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@takeactionlove
This blog is a collection of resources, anecdotes, and encouragement for living an intentional and compassionate life.
Let's talk about volunteering, political action, mutual aid, and sustainability! This will be a bit of a mess of solarpunk ideas, among other things.
You can call me love for now.
been thinkin about how my ethics professor back in undergrad was like.
look. there’s no such thing as perfect altruism. you’ll always get something out of helping or being kind to others, whether it’s a stronger relationship or returned kindness or just the feeling of having done good. there’s nothing inherently bad about getting something from doing good either, especially since it’s completely unavoidable. people being rewarded for putting love into the world doesn’t make the world a worse place. so just do as much good as you can and don’t worry about being “selfless” while doing it, because being truly selfless is in fact impossible.
and like man did that take the pressure off of Being A Good Person!! you’re allowed to enjoy helping people! you’re allowed to be kind without worrying that you’re maybe secretly just doing it for yourself!! it’s okay if you are doing it for yourself because you’re still being kind to others!!!!!
if it makes you happy to help people then actually you are helping two people
something i've noticed. people seem to think the most nature-y nature is forests. so forests are always prioritized for conservation, and planting trees is synonymous with ecological activism. my state was largely prairies and wetlands before colonization. those ecosystems are important too. trees aren't the end-all be-all of environmentalism. plant native grasses. protect your wetlands.
There’s also this idea that only pristine nature is good nature. But there’s a ton of ecosystems that are diverse and valuable and wouldn’t exist without mankind - whether that’s forests growing on terra preta or heaths that have formed because of low intensity sheep farming. Hell, even the blanket bogs of upland Britain only exist because the mountains were deforested in prehistoric times. So conservation efforts aren’t just planting trees but also paying local people to do what their ancestors have done to avoid losing those man-made ecosystems.
Historically Western conservation - note the word 'conservation' - has placed a dividing line between 'wilderness' that is not being 'used' by humans and between places where humans live. In Western European climates and habitats, wilderness is near-synonymous with forest. This has spilled over into international conservation movements and resulted in a focus on creating forested areas that humans don't interact with. Indigenous environmental movements, to paint a very broad brush here, tend to have as goals restoring ecosystems to the point that they can resume their traditional relationships with them, which means living in and with them, not having 'protected' and 'used' areas. There's a whole lot more here about modes of food production and ultimately legal concepts of ownership but all of this is to say: there's a deep well of scholarship and discussion on this topic, particularly where the interaction of agriculture & ecosystem preservation is concerned (the terms used are 'land sparing'/'land sharing'.) It's really worth spending some time reading up on, though I don't have links to hand right now.
The whole self love thing is good and all but some people can’t fathom being loved. They can’t imagine there being anything good about them. So they can’t simply just stop doing unhealthy things, there’s a process.
Before self love you have to invoke self tolerance and self neutrality.
If you can’t say “I love my body!” say “my body gets me from place to place.”
If you can’t say “I’m beautiful,” begin by shutting down the “I’m ugly” thoughts and saying “I’m a person.”
If you can’t say “I’m valuable” begun by shutting down the “I’m worthless” thoughts and say “all people deserve basic respect, and I’m a person.”
If you can’t say “I’m important,” or “I’m kind” say “I am the one who waters my plant every week” or “I am the one who tips the kind barista down the street” or “I am the one who makes sure my dog does not eat plastic” or “I am the one who leaves long comments on people’s fan fictions.”
I’ve genuinely never seen a way to bridge the gap, especially body-wise. There’s loads about self-confidence and loving your body EVERYWHERE, but no one really explains how to get there. It’s great to have the former, but I’m glad this info is out there.
The thing is, until you get past the mindset of "justice=punishment" you will never be able to create lasting change. We have actual proof that punitive justice creates more crime and makes criminals more violent. We have actual proof that rehabilitation reduces crime and recidivism. But some of y'all are so stuck on this idea that the wrongdoer must be punished for justice to be done that you will choose sating your need for revenge over actually moving toward a better world every time. And that's sad!
Everyone in the notes saying punishment doesn't undo the bad thing: exactly! Punishment does not create or preserve healing, prevention, protection, fairness, or goodness. The only thing punishment does is satisfy a sadistic public desire for revenge and give us the illusion of control.
