Furloughed
This Chapter of My Life is Called
Furloughed
The ending of an era, a state of being, and a time of preparation.
The beginning of the end of my false sense of security.
A fresh start that I am all too thrilled.. and frustrated.. and feared.. that I am going to have to… nay, that I Get to embark on.
I do some of my best work when I don't have to work. And now, I get to do so much work that I don't Have to do, and yet that I feel like I absolutely Need to do to create the world I want to continue living in.
Now is the time to be fully present. To commit all I possibly can, my full self, towards creating better futures.
Now is the time to put aside the finances in order to build a world where finances need not exist.
Now is the time to apply myself to my Self Corp. To worry only about the applications of my own incorporation.
Now, more than ever, must I admit the importance of refusing to acquiesce any further to the sadistic frivolities of fascists and capitalists and authoritarians alike.
Now, more than ever, must I come to grips with the necessity of flipping the board rather than continue playing the game.
No more will I be cowed, or silent, or pacified.
No more will I be controlled, mislead, or disrupted.
It's time to disrupt the world.
I really let myself slip much further behind on everything than I intended. My days were full with work I enjoyed for the most part… but it was awfully full. Between my day job, providing transportation to my household, getting fully settled into my new house, running nigh countless errands, taking care of my pets, spending (valuable) time with friends, and so on; its been slim pickings for personal projects.
But alas… no more excuses!! Here’s a bunch of things I am going to do, and that I think all of us can do, to be more active in building the type of world we want to live in.
Build Community
By 'community' I don't mean some interest group or an amorphous collection of people who might know of each other, I mean a tangible group of people that you can call close friends, or at least have mutual respect for. These are people that you can be vulnerable with, that you can ask for help from and give help to enthusiastically.
To do this, you can:
Get to know your neighbors
Make meaningful friends
Be vulnerable
Commit to regular activities together
Ask for help
Don't be afraid to be intimate
Meet new people with an open mind
Advocate for mixed-use zoning, third places, and libraries
Support and use your local libraries
Be a mentor or at least share some skills, knowledge, and resources with people around you, especially younger folks
Talk to elders and hear what they have to share, particularly about their regrets
Practice mutual aid, intercommunal solidarity, and radical empathy
Foster and Participate in Ecologies
By this, I mean actually being a part of the food web. Being a part of the nature around you instead of pretending that you're outside of it. Depend less on stores to supply your food and other resources, and more on your active participation in the commune of nature.
Learn how to grow food and other plants, whether it be in your yard, house, or wherever
Do a bit of re-wilding and re-introduction of native species so your area is less of a urban/suburban wasteland
Learn how to forage or at least identify the nature around you
Hug a tree and touch grass... no seriously
Go hiking… venture through some unmarked paths (outside of protected areas)
Advocate for less clear cutting and destruction of our natural environments
Catch and release cats and dogs
Get a pet. If you have one, get more and get them socialized
Gain More Skills
If you are passionate about something but haven't really done that thing, then dedicate some time to actually learning skills in that realm. If you don't know what you like to do, then dedicate some time to just trying stuff until you find something you enjoy.
If you want to be a more handy person (or X type of person) then give it a shot. Pick up some basic know-how in that area, even if you never really plan on using that ability (such as car maintenance, cooking, cleaning, music, writing, public speaking, coding, design, visual art, negotiation, etc). Just try and be a bit more well-rounded even if you do have a specialty.
Talk to (actual) experts (ie people who don’t flex about how much they know but always seem to be able to talk endless about what their domain)
Go to meetups, skillshares, classes, etc where you can learn from and with others
Watch videos and read articles about the skill, then practice it
Commit to finishing a small project with that skill
Share your skills with others
Document your journey, accomplishments, and feedback
Don’t be afraid to show your growth in public by sharing successes, failures, and any other attempts. Doing so can help you, or someone else, down the line dealing with similar things
Learn More
About the world. About history. About science. About the brain. About the body. About nature. About space. About technology. About spirituality. About philosophy. About any and everything you can possibly imagine. Just be curious and let your mind grow constantly… without getting a big head about it.
Learn more about how things work, and try to find any DIY or local alternatives for especially problematic things
Learn about how people used to live throughout the vast history of humanity, especially egalitarian societies
Learn about afropessmism, afrofuturism, and black anarchism
Learn about solarpunk, mycopunk, lunarpunk, and hopepunk
Learn about history from an indigenous perspective
Learn about the various types of religions
Learn about cognitive biases
Learn about good urban design and walkable cities
Share what you're learning and remember that you will never know everything about anything
Dream More... and Build Towards It
Don't be afraid to dream about better futures. To imagine what your life could be like if things were better. Give yourself hope. And don’t let Anyone or Anything take that away from you. It's all too easy to fall into doomerism and misanthropy, to mask your pain with nihilism and pessimism or even surface-level optimism (ie cope). Instead, seek to understand the scope and depth of the issues we're facing, and actively decide to spite it... to overcome it. To believe that it is possible to solve these problems.
Recall your childhood dreams, if you had some. If you didn't, pretend that you did
Hug your inner child and let them know you have not given up on them
Pick a problem or idea that means a lot to you, and delve into it
Have the audacity to want to change the world... so you can refuse the billionaires who seek to have a monopoly on Vision and ‘Disruption’
Remember that you're not alone. There's likely others that share your dream. Find them... or make it easy for them to find you!
Be open to changing your mind. What you dreamed when you were a child, or last year, or even yesterday, may not be what you want today. But keep dreaming. And keep building
Remember that there is no Future. It literally doesn’t exist yet…or perhaps allll futures exist. Either way, You deserve to have your own ideal future. And so do I. All of our futures can exist, together!
A few years ago, I saw this video:
And it really helped me to trust myself more. Even still, I find that I still miss these ‘nudges’…. thus the steamroll that is this furlough.
I’m listening now! Loud and clear.
Hopefully this message can act as your nudge… before you get the steamroll.
As always, if you want to join me in building a better world, or just want to talk to someone as you work through your own vision and dream for the world, then please feel free to reach out!!
I’ll be here. Let’s build better futures together!!
Thanks for reading! Here’s some cat pics:
I really loved this article, especially the part about doing your best work when you don’t have to.
Thanks for sharing so openly and reminding us to keep building, even when it’s hard.
Love this! ❤️