I’m Sick Of Just Trying To Get Through Things.

I can’t express how important it is to have hobbies in your 20s. To have something you enjoy and look forward to after long work days, tough conversations, and pressures in the real world. You need something to pour into like you’re a child again. The world is expectant, in a rush, focused on outcome. But with a hobby, you can take your time, make it your own, show it to no one, be bad at it, and do it for pure enjoyment without worrying how it will turn out. We desperately need the space to experiment without emphasis on the final product. We need emphasis on the process. Hobbies can teach us how to get back to that space. 

Clarice Lispector, A Breath of Life

being disabled will really have you thinking/saying things like “yeah i’m not really THAT disabled. as long as i take my meds twice a day (and as needed), eat and drink exactly the right things, keep the perfect balance of being active and resting, the weather is stable, and nothing unexpected happens AT ALL… i’m totally FINE! i probably should not even call myself disabled at this point because i’m doing so well!”

if you don’t want to call yourself disabled, that’s fine and it is your choice! but if you’re only “fine” or “doing really well” when a bunch of different variables are all lined up perfectly, then maybe you are not fine actually. just a thought!

Disabled and chronically ill people are allowed to enjoy things and do things they like (if they’re able) while still being sick and disabled. Yes, even if they aren’t employed. Hope this helps.

Maya C. Popa, “Dear Life”, Wound Is the Origin of Wonder

the Guardian

‘Even a freeway is redeemable’: world’s largest wildlife crossing takes shape in Los Angeles

A wildlife crossing across the 101 freeway will connect two parts of the Santa Monica mountains for animals

From the article:

Above the whirring of 300,000 cars each day on Los Angeles’s 101 freeway, an ambitious project is taking shape. The Wallis Annenberg wildlife crossing is the largest wildlife bridge in the world at 210ft long and 174ft wide, and this week it’s had help taking shape: soil. “This is the soul of the project,” says Beth Pratt, the regional executive director, California, at the National Wildlife Federation, who has worked on making the crossing become a reality over the last 13 years. She says she’s seen many milestones, like the 26m pounds of concrete poured to create the structure, but this one is special. “To be able to put my hand in that soil and toss it on and know that we’ll be putting milkweed plants that will flourish for monarch butterflies, or picturing the first mountain lion paw print on that soil,” she says, fills her with hope. “It is wonderful to watch this habitat take shape.” The plot is a native wildlife habitat that connects two parts of the Santa Monica mountain range, with the hopes of saving creatures – from the famous local mountain lions, down to frogs and insects – from being crushed by cars on one of the nation’s busiest roadways. With nearly an acre of local plants on either side and thick vegetated sound walls 12ft high to dampen light and noise for nocturnal animals as they slip across, it’s an unprecedented feat of engineering. Imagination, too. The project began in 2022 through a public-private partnership that brought together many organizations to cover the $92m in costs, according to Caltrans, the state transportation department. Research shows that wildlife crossings save money because it limits animal interactions with vehicles.

I think so many people forget making the world a better place isn’t just about having all the ‘correct’ sociopolitical opinions and beliefs and knowing all the theory it’s also hugely about actually being a good person… everyday acts of kindness and empathy, going out of your way to help others, small moments of connection in a cold world, loving thy neighbour all that

Natalie Díaz, from "American Arithmetic", Postcolonial Love Poem