pt

realizing nothing can fill my void other than doing everything i said i would do for myself

There is a subfield of neuroscience called neuroaesthetics which studies how the brain perceives and responds to beauty. From a brain perspective, beauty isn’t superficial, it’s regulatory. It affects emotion, memory, motivation and our overall well being by influencing brain systems tied to stress, reward and safety. Beautiful things can lower stress and cortisol, increase dopamine (pleasure and motivation), increase oxytocin (connection and safety), and help the brain move out of survival mode. That’s why natural light feels grounding, soft colors feel soothing, symmetry feels safe, clutter feels overwhelming and certain spaces make you breathe deeper without even realizing it

Suad Al-Attar (Iraqi, 1942), Garden of Eden, 1993. Oil on canvas,183 x 153 cm.

when julian randall wrote, “how do you pronounce your name? the blood is silent.” and when hanif willis-abdurraqib wrote, “have they stopped / whispering the dead thing’s name yet?” and when simone john wrote, “the first death comes by bullet. the second, when they’ve forgotten your name.”