wull of fhimsy

Lay in grass for 5+ minutes just existing

Look for cool rock/stick to hold for a little bit

Look for shapes in clouds

Kick leaves on sidewalks in autumn

Blow dandelion fluff in summer

Close eyes and listen to birds/nature/weather (recordings are fine)

Drink from a running tap with your hands

If you have a little more time, some more complex activities for your monkey brain:

Get a bag of peanuts and peel them open with your fingers. If you don't eat peanuts/are allergic, try a different nut. If you're allergic to all nuts, get green beans or snap peas and crack them all open to eat the insides first. Sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds will work as well.

Put some treats in capsules (cheap Easter eggs with great) and hide them around your dwelling. Candy/snacks are fine but stickers or other small rewards work too. Foraging brain will like this. Bonus if you can exchange hiding with a friend.

Go on a walk/ride to a new place. Novelty is essential for mental health. If you're not sure where to go, literally just pull up Google maps or something, zoom in on your location or nearby, and look for a shop you've never been to, then go explore it. My partner just took me to a thrift shop I'd never been to, and my brain will be picking over that new memory for days.

Once in a while, find a restaurant you've never been to and go get something in person even if it's just picking up a dessert. Try to order something you haven't before, or haven't in a while. You might hate it, but that will be an enrichment, too.

Go to where a social event is happening/where other people are. You do not have to participate, personally, but regularly going to where there are humans doing human stuff is immensely beneficial to mental health. Libraries, museums, and parks are a good starting point.

Look up local festivals in nearby towns and look at stuff people made by hand/at home. You don't have to buy anything, you don't have to make anything yourself, but seeing things people made by hand will Do Stuff for your brain, especially if you're stuck in doomscroll brain rot mode. Look at that little lumpy bar of soap, that little hand-knit scrubbie, that frog made out of old utensils. Things are still being made by humans all over, and you can go and look at them in person.

If you have the money, get some cheap canvas (near me Michaels has cheap canvas packs that go on sale for like $2/canvas) or thick paper and some poster paint in your favorite colors, and paint with your hands. It doesn't have to be a picture, just use your hands to smear paint on canvas. Poster paint is generally washable, so if you hate it you can just wash it off. Wear gloves if you need to, but put your handprint on that cave wall.

If you're able, arrange to speak out loud to at least one friend a week. "but I hate-" I know, but it's good for you to speak aloud to other friendly primates and share stories. Story sharing is huge for humans. You don't have to be a writer to tell stories, talk about your trip to the grocery store or the cool rock you found. This will have the bonus effect of starting you looking for things to tell your friend on your phone call, which slows you down and lets you notice your life as it's happening.

This homeless person is making me uncomfortable. Should I call [a man with a gun]?

My neighbor is having a loud party. Should I get [a man with a gun] involved?

There are some teenagers skateboarding. Do you think [a man with a gun] would get rid of them for me?

The last 15ish years have seen so much ink spilled on the Vanillish line, on gen 1 designs, etc etc, but I think it bears repeating how easy it is for a Mons game to stick to charismatic animals like mammals and birds and dinosaurs and pets. And pokemon does have that (we have, what, six cat lines? more if you count regional meowths) but it also makes sure to add, like. A crinoid. A bagworm. A bell. Creepy humanoid mushrooms, a sand castle, a big iceberg.

I am begging the UK trans community and its allies to attend the Mass Lobby at Parliament on June 25th, 11am-4pm, organised by Trans Solidarity Alliance.

The new EHRC Code of Practice pushes trans people out of toilets, hospital wards, and community spaces. It normalises gender policing based on appearance and stereotypes. It becomes statutory guidance in the UK by the end of June.

Trans people are now legally their assigned gender at birth and must join gendered spaces accordingly, but if they are perceived as their lived gender, they can also be ejected from those spaces. The guidance says: either break the law, or don’t pass too well.

A mass lobby is where you invite your MP to discuss your concerns with you in-person. Ask your MP to:

Demand full parliamentary scrutiny, debate, and use their free vote on the EHRC Code of Practice.

Support any motions rejecting the EHRC guidance. As of June 4th, Labour MP Nadia Whittome has submitted a prayer motion - Early Day Motion 240, please ask your MP to sign this.

Write to Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities about our concerns

Your MP does not have to be an ally, they do not have to respond to your email for you to show up and greencard them (details below the cut.) What matters is that as many people as possible show up.

I cannot stress this enough: Showing up in person matters. It is much more effective than petitions, emails, and letters.

It is a horrible, stressful time, and I am so sorry if you're trans and live in the UK. But I was at last year's mass lobby and the line for greencarding alone stretched around the back gates. It was a record breaking mass lobby and made us impossible to ignore. Let's do even better this time. Details under the cut: