genderjumper: cartoon giraffe, chewing greens, wearing cap & bells (Default)
Gender Jumper ([personal profile] genderjumper) wrote2021-08-24 10:56 am
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry
  • Current Mood: thoughtful
  • Current Location: DFW
  • Current Music: Desperately Wanting -- Better than Ezra
Entry tags:

Intentions for the Next Lockdown

Revisit the Tao Te Ching. This is the closest thing to a sacred text I know, but a few months ago I started to find flaws. Rather than exploring those flaws and developing a yes/and attitude toward it OR outright rejecting it and contemplating why I didn't see or recognize them sooner, I just kind of set it down and haven't looked back. And I think I need to be more deliberate than that.

Rake up a bag of leaves a week. My ambitions are not great, but I would like to keep the invasive bushes out of my front yard and continue to bag up the several years' worth of leaves that have accumulated (many of which were brushed off the roof last summer and did more harm than good to my yard). I should also decide what to do with all the decorative rocks I pulled in the spring.

Game more (as long as it is relaxing). Maybe I'll get to Final Fantasy 2-X or maybe I'll just poke around the old NES/SNES games on my partner's Switch. There have been phases of my life when I did some of my best thinking/healing with a controller in my hand. You can't bootstrap consciousness by thinking two thoughts at once, but historically I have been able to bootstrap inner peace.

Listen through my CD albums. I recently reorganized all 300+ and found many that I'd forgotten about or missed because my previous system centered favorites (which made sense at the time; I was not in a good place and I needed my music to be consistently affirming and my decisions easy).

Create randomly and affectionately. I'm trying to be a little less project-oriented and bring playfulness back.

Cultivate laughter. I really want to emphasize humor right now. I simply know no other way through this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only
flamingsword: “in my defense, I was left unsupervised” (Default)

[personal profile] flamingsword 2021-08-24 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
One of my problems with the Tao is that under capitalist hegemony, the path of least resistance will always be decided on by those with power. Really under any exploitative model, the easy paths will reinforce and reify those structures.

I am glad you will be listening to a broader range of stuff. My Spotify subscription last year did me a world of good for broadening my horizons and ability to share stuff with friends.

And if you want me to come over and we can do task hang outs, I can help prune while you rake, etc. I do like working outside for short periods of time.
genderjumper: cartoon giraffe, chewing greens, wearing cap & bells (Default)

[personal profile] genderjumper 2021-08-24 08:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes to all of this. I think my specific concern came up when I realized how literal the Tao is about keeping people unconcerned. This might be ideal in a situation where society is not growth-minded, but I don't know of any such society that has ever existed, let alone exists now! But it got me through a lot of personal calm, and I need to sit with that.

We have YouTube music because my family listens to a lot of ASMR, but their algorithm does not serve me well and I'd prefer my CDs and MP3s most of the time. I'd call it refreshed rather than new for now.

I am actually in dire need of extra hands when it comes to yardwork. 95% of that is for accountability and setting intention, but 5% of the time I get scared and need someone else to intervene on my behalf. I'm trying to set Mondays as my outside day, but that may vary. You are always welcome!!!
Flat | Top-Level Comments Only