The ‘Masculine’ Gremlin

21 Jan

I THINK THIS IS WHAT GROWING UP FEELS LIKE

I’m part of a book club. No. I’m not a middle-aged woman; I do it for the sisterhood. It’s VERY low stakes; we talk about philosophy, feelings and life things, and then we read together on Zoom with no outside reading required. I do it because after every session, I feel lighter, smarter and more calm. And I also do it…to understand men better.

Yes, you heard me right. Men. Those grumpy, brilliant, unfamiliar, ego-driven creatures that can frustrate us and call us in equal measure.

This season, we're reading 'He' by Robert Jonson, and it fascinates me because the better I understand the masculine side of me, the better I can relate to the masculine outside of me. And if I want my art to impact the world directly, I need to understand masculine energy.

In ‘He, ‘ Johnson tells the story of how an unhappy king finds happiness by meeting different masculine archetypes - from the peasant fool to the honourable red knight and the ascended King Arthur. Johnson's insights have a way of circling back to the theme of balanced forces and the intrinsic importance of the feminine.

In the face of wounded masculine or feminine energies, a common Gremlin tendency is to either reject or desperately cling to the lacking energy, manifesting in mummy/daddy issues, attachment wounds, and trauma responses. This often triggers a reactive pattern, prompting Gremlins to either run away from or run headlong into the challenges life presents. However, a transformative shift occurs when we observe these issues unfolding and introspectively inquire about the energy required for balance.

Achieving internal harmony enables purposeful action = circulation, and creation of art. Suppressing these internal struggles only depletes the energy available for artistic expression, emphasising the importance of addressing these internal dynamics for a more creative Gremlin juice.

In the dance of life and art, feminine energy intertwines with masculine energy. Feminine energy births creation, while masculine energy propels it into the world. Intuition is guided by the feminine, and iteration is guided by the masculine. I am learning to braid graceful acceptance of my mistakes through feminine energy with the resilient ‘pick-yourself-back-up’ spirit driven by the masculine. It's a delicate, ever-evolving dance—a dance that mirrors the rhythm of existence.

Much like the roots of a tree, we can only expand as far as we anchor ourselves. Hence, one can only be as patient as one can persevere.

Patience without action feels like surrender. Patience with action feels like service. Service and surrender together feel like purpose.

Patience

The current theme in my life centres around patience and perseverance, learning to no longer waste energy on impatient reactions but patiently act WITHIN THE DISCOMFORT and MOVE WITH life.

Be patient with yourself as you move through the world. Be patient with others, and allow them to be patient with you. Sometimes, the greatest teachers come in the least expected of places.

Musings

Looking to the east and to the sky.
After the Louis Vuitton show P shot this interview with Vogue. The interviewers responses lacked depth; however, it’s interesting to understand how Louis Vuitton is positioning itself in the Eastern market - and how Pharrell is using this bigger platform to encourage faith and ‘consiousness’.

- Pharrell Interview

He - Robert Johnson book cited above

“The place where light and dark begin to touch is where miracles arise.”

“I doubt if there is a woman in the world who has not had to mutely stand by as she watched a man agonize over his Fisher King aspect. She may be the one who notices, even before the man himself is aware of it, that there is suffering and a haunting sense of injury and incompleteness in him. A man suffering in this way is often driven to do idiotic things to cure the wound and ease the desperation he feels. Usually he seeks an unconscious solution outside of himself, complaining about his work, his marriage, or his place in the world.”