Meditation & Other Self Care

Here are all our weekly inspirations so if you're ever in need of inspiration mid-week, you can find it here. Enjoy!

"You need to know that you haven't had a life of failure. You've had a life of challenge and as best you could, you've risen to meet that challenge."

“Don’t brood over the past, but try to accept yourself in the present, so that the future will be better than the past.”

“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of, who do the things no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing

“There are enough people in the world who are going to write you off. You don’t need to do that to yourself." - Susan Boyle

“What is normal? Imagine if that was the best compliment you ever received. Wow! You are really normal… Why are people pouring their brilliant individual light into a mold?” -Rosie King, Autistic Advocate

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." Buddha

“You've got to jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.” -- Ray Bradbury

“You can't change who you are, and you shouldn't be asked to.” -- Jonathan Mooney

“My natural traits, Autistic social skills, and communication style are different — and that’s ok." From Neurowild’s illustrated post about becoming “Moretistic”

"Do treat yourself as your best friend and take care of your best friend...you" ----- Lynda Boyd

"If all you did was get through today, that's enough. Because you got through today with so many things people didn't even realize you were carrying. I think sometimes when we carry things well, people don't see that it's heavy." - Kirsten Corley

"Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them". - B.Brown

"Quiet the voice telling you to do more and be more, and trust that in this moment, who you are, where you are at, and what you are doing is enough. You will get to where you need to be in your own time. Until then, breathe. Breathe and be patient with yourself and your process. You are doing the best you can to cope and survive amid your struggles, and that’s all you can ask of yourself. It’s enough. You are enough." —Daniell Koepke

"Imagine having to hide your personality and behaviour to the point of exhaustion and depression, due to other people not liking the real you. This is 'masking' and something autistics have to do - more or less." -- Pebbel Art 

“It is indeed a radical act of love just to sit down and be quiet for a time by yourself” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

“The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else.” E.E. Cummings

"We don’t have to wait until we are on our deathbed to realize what a waste of our precious lives it is to carry the belief that something is wrong with us." -- Tara Brach

"Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be." ~ Sonia Ricotti

"Do not try to serve the whole world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is yours alone to sing falls into your open cupped hands" Clearing by Martha Postlethwaite

“While burnout obviously has something to do with stress, overdoing things, not being centered, and not listening to yourself or your body, one of the deepest contributors to burnout, I believe, is the deep disappointment of not living up to your true calling, which is to help.” ― Jenn Bruer

"Be there for others, but never leave yourself behind." — Dodinsky

“Most of us are haunted by the sense there's something "wrong" or "missing" in our lives--that we're sacrificing far more of ourselves than other people in order to get by and receiving far less in return.” ― Devon Price, Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

“learning in adulthood that you have been secretly nursing a disability all your life is quite the world-shattering experience. Adjusting your self-concept is a long process. It can involve mourning, rage, embarrassment, and dozens upon dozens of “wait, that was an Autism thing?” revelations. Though many of us come to see Autistic identity as a net positive in our lives, accepting our limitations is an equally important part of the journey. The clearer we are with ourselves about where we excel and where we need help, the more likely we are to eke out an existence that’s richly interdependent, sustainable, and meaningful.”  Devon Price, Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” -- Dr. Seuss

“When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning! I have Aspergers and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And – given the right circumstances- being different is a superpower.” – Greta Thunberg, climate change activist.

“[With] Asperger’s you just have to make people aware that sometimes you have to go at a certain pace, don’t be too bombarded with things. At the very beginning I was too bombarded.” -- Susan Boyle, singer

"There is no greater feeling than being understood" --Dr. Stanley Greenspan

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can." -- Neil Gaiman

"‘What day is it?’ asked Pooh. ‘It’s today,’ squeaked Piglet. ‘My favorite day,’ said Pooh." ― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something." -- Neil Gaiman

"Allow yourself to be proud of yourself and all the progress you’ve made. Especially the progress no one else can see." --- Unknown

"Today I want you to think about all that you are instead of all that you are not." --- Unknown

“Accepting yourself is about respecting yourself. It’s about honoring yourself right now, here today, in this moment. Not just who you could become somewhere down the line.” -- Kris Carr

“Give yourself a break. Embrace and accept yourself for who YOU are. Love yourself and be kind to yourself. See the best in yourself! Be brave and have courage to be comfortable in your own skin. Knowing your self-worth is everything.” ― Stephanie Lahart

“I don’t want to be a genius or a freak or something on display. I wish for empathy and compassion from those around me, and I appreciate sincerity, clarity, and logicality in other people. I believe most people – autistic or not – share this wish. And now, with my newfound insight, I’m on the way to achieving that goal. I hope you’ll keep those thoughts in mind the next time you meet someone who looks or acts a little strange.” — John Elder Robison

"Letting go helps us to to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance. It allows others to be responsible for themselves and for us to take our hands off situations that do not belong to us. This frees us from unnecessary stress."-- Melody Beattie

