If you're mentally ill, chronically ill or otherwise disabled, do yourself a favor and consciously work to dismantle the "if you're too sick to go to work you're also too sick to be on the computer" mindset which got drilled into most of us during childhood. You don't have to deny yourself joy. You don't have to directly or indirectly punish yourself for not being able to do certain things. It doesn't help anyone. All it does is make you even more miserable than you have to be. So make sure you don't punish yourself for being sick. Make sure you don't subconsciously sabotage yourself with the idea that you have to be punished for not being abled. Make sure you embrace the joy you can find instead of denying yourself out of unnecessary guilt.

Vlonelylulu on twitter

don’t let this world’s obsession with youth rob you of the big and small joys of adulthood. i spent most of my teenage years and early twenties struggling with my mental health. but there’s no timeline for happiness. for many people, getting older and growing up means having more chances to redefine their values, find their path and stability in life. some people go to college in their forties. some people marry in their sixties. some people recover better after their thirties. there’s no timeline for this kind of stuff. your childhood and teenage years won’t be the only chance you have at experiencing freedom and joy.

It’s okay to still be dealing with your past. It’s okay to take your time moving on. Do not let any ‘leave the past in the past’ kind of people make you feel guilty for your journey.

-goodthingsarewaiting

i never know what to say when someone is embarrassed about their age

"Escape at Bedtime"

The poem is by Robert Louis Stevenson: one of those ones that just resonate...

The image is a bit rare. I was delighted to stumble across it online in the NYPL Digital Collections, as I've got a framed copy of it—a greeting card from the time when the Green Tiger Press (now doing business as Laughing Elephant) first started doing note cards featuring the work of little-known children's illustrators.

The artist is Henriette Willebeek le Mair, who was known in the early 1900s for her precision and delicacy of line and the beauty of her colors. She was the illustrator of the 1931 edition of Stevenson's classic A Child's Garden of Verses; the image above is her illustration for "Escape at Bedtime."

It’s okay if you aren’t constantly focused on healing or recovery. It’s not realistic and can lead to burn out. It’s okay to take breaks or not be ready to even start yet. While you should be making sure to be cautious of how you treat other people, it isn’t a moral failing to not be ready to heal yet.