#journeys

There is freedom in the design. Beauty in the plan. Dreams in the making. Any GOOD journey is well thought out. But GREAT journeys happen when you are willing to savor the unexpected.

You can never savor the journey, if you can’t thirst for the dream.

The Front Bottoms // Cough it Out

It’s good to push yourself. This can mean getting outside or taking care of something even if it seems unlikely or impossible. Maybe this means reaching out to someone to tell them you care about them or wearing a piece of clothing that you’ve been anxious about showing in public. You might need to have a difficult conversation or set a boundary with someone in order to take care of yourself first. This won’t be impossible and is good for you when you can do it- don’t be complatent in things that are hurting you.

You radiate something very special every day. The care you have for people and things you love, the way you laugh, the way you move, the energy you bring when you’re at your best or when you’re just trying. That doesn’t go away when you feel you’re not looking or doing your best. You are always beautiful just by being here

Go and find something to hug if you can. A friend, a partner, a pet, a stuffy or blanket, a family member, - to wrap your arms around someone or something and hold them close, knowing that you are giving safety and love is healing for you (and for anyone you might share it with!)

You will struggle in life, with your relationships, with your illnesses and your feelings and much more. Sometimes it feels like we’re slipping because we have to fight harder than normal to keep ourselves healthy, happy, or even just baseline. And to be truthful, not everything will end well and not every relationship or situation will last. But you can’t let those struggles overtake you- try to overcome, take care of yourself, and be okay with making mistakes or letting go. Problems are not the end of a good streak, they’re a normal part of life and we can learn from them as much as anything else

Reminders for food and water and the basics are so important, and if you need one of those when you see this you should try to get it. But also, try to do things that aren’t just to survive each day. This is a reminder to talk to someone (human, animal, or plushy it does not matter), to look outside or open your window or watch a video of birds eating some seeds, to wear your favorite shirt and socks, to remember what makes you happy and find it in any way you can. Survival is good, but there needs to be a reason for it that you can find through joy

You have the ability to make so many choices in life. How you move past tough memories or thoughts, who you are kind to and who you surround yourself with, what kind of changes you want to see happen in the world. Don’t forgot about your impact, both on your own life and others. You have the capacity for so much good, so why not use it?

Your life is worth something. Your actions, creations, thoughts and dreams are all impactful to something or someone. Its hard to find value in ourselves, but trust that others can find it until you have the skills and the love to do it yourself.

Cut negative talk out of your regular vocabulary. “This doesn’t mean me”, “But I don’t deserve that”, jokes about harm. These shouldn’t be a natural response to positive things. Even if you don’t believe the nicer things you say about yourself, keep going! Fake it till you make it, enforce happiness on yourself until it sticks

You deserve something today. A nice coffee, lying down for a nap, a new episode of a favourite show, even going out somewhere (invite a friend along!) Treat yourself in little ways while you go about things. Life isn’t just about work and getting through it, there’s so much joy to go find!

Recovery is a continuous process. It is a journey more than it is a stop. Setting yourself up for future success, learning skills that will last a lifetime, taking the time you need to process things over a while, that is what is most important. You will not be healed in a day, but every day your actions can work towards your healing

Self evaluation is an important part of growing. Listen to others who have advice for you. Examine your biases and behaviors. What can you improve? How can you be kinder, healthier, and more compassionate to those around you? Strive for positive change

You were put on this earth for a reason. It may not be a clear goal, and it may take a lot of hard work, but you are here to be happy and accomplish the things you want. Make sure you focus on that sometimes

If you haven’t heard it today: you can do this. Anything you set out to accomplish today, I know you can get it done, even just halfway or a little more!

Take a moment to find one thing in your room that needs to be folded, put away, or trashed. It can just be one thing. If you find something else while you’re up that also needs to be folded, put away, or trashed, maybe you can take both items and put them where they belong. I know it seems tough, but you can do it

There is a place in the world for you. It may not be the place you thought, and it may take a while to get there, but your existence is not for nothing

You just have to keep living. For the concert you have next week, for your pets, for your favourite pair of socks, for your friends and family and the girl at the bus stop who always noticed your outfits even if she never says anything. For yourself.

Your self care doesn’t have to be pretty. Taking a shower or just getting out of bed, doing grounding exercises, wearing clothes that are comfy and help you through the day, these things are ways to take care of yourself and make progress. You don’t have to be perfectly confident and “aesthetic” to be productive to your mental health

You will always have a place where you belong. Sometimes it’s with the people who love us, a city that makes us feel safe or space you built for yourself. No matter what it is to you, there is always a home waiting somewhere

So soon you will be happy, and content, and healed. You are on the road to that place and everything you feel now will help you towards the goals you have. Enjoy the bits of happiness along the way, and never stop fighting for your dream self. Fight, breathe, and believe it is soon

No matter if you’ve taken steps forward or back today, you’re still on the journey to content

Eclipses of former selves drape themselves in unseen corners that touch the floor and stretch up to the skyline. Trying to reach that neat straight place: the chalky outline roadmap. But my fingernails are coloured in bright red with matching lips. And she, she stays far from inconspicuous. Trying to take a bite on a burger and keep the eloquent lines of matt finished lippy in tact.

It rains, there is no umbrella. Never an umbrella when you need her.

Instead, you hop down an unfamiliar street wishing that she would inch a little closer but you play it down and cool like the temperate of the evening, as if the night is the first of many. So you shift the focus reminding yourself to stay like those cement slabs, cemented into pavements with neat straight lines.

You see, depictions of self are just that. We meet and we try and expound our best selves. Then we meet those that don’t hide in corners or under shadows but stand up and let you see the crinkles. Let you see the fears of walking into a room first when you’re late. Let you see the fears of mirrors and the faces that sometimes shouldn’t be looking back [now].

I’m trying to focus on work and my mind wanders and I know I am yet to forgive myself. Spent so much time and unwanted effort to reconcile myself in another - when all along it was right here: I am not who I present myself to be. But I am learning to unmask the persona of who and what I should be.

I can list out the reasons the myriad of isms and complexes that sit with me. Those unchartered roadmaps with interlinks, to figure out where to change and what route to take. But like the dark blue and green lines we follow the same path with different stops.

Peace.