"Sometimes, when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place." — Unknown

"Just because I don't express myself in the same way as you do, doesn't mean I don't have feelings too." - Liane Holliday Willey

"You strive to please others, to fit in, and feel accepted. In spite of that, you still don’t feel accepted, and not because others don’t accept you, but because you haven’t accepted yourself as you are.” ― Dragos Bratasanu

"Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” ― Heath L. Buckmaster

"Recognizing and respecting differences in others, and treating everyone like you want them to treat you, will help make our world a better place for everyone.” – Kim Peek

"This is why human relationships usually take me beyond my limits. They wear me out. They scatter my thoughts. They make me worry about what I have just said and what they have just said, and how or if that all fits together, and what they will say next and what I will say then, and do I owe them something or is it their turn to owe me, and why do the rules change depending.” — Liane Holliday Willey

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” — Mary Anne Radmacher

“[With unconditional self-acceptance]… you always – yes, always – accept and respect yourself, your personhood, your being, whether or not you perform well and whether or not other people approve of you and your behaviors." -- Albert Ellis

“Everybody knows that it’s always nice to have a friend near who thinks like you do, and that’s why those with autism benefit so much from having a dog. Dogs sense the world like we do, and don’t judge us or demand that we pull ourselves together. A dog senses what you need and gives it to you unconditionally.” -- Dr. Annie Bowes

“You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life you are excited about. Don't let others make you forget that." -- Seff Bray 

“You’ll always feel like you could have done more. But that’s your trauma talking. You did enough. And now, it’s time for you to let go and honor what you deserve." -- Alexander Brown

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -- Joseph Campbell

“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." -- A.A. Milne

“You are not broken. You don't need fixing. You have no reason to be embarrassed whatsoever. You are a human being with a basically good body, heart, and mind. And you are completely worthy to be alive and present right here, right now, breathing the air and sitting on the earth. This is your home and you belong here."-- from Radical Responsibility by Fleet Maull PhD

“How people treat you is never a personal attack on you, it's a reflection of what's happening inside of them. When someone treats you badly, understand that this is their perception. You can never change another person. You can however understand that you deserve better, wish them well, and walk away." – unknown

"I spend an insane amount of time wondering if I’m doing it right. At some point I just remind myself that I’m doing my best. That is enough." -- Myleik Teele

"Learn to be ok with people not knowing your side of the story. No one EVER has the power to name who you are or to tell your story. You have nothing to prove to anyone." -- @peacefulmindpeacefullife

“Self-acceptance is a very vital attitude in any process of personal transformation.” ~ Daaji

“Forgive yourself for the choices you made when you didn’t know you had better options. Focus on growing and moving on."--@swaimym

“Speak quietly to yourself and promise there will be better days. Whisper gently to yourself and provide assurance that you really are extending your best effort. Console your bruised and tender spirit with reminders of many other successes. Offer comfort in practical and tangible ways - as if you were encouraging your dearest friend. Recognize that on certain days the greatest grace is that the day is over and you get to close your eyes. Tomorrow comes more brightly." -- Mary Anne Radmacher

“To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try." — Rosa Parks

“Non-attention is the greatest weapon to fight thoughts, because thoughts without our attention have no power.” — Chariji

“An unhealed person can find offense in pretty much anything someone does. A healed person understands that the actions of others have nothing to do with them. Each day you get to decide which one you will be." -- unknown

“Every day you wake up with hundreds of chances to make someone happy...remember, you are someone too" -- Becky Hemsley @beckyhemsleypoetry

“You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened…or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and [move] on.” —Tupac Shakur

“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness” — Maya Angelou

“Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence." – anonymous

“Accepting others’ differences is the first step towards building a more inclusive and compassionate world.” – Dalai Lama

“Learn to discern between issues that require your attention and those that are simply noise. Surround yourself with positive and uplifting people. Minimize your exposure to toxic individuals and situations" -- unknown

“Maybe it makes sense that you're angry. Maybe anger is the appropriate, proportional response to what you've experienced. Maybe the pressure you're feeling to not be angry is programming from people who prefer you compliant & depressed instead of pissed off & ready to change.” -- Dr. Glenn Patrick Doyle

“A negative mind finds fault with everything, but a positive mind finds opportunity in everything." -- @peacefulmindpeacefullife

“There are people who will judge you on how you look, how you act in their presence, or who you remind them of. It's stupid but it's true.

It's important we not see or judge ourselves through the lens of people who don't know our real selves or our whole story." – DrDoyleSays

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results." -- Willie Nelson

“If someone mistreats me, I accept. If someone doesn’t like me, I accept. If someone makes me feel small, insignificant, and unworthy, I accept. I accept is not the same as I allow. I accept means that I acknowledge that I can’t control anyone but myself so when someone does something I don’t like rather than try to control them it brings my focus back to myself so I can figure out how to give myself what I need in every scenario.“ -- @_brittney.elizabeth_