1st Rule : Be kind.
This rule is stolen straight from Steven’s list and placement, though I hope there are many of us who would start here. After being an unkind person way too often in my youth, I made a commitment to myself to do better. In the first couple of years of this conscious effort, I remember literally biting my tongue all day long just to stay on the path, and it is one of the greatest achievements of my life to say that now it comes as naturally as breathing, almost all of the time.
I truly believe kindness is the best path, but — to be clear– I believe in the kind of kindness that has a backbone. The kind of kindness that tenders people, tends to people, speaks up, and speaks out. The kind that looks forward.
2nd rule: Be gentle.
I remind myself that the cookies taste different if the batter is folded or beaten. Gentleness has real effect. I try to be gentle with how I talk to others, and how I talk to myself. I try to be gentle in how I wash my hair, and how I take off my shoes.
3rd rule : Really listen to myself.
This is a two-sided rule.
Firstly, I listen to myself in the sense that I consciously pay attention to what I’m outputting into the world.
I look at my Instagram profile and click through my blog, and read through my sent emails to really get a sense of the overall message I am shouting from my little corner of the world stage. I pay attention to how I speak to strangers and friends, and what I speak about. If it ever feels inauthentic, or when it feels lopsided, I fix it. One of my best measures of this is when I meet someone who only knows me through others, or my writing, or my blog. I give myself a gold star every time they say, “You are exactly the person I imagined.”
Secondly, I listen to myself in the sense that I try to really hear my body when it pushes for rest, or says it is full, or feels afraid of a person, or challenged by an idea. This does not mean I shield myself from science, experiences or experts that might upset those senses, or outrank them. I don’t need me to blindly follow my every instinct and feeling. I just need me to really hear myself.
(I know people who trust their instincts above all else, but I just can’t. After all, my body is absolutely convinced it should be allowed to snuggle a bear. It needs guidance, friends.)
4th rule : Make. Support making.
I really believe in the power of making. Metaphorical world-building, and real tangible tangled knitted pasted sculpted stuff. I believe in taking words and making them into something. And I know it isn’t always easy to do in a world of noise and mayhem, so I believe in supporting the makers. Sometimes this translates to supporting Patreon’s and Ko-fi’s, and sometimes it’s bringing cupcakes to events where makers gather, and often it’s cheering them on. Comments on posts. Likes on the ‘gram. Reshare. Word of mouth.
There’s a lot in this world that needs tearing down. I want to make sure I spend twice as much time on building.
5th rule : Always have neat nails. Never eat blue food. Honor my quirks, as long as they do no harm.
I was slow to the world of beauty, but having nice nails is something I have embraced wholeheartedly. If my nails are a mess, the day is cancelled. And I’m sure I’ve covered blue food before — no, blueberries don’t count– but peaflowers do. Both these rules fall into a larger rule about honoring your oddities. Over the years, through therapy and other diagnosis, I’ve learned that some of my strange little habits are divergences, an indication of how differently my brain is structured. And some, like these two, are just good ol’ fashioned weirdness. They are a part of me. I honor them.
6th rule: Re-examine everything, even this list. Especially this list.
I pay close attention to everything I think I know, and am always testing it to see how it feels to my soul, to see how it serves my world. I make adjustments and add caveats as necessary. Life isn’t stationary, it’s important not to holy every compass.
I think of everything I thought I knew only to find out I was wrong. I think of everything I knew nothing about only to discover a whole new universe. And of all the things in my life, I have loved this the most. The constant discovering. The always learning. The driving curiosity. I wish that on myself always, and it starts here, by thinking of everything I believe,
and holding it up to a bright light so it doesn’t get dusty, and it doesn’t get rusty, and no monsters get a chance to hide underneath.
Day 28 of 30
rarasaur 