questbarely

BodCaster: I use the Body to explore mind-body health, humor, art, power, class & life issues. Support at

[questbarely @questbarely]

@thebearlymike Loving the reveal -- you are *all man*.

[questbarely @questbarely]

@biglittlelad Love it! Good for you!

[questbarely @questbarely]

You don't need to explain it or defend it ... just being comfortable in your own body says it all. A contentedly naked person *is* the lesson.

[questbarely @questbarely]

The world always wants *more* from you. So that's when I say, "Oh yeah? How about 'less'?" I like to be as 'less' as possible.

[questbarely @questbarely]

I don't think our lives - our full lives - can really happen until we are fully in our body. Trauma sends you up into the attic of the mind, a safe perch from which you can spend the rest of your life ... looking down on the rest of life. But it's lonely up there.

If you really want to be a part of life, you need to come down into your body first, open your front door, and just meet everyone else where they are at: on the street level. All of real life happens on the street level, person to person, face to face, body to body.

You can't have real relationships with people if you are stuck in the attic, stuck in your thoughts, stuck in your high safe perch, always looking down at the people far below on the street just living their lives, but never actually being there yourself. It's like always watching a parade from across a great chasm.

To really connect you have to at least be part of the crowd, if not the parade itself. And that starts with you being in your body. Being in your body is how you start to open the door.

Here's a clue: if you are in your thoughts, you are not in your body. You can't be in the attic and on the ground floor of your house at the same time.

[questbarely @questbarely]

It's interesting to look at each day like one complete movie that you constantly re-write.

Ask yourself: At the end of the day, did you like the 12-hour movie that you just watched? What would you change about the plot? The characters? The setting? Do you wish your lead character were more heroic?

Well, the good news is that you get to rewrite the story overnight and film it again tomorrow.

Every day, just incorporate better and better changes and tweaks and improvements ... until, one day, you love the movie that you are living and don't need to heavily edit it anymore. You can just let it roll and watch all the good things that appear on-screen.

Think of the evening-time as a time for review, reflection, and re-writes for tomorrow's filming. Journal. Reflect. See what happens by actually arriving "prepared" for your scenes tomorrow.

[questbarely @questbarely]

Folks, you need to rescue yourself.
As much as you may love everyone around you, their priority isn't you - they're too busy fighting their own fires.
So wake up. Journal. Limit the daily onslaught of social media that muddles the mind, fatigues the soul, and gets you lost in other people's lives instead of your own. Focus on you. It's not selfish, it's essential.
Figure out what is best for you in the quiet space of your own morning when you are still your own undistracted boss. Make 'You' your #1 priority.

[questbarely @questbarely]

I love bright colors,

[questbarely @questbarely]

Just a PS dad enjoying the view and the light ...

[questbarely @questbarely]

Sorry to hear that. Keep in mind my post was written just after losing a friend, so there was bound to be some unrealistic highs and lows in my post ... but I think the overall point is still the same: you are only guaranteed right now.

After a breakup it's totally ridiculous to think you are gonna feel great about everything. But a technique I use when I am feeling very low is to ask myself the question: "What's the one thing I can do right now to make myself feel even just slightly better?" and then I go do that. It could be: eat a healthy salad with lots of nutrients, go for a walk around my block, or call a friend. Small actions, sure, but ones that I will feel slightly better for having done.

And if I don't believe I *can* feel better (thus making the question of "how to feel better" sound like complete bullshit) then a different question I can ask myself is, "How can I take care of myself right now?" In this case, you are basically pretending you are an assigned caretaker, and then you play-act that you are here only to care for your broken self. But, you will probably notice, it's really just a different way to get to the exact same answer anyway: eat a good salad, go for a walk, call a friend, etc. (which, in the end, will actually make me feel slightly better anyway - the "take care of myself" question is just a trick to get the same result).

[questbarely @questbarely]

All you ever get is you, right now. A friend of ours died just after New Years. Saw him, hugged & kissed hello & a few hours later he was gone. All you get is now.

If you're unhappy, OK fine - all emotions are valid - but you need to find a way to love every part of your life & yourself, even love your imperfect body. The cavalry is not coming to rescue you and make you feel better - only you can do that. Stop waiting for some magical moment to show up - BE the magical moment yourself.

Learn to have fun with every part of your life & self, both the good & the bad. Look at life as a comic strip that you star in ... because it kind of is. This may sound most ridiculous of all, but you even have to learn to be playful with your hardships.

We are all just jugglers, playing with time. So make your time on earth a dance you'll want to be remembered for. Love yourself, as you are, right now. Be sparky, be joyous, be fun, be spontaneous. Do not wait.

Hug others. Look them in the eye. Tell them you love them and are happy to see them. Make every hello count.

So Happy 2026, all you gentle men. Be gentle with yourself, but be bold in the world. Make it count.♥️

[questbarely @questbarely]

@rredrockett What a beautiful picture, and pose, and man ... it needs to be fully seen! :-D

[questbarely @questbarely]

Ever notice how naked people are always happy? It's like the body is the Sun, and clothes are the Clouds. When clothes come off, the true human shines.

[Hung Twink 21.8 k @Hungtwink8c]

Let’s see those jocks

[questbarely @questbarely]

@chaos_bag Facebook

[questbarely @questbarely]

Cheers all. Special thanks to those of you who made my New Year's a little more prosperous! Had a good convo last night. Upshot: If you're doing well compared to yourself then you're doing great. Improve yourself, don't try to match others' lives. (Less FB helps greatly in this.)