The Beautiful Blobfish; Why We Feel a Lack of Confidence in Ourselves

The blobfish (psychrolutes marcidus) is a silly little creature that delights us with its slimy droopy appearance.  This fish makes us smile. It makes us wonder what kind of a world we live in in which something so gross exists just under the surface of the water. It has been the butt of the joke since it rose to internet fame in the early 2000s. 

The truly strange thing about the blobfish is how closely it resembles us. Looking at it's face feels like looking in a distorted mirror. We see an ugly, sad version of ourselves. Its popularity probably has something to do with the fact that it seems to perfectly express a particular mood that we as humans sometimes experience. It is, as the kids say, a mood. 

There might be even more to this mood than we originally realized. The blobfish is not as it seems. It lives at a depth of 600 to 1,200 meters below the surface. Remember what it feels like to dive into the deep end of a swimming pool? At this depth, the pressure is roughly 120 times greater than it is at sea level. The blobfish we know, sometimes called Mr. Blobby, was pictured after being pulled to the surface. 

Note the hook in the corner of Mr. Blobby's mouth. 

The abrupt pressure change that a blobfish experiences when being pulled out of the water by a deep sea fishing net causes extreme tissue damage. The fish undergoes a considerable, and frankly rather violent change. Here's what Mr. Blobby looks like at his natural depth. 

The true appearance of the blobfish. 

In his natural environment, the blobfish is, so to speak, a completely different person. They protect their eggs from predators, cruise around at a top speed of five miles per hour, and can live for about 130 years! The blobfish we know is ugly, helpless, and useless. The blobfish in its natural habitat is normal looking, strong, and interesting. 

Mr. Blobby in his natural habitat.

Let's apply this to our self reflection. Do we really know a person if we only get to know them in the context of them being out of their depth (in the blobfish's case quite literally)? Do we really know ourselves? 

Of course we will appear/feel ugly and bloated, droopy and sad, when we are forced to exist in a context that is outside of our natural way of being. So be who you are. Judge yourself only by how you live in those moments when you truly feel like yourself. How do you feel when you do something creative? When you go for a run? When you are spending time with the people who are important to you? That is who we truly are. Not how we respond when we are at work or at school, when we are around people we don't connect with, or when we do things for the expectations of others or of our society. 

We must never allow others to define us; most importantly, we must never allow ourselves to internally define ourselves by false standards. 

Let's make sure we spend some time in our natural habitats. 

What makes you feel like you're in your natural habitat? Let me know in the comments. 

How to make your own pro choice pendent/pin with only a paperclip and a pair of pliers.

Let's get crafty. Let's get rebellious. 

Let's remind people what abortions look like when they're not safe and accessible.

The finished product.

Start with a simple paperclip. 

Bend the side up with your fingers. 

Bend the other side up. 

Loosen that last bend. 

Push the open sides in toward each other. 

Notch the ends upward with pliers.

Twist them together tightly with pliers. 

Tighten up the corners.

Bend the top into a hook and clip anything that's left over. 

And you're done! 

I went extra and added blood to mine. 

Have fun and stay angry. 

Fun fact, you can also perform a back alley abortion with just a paperclip and a pair of pliers. Lol. 

Why Do We Hate Dandelions?

 In the spring most of us feel a sense of release, a sense of freedom. For those of us who go to school or work in the context of a school year schedule, this feeling can be especially strong. For those of us who live in climates with a harsher winter, that feeling intensifies yet again. It's not that our winters are entirely devoid of joy. We spend them as wisely as we can, reading books under warm blankets, braving the cold on occasion for some fresh air, and enjoying each other's company as much as possible. But too much of our winters are spent scraping the thick layers of ice off our windshields, which build up again day after day, no matter how many times we've scraped them before. So when the sun finally begins to shine on a little longer, and the beautiful green grass and trees come back to life before our eyes, we are taken with the sensation of new beginnings, and of possibility. 

Then, just when so many of us are finally feeling something akin to optimism, our beautiful fresh green lawns become spotted with yellow. First only here and there along the sides of buildings, then more and more until blankets of yellow have swept across the flawless landscape of carefully maintained suburban lawns. Our lawnscape has become a field of dandelions. 

An early spring dandelion hugging the side of a warm brick building. 

People really hate dandelions. They do anything they can to get rid of them. They try mowing their lawns extra short (usually resulting in an extra brown looking lawn). They dig up their lawns to get at the impressive 10 inch dandelion taproot (which leaves lawns uneven an pockmarked). They spray aggressive chemicals (the results of which none of us really feel like thinking about right now). All because... 

Because why? 

The beginnings of the dreaded dandelion wildflower field. 

We dislike dandelions because they invade a space that we feel we can tame and control. Is the home lawn a reflection of our experience being adrift in an endless, possibly meaningless universe? Is it a reflection of our desire to control and create order in just one little corner of our experiences? And dandelions, those unrelenting invaders, ruin everything with a notable strength that brings them back into our perfectly ordered monotone space, no matter how hard we fight them. They seem so fragile, yet we can't get rid of them. 

I suggest, that just for a moment, we let our minds drift back to when we were kids. Is there no part of us left that finds joy in disorder? No part of us that wants to pluck these bright yellow fighters and bring them inside as a silly gift for someone we care about? No part of us that wants to blow at the billowy white seeds, watch them float through the air, and make a wish as they scatter and land?

A pretty flower, bringing sunshine into your home. 

I suggest a radical shift in thought, even if it's just temporary. I suggest that we let the chaos in. I think that if we do, we will again find joy in the disorder. The natural world has a way of challenging and calming us, if we can only find ways to live alongside and within it, instead of fighting against it as if we are somehow separate from it. I know that in the context of our modern world and obligations, this is more easily said than done. But I can't and won't believe that it is impossible. 

When we pause and leave ourselves open to getting to know the dandelion as anything other than an annoyance, we find that they actually have many uses. 

 I think I know the truth. I think we hate dandelions because they are strong. I invite you to remember this the next time you face opposition or judgement. Why are people making you feel this way? Is it justified, or are you, perhaps like the gentle warrior dandelion - the teeth of the lion,- too strong for them?