This is not the first time I’ve talked about nourishment here on CircleThrice. But I feel like it’s particularly important to revisit this concept right now as the Western world seem increasingly, well not just empty, but outright deprivational and harmful (like the cultural equivalent of the Standard American Diet).
The way that the phosphoric acid leaches calcium from your bones, vast stretches of popular culture, most media, and general social interactions leach the joy and magic out of your spirit. It’s worse than the spiritual equivalent of white sugar or flour, which at least taste good in the near term (though it’s not good for you and moderation is key). You need to treat this material the way you do propylene glycol or artificial food coloring or partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils — as without redeeming qualities and completely toxic to your system.
You know there are times when you can ease into a change. You park further from the entrance and take the stairs to get more exercise. You drink regular coffee rather than a caffeinated dessert to get less sugar. You give up expanded cable to save some money. Small changes repeated over time can give big results.
But then there are times when you have to go nuclear.
It’s when you sell your car and commute on your bike. It’s when you decide to completely purge gluten from your entire household for six months. It’s when you commit to buying nothing non-consumable for a year. There are times that to make the change, you have to make it big.
(Note, we’ve done two of those in the past)
When it comes to political discourse, media, and popular culture — that time is NOW.
Isolate yourself from media and culture to the brink of being completely uninformed and out of touch. And only after you’ve had a chance to detox (and you will detox) — only then, very carefully, curate a few thoroughly vetted trickles of information that you allow through.
Please note, I don’t expect you to isolate yourself from other people. Just make sure they are other people, and not just walking Internet meme husks that you interact with only online. Your family, your old friends, they can be a balm during this time. But you have to be ruthless. People are lost and incoherent with rage. Also note that if you are called to action, you should act. March, boycott, protest. All good things. But those things require a nourished and calm center so as to avoid burning out.
If we don’t take care of ourselves, we will fall down when we most need strength and flag when we need stamina. And that means taking care of our spirits and emotions as much as our physical bodies. So find things and people that nourish you and indulge in them as much as you can.
A year ago on the blog: The Rules for Them and the Rules for You
