Self Portrait With Death Playing The Fiddle (1872) - Arnold Böcklin (Swiss, 1829 - 1901)

Peder Mønsted - Sunset over a forest lake, 1895 (details)

But a Book is only the Heart's Portrait- every Page a Pulse.

Emily Dickinson

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

-Oscar Wilde

idk why the line “to love another person is to see the face of god” was ever written when the same effect could have been achieved by shooting me in the face

emotional expressions and shades of eyes in paintings

"I went away in my head, into a book. That was where I went whenever real life was too hard or too inflexible."

Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

push yourself to get up before the rest of the world - start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.

push yourself to fall asleep earlier - start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.

get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.

stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.

buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.

buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.

strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.

organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.

have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.

push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.

message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.

think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.

become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.

lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.

"Daughter of great Protogonus, divine, illustrious Rhea, to my prayer incline,

Who drives your holy car with speed along, drawn by fierce lions, terrible and strong."

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Orphic Hymn 14 to Rhea

autumn dark academia

finally time for your favorite knitted sweaters and turtlenecks

carving your favorite quotes and book characters into pumpkins

going on evening walks, listening to classical music while looking at all the beautiful trees

finding coffee shops and getting your favorite seasonal beverages

going to a second-hand bookstore, finding  a new cafe and reading your new books right away

sitting under a tree as you read and study, occasionally pulling leaves out of your hair

snuggling up in a cozy armchair, tossing a blanket over your lap, and reading to the light of a pumpkin scented candle

decorating your room and bookshelf with skulls and other assortments

putting your headphones in to listen to podcasts as you rake leaves

staying up all night reading by a window, looking outside occasionally at the streetlamps, wondering if the ghost of oscar wilde is out there somewhere

ink smears on your fingers as you annotate poetry, looking out the window at the colors

opening a window to let the cool autumn air in as you study, a leaf blowing through and landing on your desk