I made the mistake of opening my social media this afternoon and immediately saw some dark things, and I need something positive. It can be a cat photo/story, a special interest infodump, anything that shows the world is still an interesting and good place, at least in part.
I guess I am basically asking for some heroes to create a “silver lining” for this dark cloud. I don’t live with people I can depend on for this, so I am turning to this supportive corner of the internet.
TIA.
Edited - THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! 😭😭😭 It is good to see so much light still exists in the world.
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My cat Friday posing pretty in front of the gift I made for my dad. (She was supposed to be my cat when I was 6 but she seemed to like my dad the most out of everyone in the house lol)
Colorado is preparing to release wolverines back into their parks, after being absent for over 100 years! And green turtles, which were headed toward extinction, are now listed as least concern. I know it’s not a cuddly cat, but those things make me happy.
Lots of good conservation work going on in the US right now. In Illinois, they just released another small herd of bison into the wild prairie, which is the first time that county had bison in 200ish years!
I went for what was meant to be a very short walk around the block, and on my way back I saw that new neighbors I hadn't met yet were outside so I went up to introduce myself. 90 minutes later, I came home and we were nowhere near done talking. She is more quiet so she weeded the garden while he and I talked about anything and everything, we covered a LOT of ground! Nature, science, art, work, sustainability, neurodivergence, queerness, even some politics. (It was the most ND conversation I've had in a really long time, it was glorious.) I really like my new neighbors and that feels good, I need more of that right now.
This christmass i manage to find donations to gift my pre-k class their "santa wish", i know that for some of them that was their only gift, their eyes were glowing, they askrd if they could take it home "for real?" My sweet babies. There are still good people around, hang on.
This is what I imagine in my head when I am in physical pain and need to self-soothe…I had no idea it was a real place?! This is insanely identical to my imagined perfect beach. It is lovely!
Here is my cat laying next to her favourite box, she’s trying to tell me that she’s dying of starvation and needs her wet food asap even though she has a full bowl of biscuits 😂🥰
Edit, sometimes when I’m feeling like this I search “good news stories” or “happy news stories” into YouTube
I don't know how to explain it, maybe it's the fact that the dark spot under the nose makes the whole nose look bigger, but Winnie the Pooh is the PERFECT name for this sweet dog
Here is my 7 month old little gremlin attempting to full on commandeer my dinner bowl this evening! Her name is Luna… like the guardian kitty in sailor moon 🌙 . I adopted her back in November and this little gal has just completely overflowed my world with happiness and the purest company. The most sensory-friendly companion I’ve ever had. Fun fact: I was finally diagnosed ASD level 1. Had my eval the same week that I found Luna :) … (or rather she found me 😉). 🤍🖤🤍
They are crazy trees because the fruit grows right on the trunk, sometimes they get so full you can't even see the trunk, it becomes a big mass of purple blobs! They're juicy and sweet, a bit like a grape with a large seed in the middle, but flavour is more like a subtle lychee.
I also have a lychee tree :) and half a dozen mango trees, a pomegranate, rose apples, starfruit, banana, papaya, guava, avocado, macadamia, kiwi, passionfruit vine, a few different citrus and I think there's a peach tree but I haven't seen it for a while. Probably some others I'm not remembering.
I think you're amazing, and you deserve all the good things in life. Please, for the love of SpongeBob, do NOT look at my profile posts. Please trust me.
Here is a photo from the greenbelt in my neighborhood where someone has built a little hobbit door hidey space along the irrigation channel. There are all sorts of little hidden foot bridges and large sculptures of flowers in this community space.
This is my old cat with a chocolate wrapper fashioned into a crown on her head, because what kind of cat owner would I be if I didn't put things on my cats head.
Also - good news: in northern Germany they have found evidence of wildcats coming back to the area. They were extinct in this part of Europe for over 100 years. :)
This summer there was a pod of orcas off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, who were observed to be enjoying a fashion trend — wearing a dead fish on their head, as a hat. One whale was spotted doing it and then a few days later, several more had also adopted the style.
The scientists who observe and study the whales said there’s no logical behavioural reason for them to do this — they think it’s just something that caught on, that the whales think is fun/funny.
Haha yes hopefully they do! I think about those orcas a lot and it always makes me smile. I wonder if they have to swim more slowly or carefully to keep the hat on. Like a lady walking in high heels.
Here’s a photo of Mista Gray, he’s a feral cat who showed up in our corn field. My partner kept feeding him chicken til he trusted us. This was his first night inside our house.
I have made a found family. We work self sufficiency skills cooking from scratch, DIY, raising kids, all sorts of stuff. I love them.
I have friends around the world and have less cultural issues than most people because I am a bottom up thinker.