[grabs your shirt] listen. listen to me. the practical is holy. the everyday is sacred. the simple act of surviving is divine. do you get it? sanctity begins at home, in the hands that build and the lives we live and the deaths we die and the worms that eat our bodies. if making something by hand is not worthy of veneration then nothing is.
I think it’s incredibly important for young people to be able to think about their future, and imagine that they might be happy
And unfortunately, this is a feeling that is stolen from a lot of young aro people the second that they realize they’re aro
So I want to say it right now: You can be happy
You can have a queerplatonic partner. You can have a romantic partner. You can have the freedom of singlehood. You can be a virgin, or you can have sex. You can have kids. You can be childfree and just be the cool aunt/uncle/pibling. You can have a whole bunch of friends and a thriving community of people to hang out with every weekend. You can live all alone in the woods with your eleven dogs and your online crocheting business
There are so many options before you besides the typical “dating-marriage-kids” pipeline, and if you try to do what you think you’ll enjoy, I promise that you can be happy
I cannot overstate the importance of local school board elections.
We finally have a progressive supermajority in our district. Here are some things that are going on.
Lunch and breakfast are free for all students, regardless of income. They ask students at wealthier schools that don't federally qualify as an entire school for free lunch to apply for free lunch because it increases federal reimbursement, but they are simply not charging students for lunch or breakfast.
They fired the big corp that was handling lunches (sodexa?) and brought it in house and the selections include vegetarian, kosher/halal, and often local and organic foods. The quality is good. They pay attention to nutrition. My picky kid can usually find something to eat.
The schools are nut free. As the parent of a peanut-allergic kid, I'm grateful.
We're not banning books.
There's no shopping list for back to school because, get this, the district is providing supplies! They ask that kids bring a backpack. My kid's cheeseburger backpack has held up mightily and is still in great shape, so we're good.
Trans kids are protected at the state level, but also at the local level.
They're doing an overhaul of special education with an eye to eliminating ABA. This is a sea change.
Kids get a city bus pass, free.
I have so many feelings. One of my friends is on the school board, and she's been part of this huge shift in priorities. I feel like good things are possible again. This is what free public education should mean.
as the colder months approach: i wish you all a healthy, calm end of the year. i wish you tasty cups of tea, comfortable clothes, warm beds, nutritious meals in safe homes, good music, new friends and unwavering health. you deserve good things now.
things you can do despite your sense of guilt
- go for a walk even if you think you don’t deserve it
- have a snack even if you think you don’t deserve it
- take a break from studying even if you think you don’t deserve it
- reach out to someone even if you think you don’t deserve it
- demand, have needs and wants even if you think you don’t deserve it
- make it through the day even if you think you don’t deserve it
- feel mentally exhausted albeit seeming physically fine
- feel the sense of abandonment despite the company of those around you
- go to bed early despite not having done much according to your mental routine
- let out a deep breath even if you think you weren’t holding one back
Systemic Racism is basically when the process of Racism is so fully automated by bureaucratic and socio-economic inertia, that it harms people without the need for real racists to actually do anything.
[I.D. A tweet by Sparkling Wine Socialist (@THOTCrime) that reads “Btw ‘systemic racism’ doesn’t mean ‘lots of racists in the system’. It means that even if there were *zero* ‘racists’ present, the system would still disproportionately harm people of certain races. It’s baffling that lots of educated folks don’t understand this concept.” /End id]
achievable ways that i'm sustainable
The first way I make these achievable is by far the most important: Don't make anything a hard rule - just a goal and a habit.
I purchase most of my clothes secondhand. They aren't all from thrift stores either - there are tons of vintage, resale, secondhand, etc. stores out there! I also make a point to not be too strict about this. It's okay to buy new clothes when it makes sense to!
I rarely replace things unless they are broken or no longer functional. Obviously, I make exceptions sometimes, but I try to use what I have until it can't be used anymore. A great example of this is that I wanted to get new bathmats - so I put my old ones elsewhere in the apartment rather than getting rid of them.
Before I donate or throw away usable things, I try to give them away, sell them, or repurpose them. Most places that get donations are incredibly overrun by the volume of donations and much of what's donating ends up in the garbage or in a mountain of clothing somewhere, so I try to leave donation as a last resort. I offer things to friends and family, sell them online, or try to find another use for them before I resort to donation. Also, be sure to research the organizations you donate to - some of them are no good at all! It's also a good idea to do your research and try to donate things to places I know they'll get used rather than somewhere like Goodwill.
