The Collective Human Experience
Joy is not a function of a life free of friction and frustration, but a function of focus — an inner elevation by the fulcrum of choice.
Maria Popova • 18 Life-Learnings From 18 Years of the Marginalian
Perhaps it’s because some cultures – especially those somewhat insulated from the West’s relentless march towards individualised efficiency – have managed to preserve something we’ve lost along the way: an assumption of goodness in others. A default that sees a stranger and thinks ‘guest’ rather than ‘risk’. How ironic then that the countries we’re... See more
343 / The map is not the territory
In a world where tech commentators confidently declare that we poor ignoramuses haven’t even begun to get our heads around what’s barreling down the tracks towards us, I think it’s good to stay fully, even slightly foolishly, committed to the idea that humans doing human things, with other humans, is and will remain at the vital heart of human
... See moreour individual flourishing is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of those around us
327 / Individual growth, collective crisis
Building alternatives to extractive economics isn’t just about critiquing the system from afar/behind our screens. It’s about actively rewriting the story at the local level, where change feels personal and immediate. When those benefits are visible to the people we care about, they have the power to inspire more systemic change over time.
321 / Unmaking the extractive class
Contribute your skills to an existing effort – make it possible. Build the website, raise the funds, recruit the talent, plan the events. As Bill McKibben puts it, “Faced with the kind of crises that we face, the most important thing that an individual can do is to not always be an individual.” Move from I to we .
315 / Designing out recklessness
Our fixation on measurable outcomes often leads us to overlook the nuances of human experience: comfort, joy, even a bit of whimsy.
311 / The fallacy of faster
When we can begin to tap into the deep vessel of who we truly are, so many things would end about oppression. I believe the powers that be don’t want us rested because they know that if we rest enough, we are going to figure out what is really happening and overturn the entire system. Exhaustion keeps us numb, keeps us zombie-like, and keeps us on... See more
The Founder of the Nap Ministry on the Ways Rest Can Be a Form of Resistance
caretaking is a kind of liberation