Uh oh🐥

“He’s just trying to bring a little sunshine into your life”

in the summer, when it turns out the windows open, you leave a cup of coffee out on the ledge for the gargoyle that’s nearest the breakroom. it’s funny. it’s just a cute joke. your coworkers laugh, but not really at you. it’s harmlessly silly, and frankly working in an office kind of sucks. no one minds something extra to smile about. 

the next day you go to get the mug back. the coffee’s gone, but the cup’s half full of rainwater and cigarette butts. haha, cute joke, someone else must be in on it. you wash the cup and put it back out fresh for the gargoyle. everyone’s calling him greg now. everyone smiles over greg’s morning coffee. greg needs his fix! greg is a valued employee. keep up the good work, greg. you set a mug of coffee out for greg every morning, now. 

the stuff in the coffee mug that’s left behind keeps changing, though. it’s different every morning: always rainwater, but also cigarette butts, coffee grounds, a handful of gravel, some bottlecaps, gross old pennies. receipt papers, pigeon feathers, half a shoe.

then one morning it’s a whole, wrapped snickers bar. still in half a cup of dirty rainwater, but the plastic’s fine, the candy inside should be good. 

‘huh. thanks, greg,’ you say, and after you get greg his coffee, you open the candy bar and have it right there, sitting on the windowsill. 

Small acts of devotion.

Go hiking 

Learn self defense

Spend time in the forest

Go barefoot

Carry menstrual products in case someone needs one

Learn archery or how to use throwing knives

Go stargazing

Understand feminism 

Always help an animal in need

Keep an eye on anyone who seems to be uncomfortable with the person they’re with - discreetly offer support if needed

Make fashion choices that make you feel quietly confident

Cook over a campfire - or a wood burning stove

When drinking your morning cup of tea/coffee, step outside and enjoy the fresh air for a few moments

Dance

Wear oils and perfumes that smell of the forest

Be kind to kids - inspire them to follow their passions regardless of gender, ethnicity, etc. 

Learn more about constellations 

Boldly be whoever you are

Give money to any homeless people you pass

Plant native plants near your home

Work with the moon, follow it’s phases (use an app if needed)

Support aro/ace individuals 

Sleep under the stars

Buy more houseplants

Learn about the geography of the moon (Maria, Lunar highlands, etc.)

Watch wildlife/nature documentaries

Wake up at dawn

Go to pride

Learn bird language

Listen to instrumental music that inspires you

Keep basic first aid supplies with you

Donate to charities that help endangered species

Spend time in the mountains

PRACTICE LOVING YOURSELF

1. Want Tattoo

2. Y e a r n i n g

https://archive.fo/lfh98

Then in my twenties I hit my adult metabolism and didn’t fit into any of my old clothes anymore. I gave my old dresses to my foster mother, who sells costumes for a living, and the green dress sold. It entered the local medieval re-enactment secondhand economy.

Every time I go to an event, someone different is wearing my green dress. It draws my eyes because it’s a lovely colour and the fabric—real wool and enough of it—moves beautifully with the wearer’s body. I never recognize it at first, because every wearer has worn it a different way; it can be mixed and matched, dressed up and down, moved around a good century of history. From ten feet away its lacing looks elegant, its embellishments beautiful gracenotes. I think: Oh my god, that dress looks beautiful. Wait a minute, that’s MY DRESS.

That dress teaches me, every time I see it, to stop looking at myself through such critical eyes. That dress doesn’t just look good, it looks better than most other dresses in its category, because I put in the time and the effort (including using pliers to force a needle through six layers of wool) to make sure it was done right.