#soft reminders

[slfcare]

good things to pay attention to more often

the color of trees

clouds and how they look different throughout the day

the different colors the mornings can have. sometimes it's an orange hue and sometimes pink and sometimes it's too misty to tell

pretty color schemes in random places (the trees and your neighbors wooden patio and the color of their car)

the states of the vehicles passing you by, dents and scratches and the different trinkets suspended from their rearview mirrors

the sound of silence

the shadows the lights cast in your home, like how sunset looks different than sunrise, and the shadows the sun casts look different than those of your lamps and candles

pretty details in buildings and houses like certain types of windows or doorknobs or archways

the movement of things in the wind. flags, leaves, flowers, people's hair and coats

[petaltexturedskies]

You've still got your inner world — a world that's more real. That's why you're different from the rest of us: you have your secret garden; to which you can retire and lock the gate behind you.

T.S. Eliot, from "The Confidential Clerk" in The Complete Poems and Plays of T. S. Eliot

[prettyguardian-prettygirl]

gentle reminder that it’s okay if you’re still healing from things from a long time ago. it’s okay to take your time. Healing is hard and I’m proud of you.

[moonlit-positivity]

Your worth cannot be measured by someone else's opinion of you 🌸

[happy-place-for-sad-people]

[creatingnikki]

things to remember in 2024

i. more quiet time, more silence. more shavasana, more stillness.

ii. keep promises you make to yourself. everyone else can be disregarded — the promises they make, the promises you make to them.

iii. there is no "should do this" or "should be that way" as a universal rule book. your experiences and lessons teach you what are your values, preferences, and takes on life and people. you don't need to convince others of them, you don't even need to most times articulate them to follow them and do as you please.

iv. things that increase your risk of chronic health (mental and physical) issues: sitting, smoking, and situationships. your legs, lungs, and love life deserve much better.

v. 'the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment'. fight the instant gratification, the fomo, the yolo. do the healthy thing for you in the moment, every moment.

vi. go to the salon, the bookstore, the train station, the beach, the bakery more than you go to the bar, the boy's house, and self doubt/loathing.

vii. travel even if you don't have a big budget and cannot do everything you'd want to in that destination because you do now want some travel experiences and stories while you're still in your 20s. make it a priority now, you don't want to feel bitter later.

viii. stop trying to frustrate and confuse yourself so much. you are both the vivacious, warm, kind, person and the somber, detached, pensive person. it's not one betraying the other. it's both you — the sunflower and the black orchid.

ix. ask people of things, it's no virtue to only give and not take. however, don't be so sensitive or shattered if not given or denied. people don't have as much power over your heart as you believe. your heart is happily vacationing on the moon most months of the year away from this worldly chaos. it's your ego that cannot take it. acknowledge the role of your ego, learn to understand it so that you can work with it.

x. do the cringe things. post a hundred reels on Instagram even if you get five likes on each. cringe at that part of you that cringes when you do the things you want instead of cringing at yourself. when you do that you're viewing yourself as a third-party judging yourself and honestly love aren't there thousands out there to do that job already? so then you stick to your job — support yourself no matter how you decide to live your life.

xi. love and romance are not the centre or purpose of your life. you are. the genre of your life is neither rom com nor tragic passionate romance. it's slice of life. love and romance will happen when it happens and will be one part of your life. but all the other parts? they belong to you — to your art and writing, to your joy and exploration of yourself and this world, to your family and friends, to food and cats, to travel and music, to peace and sleep. live a full life.

xii. set processes for your routine that streamline everything and make it easy. your morning work commute, your night skincare, going over your monthly budget, saving and investing for your goals, how you organize your life and time. and when problems show up, simply problem solve. don't take it personally, try to not feel dejected and doomed. and for the times you do, don't try to fix anything. take a shower, eat a good meal, go to sleep.

xiii. when setting boundaries, and when those boundaries are crossed, you don't have to break your head trying to get the other person to change their behaviour. instead, you should change your behaviour. if they cross a boundary, then that should be your cue for a behaviour change, a decision. don't be at the mercy of another's understanding and compassion to have your life be aligned to your needs and values.

xiv. three steps taken > three hundred steps planned. pausing for three months > abandoning for three years. three people you love and who love you > thirty people who are fluff. idk why three is the magic number here but you get the gist. moderation, my love, and balance. regulation and removal.

xv. cut out the noise. you'll figure out more of what that means as you begin to do it. it's social media, yes. it's societal conditioning, yes. but it's also the things your loved ones say despite having the best intentions at heart for you. it's the things the younger you believed and thought and wrote. it's the friends and lovers who come and go and don't really know you well. it's all of it. you have to cut out the noise. build noise-cancelling headphones for your soul over time and carry them with you everywhere.

[lettersbycandlelight]

[alicewritten]

create something with your own hands and let it go without expecting it to be perfect and maybe you’ll calm down

[comfortfrogblog]

[rosecoloredknight]

@sprxeadpositivity

[oliverinaestheticplaces]

Stinky Bear motivation. Give ur inner critic a hug or other forms of comfort bc they need it.

[transcendragon]

There Is Beauty In Small Things - another gentle reminder with a dragon. A very, very tiny dragon

My original art made in procreate, image description in alt text

[ardent-reflections]

If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.

Charles Bukowski

[prettyguardian-prettygirl]

Shout out to anyone who has a demonized diagnosis, cluster b disorders, mid or high support needs autistic people, all disabled people, anyone with sensory issues or texture issues, people who get overwhelmed easily, people who find it hard to do things alone, people with trauma, anyone who uses a mobility aid, people who struggle with social interactions, and people who feel awkward in their skin. We are not burdens and we deserve to feel good, we deserve to happy and have good things in our lives. We are not broken people. We are amazing and just as special as anyone else.

[moonlit-positivity]

Be gentle with your failures, be gentle with your mistakes. If you had known the outcome before hand you would have made a better choice. And even if you didn't mean for it to happen, you don't deserve to feel bad for doing something you really wanted to do.

[happy-place-for-sad-people]