I'm not interested in any form of spirituality telling women to soften without telling systems to change.

Sending compassion to every complex trauma survivor who remains in a freeze state due to the news, the world, the inundation with constant triggering information that your mind and body is trying to navigate. Do what you have to do to respect that response.

“The only good orange monarch is a butterfly.”

"...We are now experiencing the coming to the surface of a triple prong sickness that has been lurking within our body politic from its very beginning. That is the sickness of racism, excessive materialism and militarism." —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967)

"[AI] must never be used as a substitute for human critical thinking, expertise and evaluation." @elsevierconnect.bsky.social

I continue to grieve all the art that was never made because of the chronic pain I have to live with, while the ones responsible face none of the consequences.

"Making spaces safer and more accessible for marginalised communities means spaces are safer and more accessible for all of us." —Lazarus Letcher

“It is time we stop associating strength with the ability to smile through the tears and suffer in silence.” —Sherrie Campbell

It's hard to be a sensitive person when there's so much going on, so much noise, so much to take in. I sometimes hear sensitivity framed as a bad thing, "I wish I wasn't so sensitive". This is sad. I wish there was more quiet space to make sense of things. I wish sensitive souls were valued more.

I'm reminded about the importance of belonging. And maybe there’s belonging in a place or community- being free to be your true self, rather than having to 'fit in'. Maybe also there’s belonging *within yourself*- being open to all aspects of yourself rather than silencing ‘unacceptable’ parts...

It’s been a really disorienting and upsetting start to the week. Pushing myself to “move forward” feels like a betrayal when so much of what’s happening is clearly not okay.

Framing terms like “environmental justice,” “diversity, equity, inclusion” as “wasteful… destructive ideologies” is an outright lie (disinformation) and deliberate censorship. It strips people of the language they need to understand harm, repair it, and protect and treat one another with care.

To those who've felt unlovable: This is often a painful aftermath of not having support when you needed it most. I hope you find ways to love all parts of you, but especially the parts that felt rejected or like they they didn't belong.

"Poetry makes the world wild, wide, and warmer." @safiyasinclair.bsky.social

#TIL the piano song I learnt as a kid is called Flea Waltz (or “Flohwalzer” in German). I thought it was called Chopsticks, but that’s a different song by Euphemia Allen (1877).

Tous les Jours is officially my happy place. Their croissant and pain au chocolat are my absolute favourites. 🥰 (which says a lot coming from someone who doesn’t have a sweet tooth!) #NotSponsored

Language is not neutral.

Society has conditioned us to shrink ourselves so that we’re “easy to love,” but, in reality, real love grows to meet and holds us exactly as we are.

有時候，重新開始比堅持更勇敢。

We didn't need "perfect" parenting. No trauma survivor is in pain because our parents weren't "perfect." We needed parents, teachers, & clergy who were visibly trying to understand us & keep us safe. That's not "too high" a bar or "entitled."

When people say ‘be the bigger person,’ ‘let it go,’ or ‘move on,’ it’s not helpful. It’s retraumatising because what they’re actually saying is, ‘what they did to you was okay and they don’t need to be held accountable.’ These people are part of the problem, and they are not your allies.

We don’t learn to ride a bike from manuals but through trial and error, facing fears, and getting back up. Growth works the same way through repeated experiences, noticing patterns, feeling emotions, and trying again. There’s no shortcut to the slow, messy, experiential work of becoming better.

“While a survivor isn’t always shocked by what was done to them, they’re often shocked that people don’t apologise. They’re shocked at the number of people who defend the person who hurt them. They’re shocked by how much additional trauma comes from being traumatised.” — @natepost.bsky.social

Healing is about coming back to what feels alive and true within us. It’s not about meeting the expectations of others, but about reclaiming who we really are.

It baffles me that access to essentials (like safety, belonging, healthcare, education) is labelled as ‘radical’ or ‘woke.’ By doing this, we’re collectively opting into unnecessary suffering and calling it normal.

“(This) is how my grief is like: At all times, there’s a giant ocean of awfulness. It’s right there and I can see it. Sometimes, I just want to dive into it and just be in it, and then sometimes I try to get away from it. But it's always there.” —Aubrey Plaza

"Curiosity about lots of things is a characteristic of a first-class scientist." —Anne Roe (1953) 🧪

Judgement closes the circle; awareness keeps it open. Judgement fixes others in place, drawing a line that says you are this, and no more. Awareness meets them as they are now, in motion, in relation, and lets the line dissolve.

“The degree to which a person can grow is directly proportional to the amount of truth they can accept about themselves without running away.” —Leland Val Van De Wall

“People can only meet you as deeply as they've met themselves.” —Matt Kahn

“Boundaries are commitments to yourself, not rules for other people.” @psychodynamiccoach.bsky.social 🧵 (1/6)

“Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.” —Prentis Hemphill

“Modern culture encourages us to turn pain into productivity. Depth psychotherapy offers a different message: pain must be felt, named, and held by another. Growth happens not through avoidance but through contact with the very experiences we were forced to repress. 🧵1/2

One of the most meaningful contributions to humanity—often unseen/rarely recognised—is working on yourself. It’s how you stop repeating the harm the world needs less of. It’s not mainstream because it’s uncomfortable, unglamorous, and forces you to face what most people spend their lives ignoring.

Seeing ‘before and after’ photos of a renovated room or a reshaped body makes me wish we could do the same for the quiet progress and transformation that comes from personal growth.

My wish is to be invisible to those who don’t have good intentions for me. I hope that my heart will remain hidden from anyone who will mishandle it. And may the friends and love that do find me treat me with care. (my adaption of Kira J’s quote, allthingskiraj.com)

“When you see a large scale societal trend, it's not time to blame the individual—it's time to shift the systems that created the dynamic in the first place.” @michellcclark.bsky.social

“May we remember how far we have come, and also, the work that still must be done.” @morganhnichols.bsky.social

As a Chinese living in America, one of the things I appreciate about @npr.org is this (below). This is found in their style guide.

“All I can do is the best I can do. The best I can do is all I can do.” —mama nous

It's common to feel "stupid" when we've opened up to someone, & gotten coldness or sarcasm in response. You need to know their" inability to respect & respond to your vulnerability is about them, not you-- not your intelligence, or your sensitivity, or your desire for connection.

“Over-giving is not generous. It isn’t a badge of honour. It’s self-erasure dressed up as a free professional offering.” —Dr. Mariel Buque

“May you be free from the weight that made you shrink.”

“The cost of indecision isn’t just stagnation–it’s the slow erosion of trust in yourself.” @michellcclark.bsky.social

“ ̶F̶o̶r̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶g̶e̶t̶ Remember and recover” — @drdoylesays.bsky.social

“If your “selflessness” leads to self-righteousness, it’s not kindness.” —Jimmy Knowles

"Naming the emotion helps us understand how to move through it." @brenebrown93.bsky.social

“Reading is a revolutionary act, an act of engagement in a culture that wants us to disengage.”

做一個堂堂正正的人