soft and calm ♡

Scars? Not body horror. Limb differences? Not body horror. Facial differences? Not body horror. Feeding tubes, colostomy bags, etc? Not body horror. Movement disorders? Not body horror. Visibly disabled people just existing is not horror.

i’ve said it before but no feeling is greater than looking into the eyes of someone you love and bursting into tears because you can feel the love filling you up to the brim & everything else fails to translate it. nothing is greater than to love the right person a little too much and then a little more. i love to love and i want to love in insane amounts because being able to do that is truly the greatest gift i have in this life

sounds silly but. one of the greatest things ever as someone with a trauma background is learning that things aren't inherently as bad or as scary as I thought. it IS possible to assemble Ikea furniture without arguments. is IS possible to discuss boundaries without having something thrown at me for speaking out of turn. it IS possible to spend hours on end sharing your favourite things with your favourite people, and not get called annoying for it. the world is an incredible place

didn’t include the wildest things in the original post, so here’s some more: it is possible to be upset and not be accused of being too much! it is possible to be honest about your feelings and not have them used against you! it is possible to learn that having your own thoughts and feelings does not make you a bad person! it is possible to find people who will hold you while you cry and hug you when they’re proud of you! there are people who will remind you to be easier on yourself when you’re finding it hard to cope!

the world is not perfect, and even once you’re out of traumatic environments you may continue to suffer. but there are people out there who will not use your pain against you. there are people who make it easier to cope instead of harder !!

(grabs you by the shoulders) you have to make room for new experiences in your life. you have to go through the unpleasant work of leaving your comfort zone, even if just for a few minutes at a time. because if you don't, your brain will trick you into stagnation. you will start to believe that the world can barely fit you in it. but that's not true. it's the opposite way around. you can fit the whole word inside of you. your task is only this: to welcome it with open arms

I know I've said this a hundred times but if you're worried about palestinian fundraisers being scams at least consider donating to MSF. It's a highly reputable organization which has broken its long-standing neutrality to denounce Israel in front of the UN. Here's all the aid MSF is providing to Gazans (documentation available in multiple languages).

Since I know no one's gonna click on that link, here's a quick overview of some of the various ways in which Medicins Sans-Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) is aiding Palestinians

- Since Oct 7 2023, MSF provided for 14000 hospital admissions and 7500 surgeries, on top of treating 27500 people for physical violence causes, treating 34000 people for diarrhoea (very common condition in Gaza currently due to the sanitary crisis) and holding 18000 mental health sessions.

-MSF is currently operating in two hospitals, eight healthcare facilities and fifteen mobile clinics, providing surgical support, wound care, physiotherapy, maternity and paediatric care, basic healthcare, vaccinations, and mental health services among other things (more info on the treatments provided by each facility on the link above). Additionally, they provide training for psychological, medical and paramedical volunteers, and donate first aid kits to various camps (info on the specific locations on the link above).

- Via their partnership with the Palestinian Agriculture and Development Association, they're building latrines for over 30000 people in six camps, distributing hygiene kits to 2400 families, and ensuring clean drinking water for 25000 people, on top of equipping a camp for 70 families with accessible sanitary facilities for disabled people.

- Since October 7, 2023, eight of their medics have died. Seven of them are remembered here, and their latest, Hasan Suboh, in this statement that denounces Israel's allies for disregarding the fact that the protection of humanitarian workers is not being guaranteed as they claim.

MSF does not only stand for Palestine in humanitarian terms, it also does so politically to an extent, holding Israel and its allies accountable for sabotaging ceasefire negotiation attempts.

MSF also provides aid to Sudan, the Democratic Republic Of Congo, Haiti, Ethiopia and 76 other countries.

To better maximize your donation to MSF, I advise keeping an eye out for donation doubling and tripling periods, which occur fairly often and can be checked on their website.

"use chatgpt" that's the devil talking. buy four caffeinated drinks and pull an all nighter. this is the way.

You know what's great. Uninstalling stuff. I love to Uninstall

are you allowing your loved ones to pour into you? take stock of the past few months. how many times have you said “don’t worry about it” when you wished someone would worry, when’s the last time you said “i got it” when you didn’t really have it? there is no healing without help, and support circles exist around you but may have been shrouded in shadow due to living in this individualistic paradigm. honor yourself by accepting and inviting help when you need it.

there is still time. there is still time. until your bones are in the fucking ground there is still time.

realizing that sticking to the "do it bad" "do it scared" mentality implies theres also a "do it bored"

well. did it bored 👍

DO IT SCARED. DO IT BAD. DO IT BORED. DO IT HALFWAY. DO IT WRONG. DO IT EMBARRASSED. DO IT UGLY. DO IT LATE. DO IT DIFFERENT. but by god do it <3!!

It’s solar and wind and tidal and geothermal and hydropower.

It’s plant-based diets and regenerative livestock farming and insect protein and lab-grown meat.

It’s electric cars and reliable public transit and decreasing how far and how often we travel.

It’s growing your own vegetables and community gardens and vertical farms and supporting local producers.

It’s rewilding the countryside and greening cities.

It’s getting people active and improving disabled access.

It’s making your own clothes and buying or swapping sustainable stuff with your neighbours.

It’s the right to repair and reducing consumption in the first place.

It’s greater land rights for the commons and indigenous peoples and creating protected areas.

It’s radical, drastic change and community consensus.

It’s labour rights and less work.

It’s science and arts.

It’s theoretical academic thought and concrete practical action.

It’s signing petitions and campaigning and protesting and civil disobedience.

It’s sailboats and zeppelins.

It’s the speculative and the possible.

It’s raising living standards and curbing consumerism.

It’s global and local.

It’s me and you.

Climate solutions look different for everyone, and we all have something to offer.

it’s so important for your health to regularly interact with people at least a decade older than you who aren’t family, especially as a young person.

When my 45 year old teammate gives me advice on mental health and I know she understands because she’s had a tough adult life.

When my 32 year old friend tells me his life started improving for the first time the year she turned 30.

When the 60 year old man at the soup kitchen gives me permission to grieve by telling me I’m ‘just a baby’ with only gentleness in his voice.

It’s so much easier to abandon and break out from the cultural idealisation of youth when you surround yourself with wonderful people in all stages of their lives.

Before you break your own heart thinking people aren’t there for you… Ask yourself, do you give them the opportunity to be there for you?

Do you communicate and tell them when you’re having a hard time? Do you ask for support when you need it? If they ask if you’re okay, do you tell them “no” or do you say “yes, I’m fine”?

While the idea of someone being able to magically know our needs and meet them can be super appealing, it isn’t realistic. People aren’t mind readers and have their own stresses and feelings to deal with. But I think you’ll often find your loved ones are happy to be there for you if they know how to be.