list of mundane things that feel like ancient human rituals
cleaning or wipe your bare feet
breaking off a piece of bread and handing it to someone
putting the weight of a basket on your hip or head
eating nuts or berries while hunched over close to the ground
seeing something startling just out of your line of sight and very quickly stepping or leaping on to a larger object to get a better view
cupping your hands into running water to wash your face
the unanimous protection of a baby or child in a public space where women are present
when an elderly woman laughs and grips your forearm tightly
hey. HEY. artists. writers.
take your TIME
How a friendship (or a relationship) should NOT make you feel:
What if I’m not good enough to be their friend/partner?
If I keep doing everything in my power to please/impress this person, then maybe they’ll someday acknowledge me and like me
I’m not worth their attention. I was stupid to expect them to care about me. I should have known I’m not special to them from the start.
What they just did crushes me inside and makes me feel invisible/worthless/forgettable/abandoned but I know it’s my fault for being like this and I can never bring it up or they’ll think I’m a freak
I should stuff my feelings down and accept that I’m just not that important and that if they accidentally walk all over me this is fine and I have to find a way to be at peace with it
I wish they would give me at least half as much attention as I’m giving them. But if I bring it up, they’ll think I expect too much or that I’m keeping count and I shouldn’t. Maybe one day they’ll return the attention.
I don’t feel cared about at all. I feel just as lonely as when I didn’t have anyone, but now also scared that it’s my fault.
I’m scared of what they’re going to think of me if I say how I feel. I’m scared what they’re going to think if they find out more about me.
I can tell I’ll be abandoned as soon as I confront them about anything unfair and painful they’ve done to me.
I want to have someone but this is painful.
I don’t think they realize my feelings are real, and that I’m a real person who exists even at time when they don’t need me. I don’t think I can explain this to them.
I feel used, but it’s my fault for allowing them to use me. I need to figure this out myself.
I feel that for every good thing I do for their life, they make mine more painful and unbearable. They don’t even notice it because they don’t know what I’m going thru. And I don’t dare to tell them.
If I tell them what’s painful for me, when they inevitably do it again, I’ll know they knew they’re hurting me. I wouldn’t be able to stand it.
Would they just be happier without me?
I’m spending more time fretting and over-analyzing what they’re going to do than enjoying their stay in my life..
I don’t think this person ever cared about me. They only saw what they could get out of me.
I feel like crying repeatedly when I remember things they did and said to me
I feel that they want to keep me even when it’s incredibly painful for me to endure it. I want to be set free. Why won’t they let me go.
If this is your experience in a friendship or a relationship, it’s not love and care that you’re getting out of it. These situation should not happen in a loving, healthy and mutually caring friendships or relationships.
It’s unlikely that you feel slighted by things that aren’t meant to slight you. Being ignored, neglected, left behind, manipulated, used, lead on, groomed, shamed, forced to fear what their perception of you is - those are all scenarios that would upset and bring pain and misery to every single person. You’re not irrational for feeling this, and you don’t have to hide it. If someone is repeatedly making you feel this way, you’re more than justified in leaving. You don’t need to endure this for anyone.
(bad) Idea: Pronoun selections for multiple pronoun users where you have the ability to set relative rates of each pronoun. Like maybe like:
See you could set relative frequencies of each pronoun, and order them.
And yes I did mock this up using Visual Basic 6. That's just how my brain works.
happy sherlock holmes is allowed to feel things in public domain to all who celebrate
i feel like no one really wants to hear that sleep/exercise/nutrition/hydration are major factors in treating mental health issues bc we’ve all talked to that person who thinks your depression would be cured by one good session of goat yoga or whatever but unfortunately they do help and i’m chronically annoyed about it
Pictured: Gale rolling a nat 1 on his insight check
✨Having someone who is invested in your story and discusses it with you is like a solid half of the fun of writing. I'm not even kidding.✨