Flowers, Sunlight, & Lace

}{Amber}{23}{ }{ -- this is my personal blog -- }( }{ --i post things I like --}{ }{

[oddorch]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMBhZ7tgOs7/

[meemalee-deactivated20180104]

Duncan Jones citing his dad - one of my favourite David Bowie quotations ever.

Push your boundaries - life will be a little bit scary but very fulfilling.

[cur-sed]

[purplebuddhaproject]

We keep trying to get our life to fit into the story we’ve made up for ourselves. But what if your life isn’t really meant to be a story, so much as a series of moments?

Unka Glen (via purplebuddhaproject)

[tastefullyoffensive]

[skepticalavenger]

Why Did God Create Atheists?

There is a famous story told in Chassidic literature that addresses this very question. The Master teaches the student that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson. 

One clever student asks “What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?”

The Master responds “God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all — the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs and act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that god commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right.”

“This means,” the Master continued “that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”

ETA source: Tales of Hasidim Vol. 2 by Mar

[scyphozoans]

I started reading this and was worried it would be something attacking atheists, or bashing religion, but this makes me really, really happy.

[naamahdarling]

imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Yes.  YES.

[avocadobananas]

who fucking litters. why do i ever see litter. who thinks that’s okay. who. who NEEDS to throw their fast food bag out the fucking window instead of waiting until they get somewhere with a trashcan. what kinda clown behavior. get fucked.

[the-forget-me-not-diary]

[viiexa]

Doing this to my hair next week🦄🍭🔮

[cherryloop]

I love this

[fandomsandfeminism]

Humans are a communal species that have banded together and cared for their sick, disabled, and elderly since before we were ever modern man. Resources were shared even as skills specialized. 

Capitalism isn’t natural. A community should not have members dying of starvation or exposure while there is an abundance of resources. That isn’t how it works. That isn’t how it’s supposed to work.

[g-taire]

ok so my roommates are anthropology students and their favorite example for debunking the ‘survival of the fittest’ bs is shanidar 1. (x, x, x)

shanidar 1 is a neanderthal who, at a pretty young age, was hit in the head hard enough to blind him. this also led to that side of his brain shutting down and withering his right arm, and possibly crippling his entire right side. not only that but his skeleton also shows that at some point, he broke a bone in his foot and, in addition to the other factors, resulted in a noticeable limp. there are some sources which say he likely had degenerative diseases. (arthritis was really common in neanderthals) 

going off of widespread ideas of “”primitive”” (no longer the word used in anthropology/academia to describe early-modern humans) societies, shanidar probably died really young, deliberately abandoned or killed. i mean, he was severely crippled, blind, etc., he couldn’t contribute anything, he would have been a “”burden to society””, right? 

except he lived to be between 40 and 50 years old. (about ~80 in human years)

this means that his social group had to have taken care of him for a minimum of two or three decades without his ‘contributing’ anything significant to the group. this discovery (and Shanidar III’s) was huge because it basically proves that early humans had a concept of hospice. early modern humans cared for the sick and the elderly, greatly extending their lifespan, simply because they cared. 

tl;dr: the concept of someone needing to be ‘’useful’’ or ‘’’productive’’’ in society in order to be valued and cared for is a very modern concept and our quasi-predecessors would be ashamed 

[ekjohnston]

Also, Shanidar I was buried with flowers. They cared about him after he was dead, too.

[quotesinstars]

TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU -your neighborhood anthro

[hoejre]

[desperadore]

alternative depression tips for when you read the ‘depression tips’ post and laugh hollowly, bc only in your fondest dreams could you manage to do any of those things

dry shampoo and face wipes are your friend. if you can brush your teeth you’ll feel maybe 2% less disgusting. wash your hands.

smelling nice is gr9, rubbing moisturiser in is Exhausting. perfume, scented candles and linen sprays are way quicker.

try to change your clothes at least every other day. wear sweats or pjs as often as you physically can.

you don’t need to put on underwear if you’re not leaving the house (that goes double for bras and binders)

drink any water that hasn’t been sitting out on your desk for a week. dust doesn’t taste good. stay hydrated. I fill one of those 2 litre bottles in the morning and keep it with me so I don’t have to get up and walk to the sink.

re: cleaning, try and keep one room vaguely clean. if everywhere else is a shit hole that’s fine, but you can go sit in your one tidy space and chill for a bit. it’s fine if that’s the bathroom or just the corner of your bedroom where there’s no crap on the floor. find a tiny space that isn’t horrifying and sit in it.

music helps.

eat a thing. +5 points if it has a fresh fruit or vegetable in it. take out is acceptable if it comes with veggies.

if your creativity curled up and died a long time ago try and find something that at least reminds you what it was like to feel inspired. watch a film, look at some art (probably not your own), read a thing. if that makes you feel worse, just?? don’t think about it??

grounding yourself is actually really helpful. open the window and breathe for 2 minutes. lay down on the floor and feel your whole body (unless you don’t want to in which case: lay down and don’t feel anything except the floor) 

human interaction is Good. text a family member you don’t hate if you have one. message a friend. reply to someone’s personal post with ‘SAME’. make your own personal post asking the void for validation. stare out the window at people and remind yourself that life exists outside of the black space inside your head. whatever works.

pets are amazing, agreed. watch some funny animal vines if you don’t have one.

[sixpenceee]

Otters are not just known for being the adorable swimming creatures we love, but also for their curious, playful nature. To really show people how playful they can be, the Keikyu Aburatsubo Marine Park in Japan constructed a clever habitat for their otters. Both humans and otters seem to love it. (Source)

[embertheunusual]

not only adorable, but this is probably very good for the otters’ health. Animals kept in one singular enclosure can suffer from depression and anxiety, because they get cabin fever basically. This kind of thing allows the otters to feel much less restricted, and gives them a fun way to exercise :)

[optimisticnightkoalasworld]

[benzoqueer]

Don’t let yourself, or your ears, be offended by improper or unscheduled sounds. If, for example, the record is scratchy, okay. You wouldn’t object if you were listening to it sitting by a fire…. crackling logs. Simply close your eyes and allow your ears to hear all sounds around you. Don’t try to name or identify these sounds. Just hear them as you would listen to music. As when you hear a flute or a guitar. Don’t bother about what it means. Your brain will take care of that by itself. Just let your eardrums respond as they will, to all vibrations now in the air.

Alan watts (via purplebuddhaproject)

[mbnebula]

[autumncat]

comfort in roses