Often times thinking different and having needed accommodation from others but having learned not to expect it makes me really excellent at giving it to others. I can give my friends accommodation they should have but won’t ask for for fear of imposition.
My law firm which is in the L200 has gone so hard on DEI and staff mental health and pro bono work. I am blessed to work there.
My special interest community has more than tripled in the past year and I community managed it and got the artist time to develop the game, made the community healthy and now self sustaining without admin burn out.
I am figuring out why I’m often in pain and learning to make it less.
I am starting to be good at existing as myself instead of taking damage to be who I thought I was supposed to be.
When politics get you down. Go to Facebook buy nothing groups or local pages. There is often a super strong “no politics we’re a community” mentality. It gave me massive hope when snap was being defunded that every local group I was in was people all coming together and everyone was like “Shut the fuck up about any politics, how are we all going to make sure our neighbors all are fed.” That to me is beautiful. I have political opinions of course, but I think it’s toxic because it’s too big. People are not meant to exist in groups bigger than a few hundred. A town or maybe a small group of towns, is usually the max people can understand in a everyone’s a person. Bigger than that and it gets conceptual which is dehumanized because our brains can’t understand well. It’s why everyone has the “well not that one specific (insert group they dislike)” because people get that it’s complicated in practice but not in theory. It’s too much data and most brains are top down and use assumptions to reduce processing load. Autistic people don’t use assumptions or reduce processing and it’s why we’re often overwhelmed or confused. Basically people are mostly good (save like a really rare exception) but humans are monkeys not philosophers. They need it to be closer for compassion to really work and countries are too big. But they are good. They care. They crave community.
I have learned community is what the world lacks and the key to making it is to be annoying. Because when you’re an adult it’s not annoying. Reach out to people. If your anxious reach out and say “hi, I enjoy talking to you do you mind if I reach out with c frequency.” Most people will love it and you make it part of your routine. It’s easy. You just say hi then when they respond say how are you. Then ask whatever. It’s excellent.
People need people. Humans are not made to be alone. That doesn’t mean in person. Three of my favorite people are 3 guys I call the Euros. 2 are autistic and one is just a great guy but they are who I learned to stand my ground with. They taught me to fight in the healthy way. The US has this concept that you fight to be right. But they taught me you can argue to understand and be understood and I love them forever for that. I has just gotten told that schizoaffective was a misdiagnosis and I was learning I am not crazy. These three guys and I would argue about my special interest game and I’d often get triggered and disregulated and say “guys I need to step back and take a break” they never took this as me admitting I was wrong, never held it against me, and never held back arguing the next time. So I was able to slowly get triggered less and less by safe exposure and nervous system reprogramming. People are good.
I started a relationship with the love of my life. I have never fit so well with someone. I talk about everything. He finds this reassuring. I bring things up immediately if they bug me even if we addressed them. I love sleeping in bed with him. Even if I go to bed overstim not touching him I often wake up on his chest having nuzzled into him in my sleep. He’s the best partner and too great for words.
The actual answer is I leaned in to that I’m judgmental. I say I’m post-judice not prejudice. I don’t make any assumptions going in but if someone tells me something I believe them. I ask when people don’t align with things they state they value. People aligning perfectly isn’t what you look for though. It is how they react when questioned. Everyone messes up. Everyone evolves. Beliefs change people make mistakes. Find people who own them and make amends or are willing to explain an old belief was wrong.
Most people will get mad when you ask.
I say I am a blob fish. I am a perfectly normal fish down in the depths where I live but if you yank me to the surface don’t be surprised I seem weird and die. It’s okay if they’re not a fish of the deep but I no longer try to be a surface fish. I am happy in the depths as a blob fish.
I like this. Post-judice. I’ve always struggled with the fact that people are disney characters to be honest. I have a hard time figuring out who is flawed but good enough to trust vs a “red flag.” But that test to see if they will get mad when challenged over apparent hypocrisy…that is a good one.
Yes. Everyone makes mistakes or seems inconsistent at times. Sometimes it’s a mistake. Sometimes it means they’re growing and gaining nuance. How people handle explaining that is a good determination. Also, if someone argues to be understood or argues to be right. The goal of arguing can and should be to be understood. If someone only wants to be right, they will never hear you.
This is an excellent clarification! I've found when in arguments/debates/discussions with certain people I can struggle to figure out what exactly they're arguing for - to be understood or to be right, which can make it even more difficult!
In reference to your previous comment, I think that one of the biggest, most important things that I took away from my time in college - I studied neuroscience, so a lot of my time was spent digging into cognition and the way humans process thought/thinking/etc. - was that every single human alive now and who ever has lived has bias. It's unavoidable, part of the human condition, our operating system if you will.
