“This Morning, With Her, Having Coffee.”-Johnny Cash, When Asked For His Definition Of Paradise.

relevant xkcd

This is about Sci-Hub. yeah we get it.. gatekeep knowledge and protect the interests of capital…

At fifty you can no longer bear the constraints. You can't stand the too-tight bra, the forced dinners with the sister-in-law who checks your dust in the corners, high heels and circumcising smiles.

At fifty you have no desire to prove anything. You are what you are: the things you've done and the things you still want to do. If others like it, fine, otherwise, it's the same.

At fifty it doesn't matter if you had children or not. You will be the mother anyway: of your mother, of your father, of an aunt left alone, of your dog or of a stray cat that you picked up from the street. And if all this is not there, you will be your own mother.

Because over the years you will be taught to take care of a body that you finally love, becoming more and more imperfect only in the eyes of others. Who cares if half the closet is the wrong size? The important thing is that your back does not creak too much when you stand up.

At fifty you want freedom. Free to say no, free to stay in your pajamas all Sunday, free to feel beautiful for yourself and not for others. Free to go it alone: those who love you will stay at your pace, those who don't care about others, at theirs. You are free to sing loudly in the car even if people glare at you at traffic lights.

You will have dreams like when you were in your twenties and you will ask every god for time to make them come true again. And now, just when you have eaten half of your life, in the hustle and bustle, you will find the desire to slowly taste the sugar and salt of the days that await you.

-Irene Renei

Seeing reasonable people argue about whether or not a fetus is a person is driving me insane. It doesn't matter. it doesn't matter. it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

If you don't want to live in a world where the government can strap you down and force you to provide a life-saving organ transplant, you don't want to live in a world where the government can force you to carry a pregnancy to term. A person's right to life does not extend to using another person's body to survive.

I have accepted the lack of internal consistency from conservatives (you have to, to stay sane here), but ffs liberals, shut up about fetal personhood. Stop getting dragged into this debate! It is the wrong framing of the issue and I'm honestly terrified of what any "victory" under it would look like (like, increasing the mainstream acceptability of sentences like "they can't even x, therefore they're obviously not a person!" is chilling, no matter the original context.)

I don't have to donate my liver, I don't have to donate my blood, I don't have to donate my fucking uterus. It's that simple.

(could you imagine the "pro-life" conservatives meltdown if a state tried to institute mandatory blood donation?? I imagine they'd be saying "my body, my choice" pretty fucking quickly... Maybe we should actually do that 🤔)

10 THINGS TIME HAS TAUGHT ME

1. Most of our life is spent chasing false goals and worshipping false ideals. The day you realise that is the day you really start to live.

2. You really, truly cannot please all of the people all of the time. Please yourself first and your loved ones second, everyone else is busy pleasing themselves anyway, trust me.

3. Fighting the ageing process is like trying to catch the wind. Go with it, enjoy it. Your body is changing, but it always has been. Don’t waste time trying to reverse that, instead change your mindset to see the beauty in the new.

4. Nobody is perfect and nobody is truly happy with their lot. When that sinks in you are free of comparison and free of judgement. It’s truly liberating.

5. No one really sees what you do right, everyone sees what you do wrong. When that becomes clear to you, you will start doing things for the right reason and you will start having so much more fun.

6. You will regret the years you spent berating your looks, the sooner you can make peace with the vessel your soul lives in, the better. Your body is amazing and important but it does not define you.

7. Your health is obviously important but stress, fear and worry are far more damaging than any delicious food or drink you may deny yourself. Happiness and peace are the best medicine.

8. Who will remember you and for what, become important factors as you age. Your love and your wisdom will live on far longer than any material thing you can pass down. Tell your stories, they can travel farther than you can imagine.

9. We are not here for long but if you are living against the wind it can feel like a life-sentence. Life should not feel like a chore, it should feel like an adventure.

10. Always, always, drink the good champagne and use the things you keep for ‘best’. Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one. Today is a gift that’s why we call it the present.

Donna Ashworth

  I re-blogged this (the first time) in 2014. Today, I tried half a dozen times to re-blog it, and it wouldn’t work. So, I saved the images and re-posted it. I hope it helps make life a little easier. :-)   The original post is by iraffiruse.

They warned me your childhood would whizz by in a flash

They warned me and I laughed,

because then,

each day felt like a lifetime.

Each sleepless night was a year, each hour of the day was an age.

All my energy was consumed, with keeping you alive, happy, thriving.

Your smiles became my goal, your laughter my reward, your tears my every waking concern.

And here we are my love, you have grown.

I remember all the firsts, but I have no idea when the ‘lasts’ happened...

Where was I?

The last time you snuggled into my lap to read.

The last time I lifted your warm little body to mould into mine, that fit, just right.

The last time you crawled into my safe space, in the dark of the night.

They warned me your childhood would whizz by in a flash,

And I laughed.

But it did, my love,

It did.

And now I watch you grow evermore strong and I vow to drink in every tiny detail,

lest that go by in an instant also.

I may not remember all the ‘lasts’ my little one,

But I am watching for every ‘new’.

Yes,

I am watching.

- Donna Ashworth

Image by KM Bergerren