Sinday Thoughts
For the purpose of celebrating and encouraging better habits
More and more research is coming out that validates the theory that trauma is essentially misread messages we continue to recall anytime the environment around us resembles that of the original traumatic experience(s) we lived through.
This gets us stuck in patterns we repeat. It’s the reason we eventually ask ourselves “Why does this keep happening to me?” at some point in our lives, when projects and relationships keep going left, often completely falling apart.
Most people have had a moment like this, I think this is the moment where you either find a way out of the lifestyle that’s keeping you miserable or you brace yourself to eat more shit and take more beatings. Or repeat until you die or finally, truly, have had enough.
Because I understand trauma, and I understand how much it takes to find stability in our lives, especially when we are the reason for the turmoil to begin with, I no longer find the idea of people believing in a God repulsive nor why people take shit like crystals seriously. Anybody that’s found a way to cope with life and try to be the better version of themselves deserves praise, recognition, and encouragement to keep going. Whatever works for you, whatever gets you closer to greatness and peace in your life - keep doing that shit.
If more of us came together for the purpose of celebrating and encouraging better habits, and focused less on the how and more on the why, we’d likely be better off as a society. Good health can be celebrated without zeroing in on one way of living healthy, mainly because there absolutely isn’t just one way of living a healthy lifestyle.
What people that lead healthy lifestyles have in common, across the globe, isn’t how they stay healthy, it’s that they prioritize their health and wellness and ensure that, no matter how busy and turbulent life gets, they won’t skip their routine. They will meal plan, they will look ahead and prepare accordingly. Those habits and that discipline is what keeps them anchored to stability, not the actual salads they eat or the protein powder themselves.
The same can be said for religions and how individuals within those religions practice their beliefs and use those tools to maneuver through life’s challenges.
It no longer bothers me when people question the authenticity of my Satanism or how I practice my religion or why I practice my religion. And it has nothing to do with some rebel without a cause shit, but has everything to do with the fact that my trauma recovery is directly linked to my religious practices. And these religious practices, along with the routine I’ve created with the help of my therapist, are what get me through my day, every single day. No amount of snark, skepticism, or attempts at ridicule will change that.
The Satanic Temple’s Invocation says: “That which will not bend must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise.” These aren’t just words to post online to seem edgy. Not to me at least. When I have to confront my family and demand accountability, when I have to stand up for myself in the world, when I have to face myself and my mistakes - this is what I lean on. When I protect my wellness and prioritize my mental health, I’m living these words, I’m putting this in practice.
And thus, the cackling and screaming and attempts at ridicule quiet down. They don’t matter. It doesn’t matter that Christian Nationalists don’t think I’m part of a real religion, it doesn’t matter if I have negative street cred in the streets of Goth or Satanism. It doesn’t matter if grifter Christian Nationalists find me likable, or if I get invited to church potlucks. I now live a life I’m happy and proud of. I wake up and hear birds singing, on some Snow White shit, instead of hearing the screaming of a mind in turmoil. I’ll take the trade. It’s a fair one.
Baphy appeared before me and offered me an alternative door, a different path. I just had to leave the same old shit behind and carve the new path with the machete he reminded me I was holding in my hand the entire time. What seemed like an impossible task years ago is now part of my daily life. I used to have to agonize to work up the courage to speak my mind, more often than not I was too cowardly to speak up. These days, things aren’t like that anymore. Life is different because I prioritize sticking to the habits that got me here and putting my wellness first. Anything that isn’t willing to bend, breaks every time over here.
It’s worth noting that no one can make these changes for us and the most insidious parts of society are counting on us not going against the grain. They want us fighting over the how instead of focusing on why it matters that we prioritize our wellness too.
Instead, we should each do what it is we need to do to bring the best version of ourselves forward.
Whether you need to go to church or pray, whether you need to meditate or burn incense, whether you need to spend time in nature or read a book or play a video game or hit the gym or bake, cook, or knit.
Do whatever it is you need to bring your best self forward. You and everyone around you, including what you put out into the world, will benefit.
Hail Satan.