“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” -Mark Twain

Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. You made it another day. And you can make it one more. You are doing just fine.

Your strength is not in always knowing the way, but in daring to walk it. And in the end, you’ll see: you were never lost. You were becoming.

No inspirational quote today. Punch them if you need to.

For this 250th Independence Day, I'm celebrating the spirit of the America I love -- honor, integrity, honesty, sacrifice, gratitude, service, and compassion for others. May ALL my Bluesky friends have a safe and Happy July Fourth! And may the bells of freedom forever ring! 🇺🇲🔔🗽✌️

I cannot stress enough how important it is right now to do silly, frivolous things that serve no other purpose than making you happy.

You see We are All nothing, but stars Passing each other in the night✨ A Poem by Athey Thompson Photography by Natalia Drepina

Each of us has lived through some devastation, some loneliness, some weather superstorm or spiritual superstorm. When we look at each other we must say, I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself. We must support each other because each of us is more alike than unalike.

May July fill your heart with enough strength to get you through the rest of the year! 🧡

“The most dangerous addiction is the approval of other people.” ~Colby Kultgen~

The world will always offer reasons to be practical, to settle, and to stop imagining. Hold on to your curiosity. Protect your imagination. The part of you that still dreams is the part that keeps life full of possibility. 💫

“It's not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It's our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” L.R. Knost - Two Thousand Kisses a Day Artist: Lisa Aisato

🎶 Crazy, but that's how it goes Millions of people living as foes Maybe it's not too late To learn how to love And forget how to hate 🎵

some day we will find what we are looking for. or maybe not. maybe we'll find something much greater than that. 💫

The most beautiful gardens are not made of only one kind of flower. They are made of many; each unique, each thriving, each adding something the others cannot. 🌸🌼💗

Angry is just sad’s bodyguard.

Courage is realizing it might hurt and doing it anyway. Stupidity is the same... ...and that's why life is hard.

The need to be understood slowly fades when you realize how much energy it takes away from simply living in peace. Not everything needs to be argued, defended, or explained to be valid. ✨

Leave a trail of light behind you Everywhere you go. Whose darkness you'll illuminate You may never know. ~ L.R. Knost

The world spends so much time teaching us to compare, compete, and conform that we sometimes forget a simple truth: our value was never meant to come from being like everyone else. The things that make you different aren't flaws to hide; they're gifts to embrace. ✨

May this new day open softly, like petals to the sun. May your steps be unhurried, your thoughts kind, and may something unexpected— a bird’s song, a smile, a gesture of gratitude— remind you how quietly the world offers its love. You are part of that offering. Image: quilt from Yaya Co

We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. ~George Bernard Shaw~

Peace begins with a single ripple in the heart.

And, there In that moment She remembered The light she did seek Was within her It had always been There, within her [Photography by Natalia Drepina]

Sometimes kindness is not remembered as an event, but as a shift inside someone; the feeling that not everyone will treat them as a burden. 💫

Gentleness is not weakness. Just the opposite.Preserving a gentle spirit in a heartless world takes extraordinary courage, determination and resilience. Do not underestimate the power of gentleness because gentleness is strength wrapped in peace, and therein lies the power to change the world.

Joy isn’t something to chase. It’s something to notice. More often, joy is found in the small moments we pass by every day: walking in nature, swimming in the ocean, petting a dog, sipping tea with a friend. ~Josh Braun~

It's easy to focus on what's difficult and forget what once felt impossible. The responsibilities you carry today may be the opportunities you spent years hoping for. Gratitude doesn't erase the hard parts; it helps you recognize how far you've come. ✨

“Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.” ~ Mary Oliver ~

Comparison has a way of dimming what makes us special. The things that set you apart are often the very things that make you memorable, valuable, and uniquely you.

Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement... get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed. ~Abraham Joshua Heschel

The Edge “The edge… there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson ~

Never lose hope, my dear hearts. Miracles dwell in the invisible. ~Rumi

What we give today has the power to inspire, uplift, and ripple through lives we may never meet. The kindness we offer and the good we leave behind can echo across generations, creating opportunities, hope, and encouragement for others to carry forward. ✨🦋

People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spider's webs. It's not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go.

"I run on whimsy and feminist rage."

Sometimes, we give so much that we end up losing ourselves. 💫

It's easy to believe our efforts don't matter when results aren't visible; but some of the most meaningful impacts happen quietly, beyond your view. Each act of kindness creates ripples that reach farther than you ever see. Never underestimate the difference a tiny light can make in a dark moment.

In Japanese, there is a term for forest bathing--shinrin-yoku or 森林浴-- where you take a walk under the trees; and the coolness, the smell, and the silence wash over you leaving you relaxed, cleansed, clear-minded and at peace. Our girl Glamis Barbie sure misses her forest baths!

A simple life is all I need, not filled with things, but with love, peace, and moments that truly matter. When your heart is full, simplicity is enough. It’s not about having less, but making room for what truly counts and letting joy grow in the little things. 💜

Back into the sea, like a sweet mother’s womb…suspended weightless, quiet as a prayer... a current flowing within, the water softly reflecting like a remembered dream. As sparkles dance across a liquid universe, timeless stories return, gently caressing, calling us back.

Celebrating today....FLAG DAY (of course!)

To Suffer Time From the inside, everything makes sense, which is why we were born with a heart and two ears. It is staying on the outside that breeds fear and violence. The greatest courage, then, is to put everything down and wait. Like a flag for its wind. 💫

The best part of being alive is that sometimes there is a dog.