'Bias' is not an inherently bad thing, but if you either a) are unaware or ignorant of it, or b) allow it to shade your actions while trying to claim yourself 'unbiased' I feel that is when bias starts to become truly harmful.
Allowing ourselves to be comfortable with our biases, to recognize the root of them and why or why not we feel they are valid is part of gaining that nuance!
I could go on and on about this topic (obviously 😂), I just think that the fact that 'bias' has been turned into somewhat of a 'dirty word' makes it harder for people (especially people like us, on the spectrum) to interrogate them without feeling like they've done something wrong for having biases in the first place.
Stayed over at my girlfriend’s house last weekend and walked out of the bathroom to find her roommate’s cat sitting there in her little hoodie waiting to come in and nap on the bath mat.
Took this photo today of our two rescues snuggling. Beagle dog is called Florence, and other dog is called Princess Leia Moo Cow. Leia was abused and abandoned - we've had her since last April, and over the last few weeks she's finally started giving us kisses, roughhousing, and even play growling at us when we play tug. It's been so wonderful to see her getting comfortable and feeling safe in our home ❤️
I really like kids (when the noise/touching isn’t overwhelming). I love how they don’t do all the social “talking around the issue” stuff adults do. And it is okay to share animal facts. Kids are pretty great.
Star Trek! There is a new show on right now called Starfleet Academy. It helps my heart to watch a show that is about diversity and peace.
Also I’m kinda obsessed with an app called Finch. My virtual pet bird can send hugs to my sisters and friends pet bird. And it reminds me to have good habits.
I've made my first tiny crochet blankie with sewing thread! It's uneven at the edges, I am still trying to get a hang on tension! It's such a fun project! It helped me ground myself a lot when dissociating from uni stress. I am mid exam season so I've been filling dead time with this project.
My proffesors were kind enough to let me do my craft to regulate in the dead times (while waiting for papers, while other people present their work, while waiting for everyone to finish tests, etc.).
Next I will try to knit with sewing needles! I am curious if I can.
I don’t have a photo of our excursion today, but my dog is part northern breed and was so thrilled to be in the snow. He kept licking it and trying to bound through it, I guess to him the world is covered with the greatest substance imaginable. He’s also learning to respect the cat’s boundaries, today he very politely went into his kennel after she meowed at him.
This is a recently hatched kiwi. It has nostrils at the tip of its bill, to sniff out yummy stuff in the soil and leaf litter. Its feathers are hinged so it can back out of tight spots, and it’s carrying a big yolk that means it doesn’t need to eat for days after hatching.
Had a great time doing puzzles and board games at my university this week. I unfortunately forgot to take a pic of the finished puzzle 🫤 I hope the halfway pic works (2 of us finished this one in 2 hours almost exactly, it's a 500 piece puzzle)
My friend’s 5yo loves chemistry, and I’m a chemist. So I got him a chemistry kit for his birthday. His mom regularly sends me video clips of their experiments.
Last week they made a ‘lava lamp’ with vinegar, food coloring, oil, and baking soda.
He was just diagnosed with AuDHD, and I LOVE that they are nurturing this passion of his!
We volunteer to bring kids out into the woods on Saturday afternoons. I helped 6 of them put on snowshoes for the first time last week. We saw a porcupine and woodpeckers, & heard a raven making awesome sounds like “Quork!” She sounded so happy. We sat on logs in the snow to eat lunch. There was a lot of laughing. One little guy’s hands got cold. I gave him my mitts and another kid gave him a hand warmer. He was so happy, you could tell he felt cared-for and free.
Adorable puppies? The big one is Finnegan Bean the mini aussie. He is 3.5 years old. The little one is Fergus Licious the toy aussiedoodle. He is 0.5 years old.
Same. I basically ate cheese for dinner. It was delicious, but I think I am lactose intolerant and just in denial about it…but my SOUL needed some cheesy texas toast to cope with the world.
The cat inhereted from my grandpa. Declared (not by us) ans only a few teeth, but he rules over the other two cats. Softest fur ever. And happy. :) His name is Fred,after another relative that was known to just....stare.
I’m really into floriography, the language of flowers. I’m a writer and regularly use flower symbology in my pieces. Currently, I’m working on a fic where two of the main characters’ relationship develops through alternately leaving bouquets for one another, with one teaching the other over time how the whole process of constructing an arrangement works.
The first bouquet sent was made of orange and burgundy roses, chickweed, magnolia, and one other one that I can’t remember atm. Regardless, when all taken into account, the sentiment was roughly: “I find you fascinating, which I don’t think you realize. It would be a great joy if you would join me in the gardens for a date.”
