Philosopher-under-the-sea - Philosopher Under The Sea

A friend reminded me today of the sentence:

"you cannot shame yourself into improvement".

All very true, and something I needed to hear. So lucky to have other humans sharing wise words and making my life better, irl and on Tumblr.

If you have a goal to change this year, be sure to build your plan on a foundation of self-love, not self-criticism. You are worthy just as you are. If you hope to change, remember that each little step on that path is a tiny gift honoring your own sense of self-worth. Move forward in the name of care, not condemnation.

I feel that you summarized in a single sentence everything I want to do with my writing, and pretty much what I want to do with my life the most. Thank you so much for that.

And cheers to all people who already do exactly that, and the ones who want to join. Let's have a guild.

My contribution, I hope, is to find the ideas that matter the most and connect them in a way that is highly actionable.

When Everything Everywhere All at Once said “The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind, especially when we don’t know what’s going on" 

When the Good Place said “Why choose to be good every day when there is no guaranteed reward now or in the afterlife… I argue that we choose to be good because of our bonds with other people and our innate desire to treat them with dignity. Simply put, we are not in this alone.” 

When Jean-Paul Sartre said ”‘Hell is other people’ is only one side of the coin. The other side, which no one seems to mention, is also ‘Heaven is each other’. Hell is separateness, uncommunicability, self-centeredness, lust for power, for riches, for fame. Heaven on the other hand is very simple, and very hard: caring about your fellow beings.“

This book is a cozy cuddle to your soul. I love fantasy since I'm a child but sometimes I don't need all the violence, the fighting and the high stakes. Cozy fantasy as a genre has been a revelation! You can have all the fantasy stuff but it is about a former orc mercenary who wants to open a sweet coffee shop where people can relax and be happy and it turns to also be a lesbian romance. Fuck yes.

legends and lattes ☕

everyone says join your local mutual aid groups and build community, but uh, what do you do if a lot of them seem to have dissolved and the other ones don't have consistent recurring meetings.

🗡️ It takes more than three words…

to say I love you in the ways you deserve 🗡️ words of affirmation prompts

“I can see that you care for them, even if you don’t say it directly. It’s in everything you do.”

“You deserve to relax.”

“That top complements your eyes really well!”

“Hey, you tried your best on that project. It may have fallen apart in the end—but you tried. That’s what matters.”

“I really admire how you stood up for them. That takes a lot of courage.”

“You make people feel safe. Like they can be themselves without judgment… at least that’s how I feel around you.”

“You’re looking less like you got dragged out of hell every day!” (“Thanks?” “Going to hell and back doesn’t mean you got any less attractive.”)

“I don’t think you were in the wrong. Now I’m not saying you were right, but you made a good point and I think they should consider that.”

“It’s okay to be just okay. I’m here for you no matter what.”

“We adore you! We want you around! You’re our friend, why wouldn’t we want to hang out with you?”

“You are worthy of love and friends and respect.”

“Keep going, you’re doing great!”

“Woah, that was sick. Can you teach me how to do that?”

“You look healthier, you really do.”

“I would be nervous too in your shoes. But you’d be telling me that I got this, so I’m telling you: You got this.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

“I really care about you and want you to become the best version of yourself, whoever that may be.”

“Regardless of your gender, you’ll still be allowed in the treehouse.” (this came from a really funny and reassuring conversation with a friend LOL)

“I trust that you won’t hurt me.”

“You’re a really wonderful person. The world would be a better place with more people like you.”

In mine and many other east Asian cultures, the dragon traditionally symbolises things like power, wealth and strength (imperial symbol and all)

I think we often forget that in the story of the Great Race, the dragon came in fifth because it'd stopped to give people rain. Then it'd stopped again to push a rabbit adrift on a log across the wide river so it reached the shore safely (that's why the Rabbit year comes before the Dragon).

Dragons aren't meant to just be powerful - they are meant to do good with such power, and to help those in need.

So in this lunar new year, I hope you gain more power, so that you might be able to help others. I pray you have abundant resources so you may give to yourself and those around you. I wish you courage, endurance, kindness and generosity, for yourself and your people.

I hope you, and I, will be rain givers, life preservers, joy bringers.

I hope we will be dragons.

no fucking way

the aliens are going to have questions about our world that absolutely no one will ever be able to answer

Raise Your Glasses