1.Take a day to avoid all human contact. Turning off your phone is a crucial part of this step. You want to embark in a day of pure ignorance and disconnection. Trust me, as much as you will hate missing all of the posts about drug wars, high school friends having babies, and the overall cruelty of the world, this is for your own sanity.
2.Draw yourself a bubble bath. The warm water will cradle your heartbroken body, making you forget, even if for just a minute, all of the hopelessness in the world.
3.Read a book in the bath, but not any book. Choose one with plenty of contemporary poetry. Then read a few lines and begin to relieve your past traumas. Attach the trauma to the poems. This is a time for feeling.
4.Cry on your way to and from work. You’re existing in a late capitalistic society while working a low skill hourly job that you have zero passion for. You are constantly bombarded with the realization that you will never completely wipe out all of your student debt. I don’t know, just cry.
5.Take a walk. The fresh air, sunlight, and flowers will help you through this process. You are the flowers. The flowers are you.
6.Pick a few flowers from this walk and put them in a vase. Place the vase in your bathroom or stove top. They will die the next day but remember everything is temporary.
7.Help someone in need. Whether it’s a friend, lover, or stranger, community support is crucial in times like these.
8.Even if you have zero artistic ability, make art, make bad art. Make lots of bad art. This will keep you open while allowing you to process all of the injustice that you encounter.
9.On a sunny and hot summers day, roll down a grassy hill. After that, take yourself to the local artistnal donut shop and eat a donut. This is joy.
10.Call your mom. You’ve missed her calls this past week. Remember that she Venmo’s you $50 every few weeks for no apparent reason. Call her and tell her that you love her.
11.Create a morning ritual. Whether it’s journaling a few pages as soon as you wake up or making your favorite tea; routine will create the illusion that everything is in order. This is also a great way to have something to return to when it’s all chaos. The world is burning but at least you are calmly taking sips of chai tea while it’s happening.
12.Spend your Tuesday afternoons birdwatching. If you see the same bird twice, say hi.
13.Find a therapist. Sure, you have to pay them to listen to you, but they will be your biggest fan during any weird transitional period in your life. They will also help you get over your fear of knives.
14.Hug more. Hug your friends, acquaintances, lovers, coworkers, pets. Hug objects, trees, your bed. Spend the day hugging everyone and everything that you encounter.