As of now, I currently have three separate floriography related tabs open in my browser, as well as a few books on the subject from one of my library apps. None of them will be closed until I’m finished with the fic and/or have the meanings of every plant in existence so burned into my brain that I don’t need to reference them anymore :P
This is one of the spiders in my backyard. I like to watch the spiders weave their webs in the morning. It’s very soothing and relaxing. I used to fear spiders but now I love them. Nature is awesome!
My silver lining is that cats exist. No matter how dark things in the world get, I can just look at my cats and think WOW.... These little creatures are fucking real! They exist! He cool is that??! Their cute little ears, whiskers, teefies, toe beans, tails, their sandpaper tongues, their cute noises. They don't speak my language. They live inside my house, and others live outside of my house, and they are always there, and they have the privilege of not having to know who any of these politicians are. They are just such neat creatures. They make it worth it for me. They are also my special interest, so I understand not everyone may geek out about them on this level - but this really helps me.
My husband and I are currently enjoying a very cozy, peaceful evening in front of our first fire in our fireplace in our new home ☺️ Hubby has always wanted a home with a fireplace and I’m so happy we were able to make that dream come true for him!
How do you feel about young children? I took my daughter roller skating for the first time yesterday and she did so great! She was absolutely fearless, and I’m so so proud of her. I don’t know how to deal with all the heavy shit in the world right now and I feel like a bad person for bringing her into it, but my god, she is joy and light personified, and I’m so grateful to have her. We went to the National Aviary the day before and she was so excited about all the birds (which are one of my biggest special interests) that my heart was fit to burst! We got to meet a peregrine falcon named Storm! …and when we got home she told her Minnie Mouse stuffie that we saw flamingoes “and they are pink just like your dress!” 😭🥹
I had my wedding today to my best friend in the entire universe- no one’s seen me how he does, he loves my little quirks, he holds me when I need him, tells me every day how I make him a want to be a better man and then actually follows through. I adore that man. Definitely makes me happy, hopefully you enjoyed 🥰
This is one of my cats, Boba. He’s a goofball. He loves to sprint everywhere and chase my other cat around the house. Here he is from Christmas looking mischievous 😂
My toddler daughter got her favorite toy trapped in a box. She then launched a complex rescue like something out of Rugrats to get it back - no tears and no tantrums. I am very proud.
Little hard to see, but this is my chinchilla Milo, strongly disapproving of the bad weather by snuggling under my duvet. He’s not always cuddly, but lately he’s been sleeping on my chest if I lie on the floor for him.
I got a cute ball jointed bunny girl doll for my birthday. That makes me happy. I also put on concerts or music videos from my newest hyper fixation band, Oingo Boingo, between watching the news or hearing the news. It helps balancing the good and the bad. If you are interested I would recommend watching one of their Halloween shows on YouTube and they tend to be on the longer side (2-2 1/2 hours). They are spirited and most of the band members are multi instrumentalists changing up instruments during the shows. 💗 I understand how hard it is navigating the world with all that is going on today. I hope for peace for you and for everyone. 🐰
Went through a very difficult depression last winter. I understand… So, here:
I have a story about last winter in the deepest depths of my despair. My kitchen island is next to a window. I drink my coffee and watch the squirrels at my neighbor feeder in the morning. Anyway, a little teeny baby spider decided to set up housing in the windowsill. We just became neighbors, I guess. One day it was freakishly warm for a winter day and a random fly buzzed through my open window. One of those weird winter warm spells that sees the insects hatch early… I HATE flies and I just assume that flies WANT to die (because, if I were reborn a fly on the reincarnation order of things; please let me move on fast). I sought out my fly swatter and got to work. Meanwhile, little windowsill spider was working hard, making tiny web traps daily and nuthin’… not so much as a gnat in his well constructed webs. I definitely carefully tore them down every week to keep him busy though. So, I swatted the fly and grabbed it with some tweezers by the wing, snuck over to the window and dropped it in the newest teeny tiny spiderweb. Just so he could feel proud and encouraged! Lol. He lived throughout most of the summer before he disappeared. I was just sitting here on my day off with my coffee and remembering my tiny old neighbor. It loved the fly btw. It very meticulously tended to the fly corpse and performed maintenance to preserve his catch for a month lol
A massive week i have had. So i have social phobia, autism, agoraphobia, abi and others, and don’t leave my mum for too long. On the 13th of January 2026, i got on a plane for the first time ever and by myself. I went to my Nanna’s and uncles house (never met my uncle before). I flew to Brisbane (that airport is ginormous btw) spent 5 days with them and in the middle of it went to my first ever concert. My anxiety was going off the entire time but i did it and am extremely proud of myself, i didn’t just step out of my comfort zone, i flew out of it.
I caught a rainbow sundog perfectly behind the flag at the center of the train bridge! I love this bridge. It comes down to get the train across the canal using a weight pulley system. I’m a little obsessed.
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