#untangeled

[anestheticrevival]

The W0rst

The worst thing you could do is play a game with someone who has no intentions on playing games with you. If their powers are strong enough, the universe will show you why. Stay blessed.

[coleygrad]

What to Bring on Your Summer Vacation (and What to Leave Behind) Bring Sun screen Bug spray DVDs for the car ride that won’t leave you feeling dead inside upon repeated viewings. Leave behind Thoughts about work. You’re off the clock. Step away and let your feet dangle over the edge of your life for a while. Bring Flip flops. Backup flip flops. Emergency “Henry buried my flip flops and now I can’t find them” backup-to-the -backup flip flops. Frisbee A novel that will leave you feeling less alone in the universe. Less weird. Or at least less alone in your weirdness. Leave behind Vanity. What will make this trip memorable has very little to do with the flatness or roundness of your abs. Bring Sunglasses Pool noodles Patience. Fact: You will be hit in the face with a pool noodle this week. Sand will be in everything (including/especially the Fig Newtons). The car will eventually smell like feet, sun screen and day old french fries. Embrace it all as part of the adventure. Leave behind Lectures about why we don’t hit people with pool noodles. Bring Beach towels Umbrellas Tools for looking at the world differently: goggles, binoculars and a magnifying glass. The world becomes much more interesting when you take a closer look. Leave behind Worry. It is a relentless bully. Work will be here when you get back. The house (probably) won’t blow up. The world will still have its problems. This doesn’t mean you need to think about them constantly. Bring Camera Awareness (you forgot this one last time). Wisdom, particularly the wisdom to be silly in public. Leave behind Efficiency. Some organization is helpful. Avoid chaos if you can. Beyond that, hold things loosely. Bring Uno. And watch out for that damn Draw 4 Wild Card. Shovel and bucket. There are sandcastle moats that need digging and seashells that need collecting. And who knows what you’ll find when you dig beneath the surface. A journal. Reflect on your life from a distance. Record the details of the memories you are making. Attend to the deeper meaning of things. Watch the kids write their names in the sand. Write your name in the sand. Watch the tide wash them away. Leave behind Perfectionism. The journey is more than a series of tasks that you need to manage. Let it have its high points and low points, like any good adventure. Bring Your ears. Be a generous listener. Make your fellow travelers feel deeply heard. It’s one of the best ways to express love (along with buying the googly eyed trinket at the tacky, overpriced gift shop). Leave behind The need to be right. Bring Swedish Fish Leave behind Resentments towards your partner that you could have let go of by now, but haven’t. Bring Exuberance. And if that sounds too tiring, bring occasional enthusiasm and an openness to try new things. Leave behind Comparisons. There will always be someone who is more something than you, but there is only one you. Bring Your soul. It may be old and a little worn out, but it is still your best part. Don’t forget to make memories. Don’t forget to make a life. Safe and soulful travels, Friend.

David Clinton, Artisan Clinical Associates

[coleygrad]

Life, as long as we’re alive, is always presenting us with this choice: do we define ourselves by the moments in which we’ve dropped the ball, or do we define ourselves by the fact that we’ve survived them?

Dr. Kelly Flanagan, UnTangled