#seriously if you told us 20 years ago we'd have a rich inner world and 800+ members

[thelunastusco]

In case any system out there needs to hear this:

We’re a system. We’ve been a system for over 30 years.

When we first began interacting with each other, before we had words for it, it was a bit murky. We were very young, and didn’t really understand not to talk about it. We were shamed and scared into silence. Things got really bad after that, for a long time.

Then we found a community, and words for what we were experiencing! And things started getting better! It took time, effort, and a lot of trial and error. It was sometimes stressful, sometimes scary. There are still some things we don’t understand, even after 10+ years of having words for those things and a community to talk to about it. But it did get better. And it’s no longer scary.

Being a system now is so much better. There’s so many more resources than there were even just five, ten years ago. There’s bots, and apps. It is becoming less stigmatized, slowly. And at this point, just within ourselves, we’re so much more comfortable and sure with ourselves. It’s just a natural thing, like blinking. We don’t even think about it a lot. We just are.

We love being a system. We love one another, fiercely.

And we wish the same for all other systems, and plural folk.

Keep existing. Keep communicating. Keep forming community, and asking questions. Stay curious. Forgive yourself (and/or other sysmates) for breakdowns, failures, and mistakes. Celebrate your successes and happy moments. Keep existing.