Wisdom

seeing the photos from Webb up against photos from Hubble just makes me… I don’t even know like, wow! Look at that!

If you have to speculate if someone loves you and wants to be with you, chances are they don’t. It’s not that complicated. Don’t waste moments waiting and wondering. Don’t throw away your time dreaming of someone who doesn’t want you. No one is that amazing, and certainly not someone who would pass you up.

Teaching children to always obey adults is grooming them for abuse.

Surrender is easiest when you are mindful and first notice the stirrings of resistance inside.

“When the ‘fight or flight’ response fails to protect us, it increases our chances of becoming traumatized. One of the body’s most basic responses for survival has failed, leaving us with no options but to shut down, or play dead. The more that our fight of flight response fails to keep us safe, for example, after repeated or re-occurring traumas, the less effective it is. The brain begins to learn that 'fight or flight’, one of your body’s most basic ways to keep you alive, is failing. Fight or flight is not effective, and therefore will immediately revert to most basic and final survival mechanism, to play dead and surrender. This means, you dissociate.”

"Children who feel they cannot engage their their parents emotionally often try to strengthen their connection by playing whatever roles they believe their parents want them to. Although this may win them some fleeting approval, it doesnt yield genuine emotional closeness. Emotionally disconnected parents dont suddenly develop a capacity for empathy just because a child a child doea something to please them.

I highly recommend developing a tolerance for polite low level conflict, not just because it will serve you well when employers or whoever try to impose bullshit on you with the expectation you'll fold rather than expend energy arguing, but because it will make you a genuine asset to your friends and allies whenever they're in positions where they're less able to fight for themselves.