Staying sane amongst the madness
I can be a cynical old bastard sometimes, especially when everything seems to be all gloom and doom around me. I let things get to me. A lot. And when I’m having one of those days I REALLY hate it when people try and put a positive spin on everything by pretending that life is all rainbows and unicorns - because lets face it, some things that are going on in the world today really are just shitty.
I also believe that it’s IMPORTANT for me to see and acknowledge what is happening in the world - things that will more than likely never effect me, and things that I will never have to worry about because of the privilege of my race, gender, location, income, health, support system…..all things that for many years I never even thought about. Becoming aware of the injustices in the world and your own privilege can really begin to weight heavy on your mind and soul. But you can only change things if you decide to do something about them. And you can’t make that choice without being aware of them. So I refuse to turn a blind eye and pretend all is good. I choose to do something about it.
The thing is, there are just as many incredible, beautiful and uplifting people and things happening in the world right now. So the only way to protect your sanity, and ensure YOU are adequately equipped to help others, is to ensure you keep a balanced view. With so much negativity thrown at us on all media, you have to make a conscious effort to find the good stuff.
“Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.”
One small thing I do may help you too. When I find videos and articles that bring me joy, I save or bookmark them so that whenever I need a bit of a pick-me-up, I can watch or read or listen to something that uplifts me. At my core I still fundamentally believe that there is so much goodness and complexity and joy and magic in the gloriously vast (and varied) collection of tribes, races, genders, sexualities, nationalities, religions and dance styles we find on this tiny space rock, that sometimes I still get a little…well…mushy.
This video does that to me. It is so filled with joy and diversity - and through the very simple medium of dance it shows the humanity and commonality of people all around the world. I don’t watch things like this to pretend bad stuff doesn’t happen, I watch them to remind myself why I feel that I have to DO something about the bad stuff - to preserve and protect the good stuff..
So I’m gonna leave this awesome video here for your enjoyment. Take a break from life and politics and reality and everything and for a few minutes…just enjoy. I mean, you can NEVER take too many dance breaks, right?
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Kintsugi: The Japanese art of repairing what is broken or damaged with pure gold resin. Also a philosophical approach that teaches that our flaws, experiences and scars make us all the more beautiful and unique.
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