Because people who write things like that have no idea what it’s like to live on a tightrope. They don’t understand that when you’re already saying “no” to yourself and to your children a hundred times a week, that one small coffee isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.

It’s ten minutes of sitting in a warm place that isn’t your own house, with its pile o... See more

maybe tonight hurts. maybe the absence feels sharper than usual. maybe you’re wondering if you were just the scaffolding for someone else’s forever. and maybe you were. but you were also the breath they steadied themselves on. the calm before their clarity. the first time they felt safe.

My therapist said this to me, and it hit me like a brick “if it drains you, it’s not for you. Love, friendships, jobs, anything meant for you will nourish you, not exhaust you. If you constantly feel depleted after being around someone or something, it’s not aligned with your soul. Your peace is the biggest sign of what belongs in your life. Protec... See more

“I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”

Toni Morrison

I want to be so disgustingly well read. I want to be sitting at tables and speaking of books with names that roll off your tongue like an exotic animal’s name. I want to talk about theories and the expanse of science and philosophy and the universe and religion and love and my career. Education is fun when you change your perspective.

mām Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (رحمه الله) said:

“An action that is done without sincerity and uprightness is like a traveler who fills his bags with sand on the road — carrying a heavy load that brings him no benefit, only burden.”

“The intelligent one is the one who holds himself accountable and works for what comes after death.” — Prophet Muḥammad

People who cope best with stress usually have these four things in place for their nervous system (often without even realising.)

They move. Not just spin classes or runs, but also walking round the shops, Dancing in the kitchen. Any way of letting the body use up its energy.

They soothe. Big sighs. Blankets. Swaying. Music. They take time to switch ... See more

i was telling a friend that i treat almost everything new as an art project. mostly because the beginning of anything is just weird as hell.

so many ppl try to run the “factory playbook” at this stage asking for too much feedback, layering on process, forcing rigidity. total delusion. half the time you don’t even have constraints yet.

a painter lays ... See more