I’ve written about weltschmerz before, but I’ve always been aware that English does a particularly poor job describing interesting and complex emotions. This infograph from Fast Company is case in point.
Tocka (Russian, great spiritual anguish without any cause), and pretty much all of the words related to but more specific than ‘togetherness’ are my favorites. And I could probably use some of the Chinese word for ‘relaxed’ and ‘nothingness’, ie less worrying.
Thankfully I needn’t force either of these lovelies to grow. They both emerge quite nicely on their own year after year.
Coax from the earth
or rather, gently persuade
with a bit of rain, a sprinkle of poop
(composted)
and daily attention, even just a
prolonged, easy gaze.
Gardens require intuition
not obsession.
It’s been far too many months since I’ve written, and there is no excuse for that, other than I have had far too much to say and far too few words to say it with. But it’s never too late, yes? I shall begin my valiant return to blogging with a recounting of my recently written Womanifesto, inspired by Cunt by Inga Muscio.
Lauren Meredith’s Womanifesto
I am a creature of passion, a begin the rejoices in connection, emotion, growth.
I refuse to be told that I feel too strongly about something. Contrary to our cultural belief, I believe that bottling up, walling off, or otherwise denying your emotions is for the tragically emotionally stunted. I will cry and rage when I hear or read about rape/racism/torture/any other kind of violence because I AM A HUMAN BEING. I will support others in their responsive emotions too, and together, TOGETHER, we will figure out what to do next.
I am a creature of desire, desire for wind and waves, for multitudes of orgasms, for safety, for companionship. Desire to constantly grow in and with change, acknowledging both my personal past and my shared human history while always, always, always looking forward toward a future of POSSIBILITY for more justice, more love, more openness.
I am a creature of the earth and the sky. I want and need to live from my intuition, to sink my hands and feet and sometimes whole body into the gloriously sweet smelling and fertile earth. I am connected to the trees, the ferns, the rocks of the river, and the birds, and I live more lives through them.
I am a creature who is learning to love her body, apart and away and in spite of the gaze and expectations of others. I am learning that I am strong and flexible, that I can create with both my mind and my hands, that I can be voluptuous and sensual because IT FEELS GOOD, NOT because anyone else wants me to be. I will adorn myself as I please.
I am a creature who demands respect, vulnerability, openness, and creativity, and is glad to give all of these things in abundance. Moreover, I DESERVE THESE THINGS, and so does every other compassionate being. I am worthy of love and care, and will accept no less.
This is my life. I will live in riotous abandon and abundance.
I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read four of these (Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, and Maryland), especially since it’s such a cool project. How many have you read?
Yes, it’s Halloween. But I’m increasingly unable to avoid my attention being drawn to the impending election, in spite of it being my favorite holiday today and my birthday in less than two weeks. So here’s what’s on my mind:
If you’re a Minnesotan, vote no.
Then vote no again.
For g-d’s sake, don’t vote for Mittens.
And do your homework, there are lots of other more local elections that matter. If you’re Minnesotan, check out our local paper’s resource for all the elections in your area.
Sometimes it feels like we’re prophets, sharing the gospel of sustainable community living (though of course we’re constantly reinventing what that means and how we do it together). This is most certainly a bit grandiose, and I am aware that I can occasionally fall prey to delusions of grandeur. But when my housemate says “I want my car to be a community car” and “sure I’ll try the Diva Cup“, I feel deeply in my bones we must be doing something worthwhile. This grand experiment of life is not for naught.
I love these people. Not all housemates, but we pretty much always have other people over so it’s an accurate photo nonetheless.
“Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all this to happen; room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy. When we think something is going to bring us pleasure, we don’t know what’s really going to happen. When we think something is going to give us misery, we don’t know. Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. We try to do what we think is going to help. But we don’t know. We never know if we’re going to fall flat or sit up tall. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure.”
