Mending the Mind

The past does not define you. There will be people who once knew you intimately, but they don’t know you now. They may remember a chapter that once spoke to them, but they don’t get to know the chapters that are coming. You get to write those.

It’s difficult to be the best version of yourself all the time. But perhaps life isn’t about that. You don’t have to always be in a good mood; you don’t have to always be sociable or productive. It’s about how much you try, even when it feels like life keeps flipping upside down.

There is beauty in the chaos of living

There are many things you should care about Like sick animals, dying trees, and saving the bees. What others think of you is not one of these things.

My mind repeats all the mistakes I’ve made, like a bad movie reminding me of all the things that cause me so much doubt. There are things that go wrong in my life, like a roller coaster that twists and bends. People say that this is just how life goes. But too often I am wondering if maybe it’s just me. Too often I am thinking about how often my doubt shows.

I know I overthink too much, like my mind is the sky and it explodes and rains stardust. I know I can be insecure, like I am always staring in the mirror and seeing another. But I will love you wholly. I will think of you often. I will make you feel like the sun, never ever forgotten. She said her favorite color was purple, and now I haven’t seen purple the same since. I see lavender and think of her, I see her bedroom walls and dream of her, I wear purple t-shirts to feel her around me, I write love letters in purple crayon, because she makes my heart wild and carefree. I know life doesn’t play out like the movies. But I want a happy ending with you.

Remember when you were little and your imagination ran free. The dragon under the stairs and the boiling lava between the sofas. At night, you were an astronaut jumping on your bed under glow-in-the-dark stars. By day, you were climbing mountains, running through jungles, and racing cars. Now you are a little older and you wonder if the imagination will disappear. But hold on to your dreams. Without imagination, the excitement of possibility is lost. There is so much wonder in dreaming. Hold on to your imagination.

Darling soul, some of life’s richest moments come from the ability to laugh at yourself. We make errors; we blunder in the things we do. But this will never give another person the right to humiliate you. There is no punch line in who you are. No joke that could ever be made at the expense of your life. If someone seeks to embarrass you, they are taking it too far.

Sometimes being alone is too much to face. When everyone keeps telling you to be strong but when you close the bedroom door you’re barely hanging on. The days and weeks feel so heavy sometimes, the world becomes a cruel place to be. It makes you lose will, lose focus. And sometimes the road is covered in fog and to step inside is scarier than to just give up.

We spend a lifetime with our feelings; try not to hurt those of others.

Words look different on pages than in your mind. On pages, they sit quietly, waiting to be read. But inside your head, they're screaming, angry, hurting, bleeding red.

The world don't always love you for who you are. There are too many bodies here. Too many perceptions of what is and isn't beautiful. So here we are, with most of us uncomfortable in our own skin, wishing to be someone different. Thinking happiness only happens if you fit in. What to do when the world wants you to be prettier, skinnier, curvier, or have lighter or darker skin. You declare your own universe, bright and alive within your veins. You are the king or the queen, the one who makes the rules and ignores everyone who cannot see just how brilliant you are, made from atoms brighter than stars.

All this time, I’ve been thinking about happy endings, how destiny is set and maybe this is all it. But then I am reminded that destiny can change; as often as the mountains rumble and sky splits into color, your happy ending could always be right around the corner.

The trees reminded me of unity, all lined up peacefully. I thought about who we all are as people, how we come together in moments we need hope. I thought about how we draw inspiration from each other, how we long to be in love with another. I wondered how many of us have someone else to rely on, what happens when we don’t. The nightmares that play over and over again when the days seem like they are running out of hope. And I wanted to stretch my arms out wide, welcome the hopes and dreams of others, nurture them, support them, remind you that things keep moving no matter how strange and difficult the world seems. The trees will continue to line the roads; the sun will shine through the clouds; and despite a very real feeling of doubt, just know that of you, I’ll always be proud.

We fear losing friends. We fear losing a shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with, someone who knows our secrets. Someone who has seen us at our best and worst. We fear losing a friend whom we once relied on. More than that, we fear the reason they left. What if it was our fault?

I’m learning to love myself, especially the thoughts in my mind. I’m learning that sometimes I will have dark thoughts and other times I won’t, and both are okay, as long as I remember I am always worth it.

Maybe after all this time you were looking to the wrong person to save you. The right person had been there in front of you. You had just forgotten to look in the mirror.

I know life doesn't play out like the movies. But I want a happy ending with you.

You have spent all these years building a list of the things you can’t stand about yourself. You have been trying to hide the deepest parts of you because you are afraid of someone getting close. But there are only so many seasons you can spend with locks on your door. Because eventually someone will walk in and they will want to know you more and more.

When we met, there was a pull. Like two magnets unsure of the way we wanted to feel. You told me that night you were afraid of fireworks but loved colors in the sky. And all week I’ve been wondering if I could be a color you’d want to know.

Vibes are a necessity Vibes are important Especially the good ones Look for them Keep them Genuine people are hard to find

You do not have to show your face to the world every single day. You are allowed a day off.

But what is love where there is no trust and what is trust if after that day I couldn’t believe anything else you had to say

Like the sun and the moon, you will never be a burden.

Life hits you hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re ready for it or not; it still happens.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. In fact, that grass has been tendered and grown by someone else. Just because your front lawn is withering doesn't mean you can destroy someone else's.

Mental illness is not weakness. It doesn't define you. It will try to dictate your days and make you feel cursed. But just like anyone else, you are equally a child of the universe.

You might meet someone who will fight harder than anyone to keep you here. But at the end of the day

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. In fact

Despite all reasons to lock yourself away, fresh air is good for you. Soothing, deep breaths of fresh air. Nature knows what is best for you. So, when the mountains call, don’t ignore them.