FIVE THOUGHTS AS WE APPROACH A NEW DAWN
aka, Akika gets wistful.

1. Everyone is a standalone universe. That person who you just swore at in your car has a life as rich and varied and full as you do, filled with memories, anxieties, fears, love, lust and worries. The fact that the atoms that have coagulated to form that person, and the atoms that have combined to form you, are even present in these miraculously specific configurations during the same minuscule sliver of time is a fucking miracle! Remember this every time you interact with a stranger!

2. That one person who seems to have it all together in your life probably doesn’t feel like it. They are probably dealing with some sort of imposter syndrome, or anxiety about keeping it all together. Take that person away from reality for a wee while – take them for a short hike in the Yanchep National Park and see the crystal caves. The calm will be awesome for them! And if they do in fact, genuinely have all their shit together, then take the opportunity to learn something from them about how they do it! If you both have your shit together then you are a goddamn power couple and I hate you.

3. Just do it. Do it all. Entertain your fucking whims. You want to try rock climbing? JUST GO TRY THE FUCKING THING! The sooner you try it, the sooner you will know if you love it (and want to do it more) or hate it (and can cross it off your list forever). The amount of stuff that I have just not got around to trying is quite frankly, terrifying. Imagine dying tomorrow and you never did cool shit because you were too busy binge-watching True Blood (which is totally not me because that is definitely not how I have spent my last four weeks thankyouverymuch).

4. Try to increase your serving of vegetables by one serve per day. Just chuck some spinach into whatever you are making, because spinach is literally flavourless when mixed with other stuff. Just do it and then phone your mum and tell her you did a vegetable. You’ll make her year and she will no longer wring her hands nervously wondering if you are getting your 5+ a day in.

5. “Good enough” is usually good enough. Fuck all that positive affirmation “standing in front of a mirror saying embarrassing shit aloud to yourself”. Self love/self care comes in many forms and honestly, being able to say “yep, that’s good enough” is actually an act of compassion towards yourself. It’s okay that you missed the gym and then ate 3kg of pasta for dinner. Your body is probably tired and needed it. It’s okay that your kid went to school with most of their lunch composed of shit in packets this week, because you were hell munted from work. IT’S. ALL. OKAY. You’re awesome and you are a good person. Thank you.

Love, Akika xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxox