Still shaking off my world-grief today.

How are you doing, CoSo? What are you doing to bring a little light into your days?

@MLClark I'm not feeling great. Feeling lonely and dysphoric. I hope you're feeling better.

@Kaysymmetry

🫂 Bodies are weird. Having them at all was definitely not an optimal choice in the cosmic scheme of things.

Lonely also sucks. This is a #poem I sometimes go back to, by Jeffrey McDaniel, when it's been a while and I miss my person something fierce.

Sending you a big ol' hug, too.
This ache matters, as do you. 💜

@MLClark yeah, the dysphoria thing is really tough. Especially since it will probably be years before something can be done.

@Kaysymmetry

Although your dysphoria is your own, a lot of people struggle with the idea that they'll only be able to love themselves "once X has happened" - whatever X might be.

We get so caught up on what we want from our bodies, we can't bring ourselves to love ourselves as we are now.

It tends to take daily practice at celebrating the weird mess of our bodies before the habit sticks.

You deserve to try to say one nice thing about your body every day, even if at first it's really hard. 💜

@MLClark I think it's less about loving oneself, and more related to "intimate needs" . And those needs cannot be satisfied if I'm never able to get the GRS. As someone who's never had a satisfying/fulfilling intimate encounter, this actually means a lot to me.

@Kaysymmetry

I'm very fortunate that I can take care of my needs, but I've had a few friends with equipment and conditions that made achieving certain intimate goals difficult if not impossible.

And I've *been* intimate with people who can't achieve all the goals they want. The difference between a good session and a bad one, for them, was what other sensory experiences they could enjoy instead.

Difficult when alone to focus on other positive sensations, but not impossible. 💜🫂

@Kaysymmetry

(But I definitely hear you. Thank you for sharing. I have a higher drive than many, so I can only imagine how frustrating it must be right now, not to be able to do everything you want to do. Bodies are the worst.)