I feel like I am one of those folks who need the bit of counter-magic to get some breathing room in modernity. My husband and I talk about this a lot—how to make our way and our lives in a system that hasn’t yet collapsed but is showing signs of breaking. You still need a way to survive in the here and now, and who knows how long it could all go on limping along?
And if there are people out there who are going to do the “crazy work” (not actually crazy, very forward-thinking!) of building enchanted shelters for the future unraveling, I’m here for it!
you're not alone! i'm open to any ideas about what enchanted shelters or magical wayfinding might look like for you, if they were to be useful during the transition and in the time beyond. i've got some ideas of my own—but it's always good to hear from other people in different contexts.
it's both liberating and terrifying to set myself up as a metaphysical crash test dummy, with no expectations of success or failure. i just can't think of any other way to be of service at this point. hopefully i can turn up something useful as i launch myself into the creative/imaginal void.
I don’t know if this is metaphysical enough, (maybe there can be a phasmatopian twist), but I am working on ways to re-institutionalize my life, because I think groups and communities of people are going to be the way we make it through whatever the future holds. This, instead of trying to go it alone (or if you’re lucky, as atomized nuclear families) which are the defaults of modernity and capitalism.
absolutely! i think that's plenty metaphysical: those institutions are a byproduct of a collective identity. finding a way to hotwire new inclusive group identities (rather than the familiar exclusive identities of race, class, nationality, gender, etc.) is the work of creating new myths. easier said than done, of course: we've turned art into a commercial product. any creative impulse goes toward a packaged good, rather than a living source of inspiration that can take root in the real world. overcoming the commodification of art is a job in itself—but i think what we need is on the other side of that barrier.
Yes we definitely need to either rethink our exclusive institutions or create new ones that don’t suck. But just de-institutionalizing was/is not the answer.
I get the term “re-institutionalize” from this newsletter I follow: https://www.kenilgunas.com/post/institutionalize-me. He talks about how Americans don’t have a “generational attachment to place” and in general how we are pretty atomized and disconnected. Institutions and community groups are one way of deepening a connection to place, and you’ve already written about connections to place with “orenda” and the land’s essence as more than just utility to humans.
Ryan, you do such a great job of expressing what so many are feeling. Like you can write out our empathy(?) for us, which feels important because sometimes people (me!) can’t put a point onto how they’re feeling, or why they’re feeling. So please keep sharing your very human experiences with the rest of us humans
thanks so much Rachel! i'm glad it's helpful. sometimes it feels like i'm just writing letters to myself, so it's always good to hear that other people are finding value in it.
I feel like I am one of those folks who need the bit of counter-magic to get some breathing room in modernity. My husband and I talk about this a lot—how to make our way and our lives in a system that hasn’t yet collapsed but is showing signs of breaking. You still need a way to survive in the here and now, and who knows how long it could all go on limping along?
And if there are people out there who are going to do the “crazy work” (not actually crazy, very forward-thinking!) of building enchanted shelters for the future unraveling, I’m here for it!
you're not alone! i'm open to any ideas about what enchanted shelters or magical wayfinding might look like for you, if they were to be useful during the transition and in the time beyond. i've got some ideas of my own—but it's always good to hear from other people in different contexts.
it's both liberating and terrifying to set myself up as a metaphysical crash test dummy, with no expectations of success or failure. i just can't think of any other way to be of service at this point. hopefully i can turn up something useful as i launch myself into the creative/imaginal void.
I don’t know if this is metaphysical enough, (maybe there can be a phasmatopian twist), but I am working on ways to re-institutionalize my life, because I think groups and communities of people are going to be the way we make it through whatever the future holds. This, instead of trying to go it alone (or if you’re lucky, as atomized nuclear families) which are the defaults of modernity and capitalism.
absolutely! i think that's plenty metaphysical: those institutions are a byproduct of a collective identity. finding a way to hotwire new inclusive group identities (rather than the familiar exclusive identities of race, class, nationality, gender, etc.) is the work of creating new myths. easier said than done, of course: we've turned art into a commercial product. any creative impulse goes toward a packaged good, rather than a living source of inspiration that can take root in the real world. overcoming the commodification of art is a job in itself—but i think what we need is on the other side of that barrier.
Yes we definitely need to either rethink our exclusive institutions or create new ones that don’t suck. But just de-institutionalizing was/is not the answer.
I get the term “re-institutionalize” from this newsletter I follow: https://www.kenilgunas.com/post/institutionalize-me. He talks about how Americans don’t have a “generational attachment to place” and in general how we are pretty atomized and disconnected. Institutions and community groups are one way of deepening a connection to place, and you’ve already written about connections to place with “orenda” and the land’s essence as more than just utility to humans.
Ryan, you do such a great job of expressing what so many are feeling. Like you can write out our empathy(?) for us, which feels important because sometimes people (me!) can’t put a point onto how they’re feeling, or why they’re feeling. So please keep sharing your very human experiences with the rest of us humans
thanks so much Rachel! i'm glad it's helpful. sometimes it feels like i'm just writing letters to myself, so it's always good to hear that other people are finding value in it.
This was so fcking good. Found this piece shared in my Notes feed and boy am I glad I did
thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it!