America's Next Top Dune Propagandist

a friendly reminder of what not to say to someone who just came out

will make you see this injustice

For the record, I’m not saying, “Only think positive thoughts! No bad vibes!” Toxic positivity is probably about as unhealthy as only thinking negative thoughts. Sometimes shit does just suck. I’m not telling you to be grateful for the bad things around you. Being a sarcastic little hater definitely has its place. But setting aside like 2 minutes per day to come up with 5 things you’re grateful for will genuinely improve your outlook. It doesn’t have to be big stuff—sometimes the best I can manage is simple shit like, “I’m grateful that zippers were invented,” but even that forces me to be in the present moment and deepens my appreciation of the world around me. Try it, even if you have to do it badly or sarcastically at first. Even if you only do it so that you can come back and tell me I’m wrong in 3 months. Set a daily alarm on your phone and give it a try.

Is there a practice for cultivating positive feelings, like “those daffodils are pretty,” that doesn’t immediately lead to “and therefore, I need to placate Something that could have made them flesh-eating but hasn’t. Yet”?

(also yeah I am drowning in cynicism and sometimes even being sincere enough to call something amazing or awesome or just *good* feels like a performance, but generally I can find stuff that’s pretty cool without hating myself, which is why that’s what I use as the starting exercise for this)

I really recommend reading “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It changed a lot of how I think about gratitude and our connections to the lives around us, and the idea of a “gifting economy” which erases a lot of the guilt around being grateful. If I see daffodils, I’m grateful *to* the daffodils, who grew up along side humans in a mutualistic relationship. They give us the gift of being beautiful and useful (daffodils have been grown by humans since antiquity for various purposes including medicine and rodent repellent) and they don’t ask for anything in return. They’d grow wild without us. But we can choose to give them the gift of cultivation and care in return, and that enriches both our lives. When you think of the world and the lives around you as people, not in a spiritual woo way, but as members of your community you can work together with in a very practical sense, it makes it a lot easier to know where that gratitude is going and to see how much and how freely we’re given these gifts. It also makes it easier to see and acknowledge the human members of your community who, while they probably don’t think of it that way, are also giving you gifts every day, of just running the society that supports you. Making food, stocking shelves, hauling garbage. There are humans and living things all around to be grateful to, to thank, and to bring your own gifts to if you have the means and the desire. It’s not an obligation, or obeisance to some supreme power. It’s recognizing an equal has done something kind for you, and choosing to do something kind for them to show them you care, even if all you can do for them in the moment is acknowledge the gift and thank them for it. That’s real gratitude to me.

“I saw a really cool street performer because Past Me went out to take care of a chore we’ve been dreading, thank you Past Me.”

terfs posting their Ls

I saw this meme from Spiderverse somewhere and thought about these two, so I had to commit

Thank you library

Thank you library for saving me from buying it :)

people who are just finding out about internet tracking and data mining in the year 2025 and that your special robot friend does not respect your privacy lol

Bad Influence

Magnus Archives fan I see

THIS IS SO FUNNY I'M SORRY

Obviously I'm hanging out with Princess Peach and something about boots

I FIND LOVE?

Well I be.

...? I guess I'm going to go to some sort of shows and really enjoy them

@sociallyincompatible 😰 what are you doing with that dog

uh... ok?

Tumblr ate all the quality 💔

Please please please don't click those phishing texts