Kelli Ruby

“I BELIEVE PART OF THE VIOLENCE OF OUR CULTURE STIRS FROM THE MYTH THAT KINDNESS IS NATURAL. I DON’T THINK KINDNESS IS NATURAL. I THINK KINDNESS WOULD ONLY BE NATURAL IN A WORLD WHERE NO ONE IS HURT, AND EVERYONE IS HURT. SO KINDNESS IS WORK. KINDNESS IS OUR KNEES IN THE GARDEN WEEDING OUR BITES, OUR APATHIES, OUR COLD SHOULDERS, OUR SILENCES, OUR CRUELTIES, WHATEVER TAUGHT US THE WORD “UGLY.”
― Andrea Gibson, Take Me With You

“EVEN WHEN THE TRUTH ISN’T HOPEFUL, THE TELLING OF IT IS.”
― Andrea Gibson, Take Me With You

“WHEN ASKED IF I BELIEVE IN “GOOD PEOPLE,” I SAY I BELIEVE IN PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITTED TO KNOWING THEIR OWN WOUNDS INTIMATELY. PEOPLE WHO READ THEIR WOUNDS’ DIARIES, WHO FOLLOW THEIR WOUNDS OUT WINDOWS, DOWN LADDERS, ASKING, “WHERE ARE YOU GOING? WHAT DO YOU NEED? HOW CAN I INTERVENE BEFORE A CRUEL THING IS DONE OR SAID?”
― Andrea Gibson, Take Me With You

“When adults are randomly assigned to reduce their daily step count, 88 percent become more depressed. Within one week of becoming more sedentary, they report a 31 percent decline in life satisfaction. The average daily step count required to induce feelings of anxiety and depression and decrease satisfaction with life is 5,649. The typical American takes 4,774 steps per day. Across the globe, the average is 4,961.”
― Kelly McGonigal, The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage