the keyboard, which is surprising because I've had a lot of resistance and psychic entropy about what I should be doing with my time and what to focus on. I'm hoping some time spent writing will re-align my chakras and get me back into life. Yesterday I d... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(14).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(14).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:00 GMT reflections My wife is a good egg. I got shitty at her and my issue was left unresolved for a day and a half. Normally, if we have a falling out, it is resolved quickly, but I had plenty of time to let my frustrations stew, meaning that when we actually got into the act of communication, I was harsh and hurtful. She took it gra... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(12).txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=journalentry%20(12).txt Tue, 21 Apr 2026 04:09:00 GMT faith reflections I think I'm a Christian, it's early days but I think finally, it's the right thing to do. Maybe I had to earn being a Christian because of this or that, but I've just been convinced, and so all I have to do is accept it. #faith #reflections Published 6-8-2025 Written on https://freewriter.app https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=Work%20as%20a%20Substitute%20for%20Connection-12-3-2026.txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=Work%20as%20a%20Substitute%20for%20Connection-12-3-2026.txt Thu, 12 Mar 2026 03:55:33 GMT creation mind reflections For a long time I thought I worked so much because I was driven, ambitious, or creative. Recently I realised something simpler and more uncomfortable. A lot of my work is a substitute for connection. I spend most of my days on the computer making things. Apps, writing, videos, little experiments. My goal is to get t... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=Christian%20Planetary%20Pledge-11-2-2026.txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=Christian%20Planetary%20Pledge-11-2-2026.txt Wed, 11 Feb 2026 03:55:33 GMT faith openletter reflections I hold the belief that God loves me and that he provides me with grace, and that is reflected in my actions by doing the right thing. I hold that God does not need me to seek the destruction of our planet, in order to accelerate the coming of the end times. I pledge to join the chorus of Christians who wish to ensure... https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=As%20time%20goes%20by-11-2-2026.txt https://rickybrowne.com/post.html?file=As%20time%20goes%20by-11-2-2026.txt Wed, 11 Feb 2026 03:55:33 GMT reflections How quickly the years go by. The last three years have gone past and that is but a tenth until I am 70. I hope I am as agile as my father at that age. It’s two days until Christmas and the year is Twenty-twenty. When I am my father’s age it will be twenty-fifty. I hope I’m around to see it. #reflections Published 11...