The ‘No Matter What’ Gremlin:

THE WORLD IS IN PAIN.
NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO STOP MAKING BEAUTIFUL THINGS

This is a reminder that, no matter what, we must honour the act of creation.

Because the world is chaotic, and you need to be still. You need to channel your creative power. What are your non-negotiables so you can be better positioned to respond to the chaos?

Q: How do you find the balance in the chaos?

A: Boundaries.

Q: What can that boundary look like?

A: Eating healthy every day should be a non-negotiable.

A: Doing something for your body every day is a non-negotiable.

A: Making something - not for performance but simply for practice should be a non-negotiable.

A: being present with something beautiful is non-negotiable.

These things give us balance. We each have a different entry point into a non-negotiable habbit. You need the non-negotiables every day to equip yourself to be better prepared for the chaos. We can’t control life, only how we respond to it. Responding with intention is where we want to be versus reacting unintentionally with emotion.

When we don’t have a still centre, our attention goes all over the place; we become overwhelmed or desensitized to distractions and triggers. The non-negotiables are like safe little buffers that you put in place so that your body, mind and soul has space to breathe and see clearly.

You May Need New Tactics

The world is tricky, and when you go online, you see many upsetting or overwhelming things. And yet, we need to be informed, to digest information, and put it into action or support.

And so, boundaries help you not to lose yourself in the chaos. So whatever those boundaries may look like for you (boundaries for your mind, emotions, and physical body), you’ve got to ensure you’re taking care of yourself. What is your foundation? You should have non-negotiables.

I.e. for every long-form article of news you watch, digest a piece of art that inspires you. Give yourself a rule to spend 15 mins creating a day in the morning, no questions asked.

Our old ways may not serve us best in this space.

Seasons change, as do we. So maybe the morning routine shifts, you have kids now, or your health requires a different pace. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, but non-negotiables must be tapped into. Because, like I said, it’s chaos out there, so the stillness inside is priceless.

Through chaos, there is light. Darkness is only the absence of light. So, what do we do with the darkness? We shine bright. Simple. We shine brighter. But we can’t be strong when we don’t control when where and how we place our attention and how we re-fuel our source of strength and creativity.

"The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark."

- Virginia Woolf

One of the challenges of activism is that the fights are long, the progress is often slow, and the effort required is thankless and gruelling. As in so many fields, burnout is a serious risk, especially because activist work is rarely well-compensated, and the strong sense of personal responsibility many activists feel makes it hard to take breaks.

For activists who live with chronic stress, the risk of burnout is physiological. Prolonged states of heightened negative emotion raise blood pressure, cortisol, and respiration rates, emphasising the cardiovascular system. Rest is vital, but rest alone doesn’t create resilience. We also need moments of release and celebration to mark the small victories and restore body and mind.
That is why both need to be true. To recognise the pain and suffering of others and yet also create and engage in beautiful acts of sensual creation. ‘Sensual’ as Audre Lorde writes is to

“Recognise the power of the erotic within our lives to give us the energy to pursue genuine change within our world, rather than merely settling for a shift of characters in the same weary drama.”

This is not about rainbow washing but a call to hold and fight for creation as an act of activism.

"Creation is lifework, creation is how...you spend your life, you cannot divide life and the creation, it’s impossible. Shut your eyes, close your ears, don’t use your brain, use your heart, your soul."

- Yohji Yamamoto

P.S.

Boundaries set up the preservation of the relationship and keep people in rather than shut them out. They create a structure for a relationship. It’s an act of longevity, protection and endurance.

Yours, Karimah