olá people,
i think there are numerous two type of people in the world. there are the type of people:
who think january is interminable vs the ones who blinked-and-are-80-and-it-doesn't-matter-what-month it-is-bc-TIME-GOES-SO-FAST
who like pickles1 and the weird-o freaks who don't
who wipe front to back and those who don't
who quit while the going is good and those who think the phrase is an oxymoron (there is no good point to quit. ever)
question: do you quit at quitting the stuff you should quit? in other words, do you not quit stuff? and i'm not talking diet culture/self-help flirting with cult status nonsense (so not sugar or negative thoughts). are you a quitter at quitting the people pleasing that leaves you an empty husk? can't quit the crap relationship that isn't less crap no matter how much you wish it not to be crap? loathe to quit the hardcore running you refuse to give up even though your knee hates you and is doing it's best to kill you quickly?
rain on your parade: quitting isn't failure (failure isn't failure, but that's for another day). quitting rocks. again, not talking capitalism self loathing gobbly gook here. don't quit calories or being a debbie downer. (but do quit smoking, that's one health measure that gets a pass here). i'm specifically referring to quitting the things that no longer serve us. that aren't representative of who we are today. that aren't respectful of the people around us.
for example, the cartilage in my right ankle died and i had to quit running and jump roping. hmmmm…not a good example since i was excited to do that. let's try again. my partner has 3 kids whom i do not like (i don't like the me who doesn't like other people's kids, but for right now it is what it is). i have a lot of opinions about how he should interact with them. what he should say and do. and i need to quit it. sure, my opinions are probably pretty good but he's not asking for them. i'm not quitting my unsolicitated opinion-giving for him (he's very chill and hasn't told me to shut it)—i'm doing it for me. for my growth and humility. i would like to have more empathy and less opinions. i would like to be a person, who even if they are the kind of person who doesn't like someone else's kids, gives the other person space to feel and process without opinionating or pontificating.
but it's hard to quit things. either because we don't want to, don't think we can, or haven't figured out how to. just after i wrote this post, i went and gave unsolicitated advice to my partner about his kids. literally, 10 mins later. what? ugh. but a real deal md friend of mine said (in regards to smoking), the more we try, the more likely we are to be successful. so don't quit quitting!
give it a whirl: quit. today. something just for you. not for your appearance. not to be the best version of yourself. not to please anyone. not because a doctor told you to. not because of an ultimatum. quit because something isn't serving you. just consider for a moment, what would i like to quit? and then quit. it's so much more rewarding when you do it for you. and if you can't manage, keep trying. it's fine.
check it out: ooly products. as always, screw capitalism. buuuutttt…if we are going to spend money let it be on the GOOD stuff. my daughter got ooly markers and pens at the end of the year and we all love using them. the rainbow sparkle glitter markers are my fav and worth the price tag. let them be your reward for quitting.
brag:
i'm doing #februllage2024! it's a month collage prompts, established by some bigwigs in the collage world. collaging is one of the few remaining communities on instagram that will love and cheer you on independent of how many followers you have or what your art looks like. collagers are the best.
i've posted 4 of 4 collages and written a microfiction for each collage. 25 more to go but i'm already going to brag. ;)
if you are on ig, check out my collages & stories at @atawdrymind
cheers,
m
viva pickles!
Pickles 🤢
Love ya 😘