I clean my own water rather than buying water bottles. Where I live, tap water isn't drinkable. However, rather than spending valuable money on wasteful bottles of water, I made a one-time purchase for appropriately heavy-duty water filters and/or a way to boil water before drinking it. If that's not achievable for you, it's always cheaper and less wasteful to buy your water in bulk.
I eat at home or at local restaurants as much as possible. Of course, fast food is unavoidable sometimes. But I find that it's fairly easy to eat at home or at a local restaurant once you get into the groove of it - not all home-cooked meals are complicated or time-consuming, and most local restaurants can do take-out very easily (and often, pretty cheaply)!
I bring my own bags not only to the grocery store, but everywhere I go. I keep my wallet and epi-pens in a reasonably large tote bag, so when I grab something at the convenience store or run into a small shop, I don't generally need to get a bag. When it comes to the grocery store, I always take my own bags - usually one refrigerator bag and one regular bag - and also bring my net produce bags (from Ikea, about $3 USD each). This helps me avoid unnecessary plastic use and keep trash out of my local environment.
Since I live in a large city, I drive as little as possible. By that, I mean that I essentially only drive when I commute to school, as my school is not in the same city and is not currently accessible by public transportation. Walking and biking are great ways to get around and stay healthy, and public transportation is a fantastic option when it's too far to walk or bike. I'd encourage everyone to try out walking, biking, and transit - no matter where you live! It might surprise you how achievable, cutting down on car usage is.
In terms of like, Please For The Love Of God Get Hobbies That Aren’t Scrolling Through An App For Six Hours A Day, I understand and experience completely the argument of like. with the stressors of modern work, you don’t have the energy at the end of the day to do anything but mindlessly watch Netflix and scroll through your phone. but like I would like to gently encourage you to simply force yourself for a time to do something instead of pick up your phone, bc the phone is literally designed to light up your brain with no effort from you whatsoever and it does in fact rot your brain. It makes literally anything but scrolling on your phone seem difficult and joyless. But if you stop scrolling on your phone all the time, and start like, reading or embroidering or gardening or going for walks, you will eventually find the joy in them once more
I understand and it is true that it is hard to have a life outside work and scrolling but there is not a near future where that won’t be the case and you should still live a life. And you won’t create a future where that isn’t the case if you don’t have the confidence and experience and drive to fight for it
https://forge.medium.com/get-the-most-from-your-limited-free-time-84de1bc3096
the trick is to recognize that there’s nothing intrinsically exhausting about reading a book or painting a picture or doing any of the activities that are meaningful to you. What makes these things seem exhausting is the fact that they’re now competing with cheaper stimulation. In a paper published in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, a group of psychologists suggested that the feeling of effort is a sensation of opportunity costs. When you’re doing something and an alternative activity promises to be easier and more immediately rewarding, the original activity feels effortful.
Therefore, if you want to do the things that matter, you need to make the alternatives less salient. Reading will be hard when Netflix is always an option. Family time will seem boring if your phone is always within arm’s reach. Easier will beat better if it’s always available.
Please, if you're able, learn to disarm people with kindness. Don't try to change minds, just change the subject. Make friends who disagree with you, but don't even let them talk about it. Don't try to argue against propaganda, that's how people learn to defend it. Be someone who makes them see propaganda and think, "this can't be right, my friend would never." Put up with their microaggressions. No it's not fair, but they don't see that. Don't try to force them to see it. Love them even when they don't deserve it. I promise they will start to notice the way your face changes when they say something hurtful. They might even start to ask you why it hurts.
I promise you can love yourself enough to let your guard down, enough to forgive and forget a hundred times a day. Loving yourself is an act of defiance. Love yourself so much that it's contagious. Love yourself until nobody can touch you without feeling love.
don’t be scared to live lovingly. compliment your friends on the little things and cheer for live bands in small cafes and leave tips when you can. tell the person you saw that you really like their shirt and write cards and letters to the people you love. make playlists for people and don’t be afraid to express your appreciation for others. life is so much better when you live it with love.
you've gotta have friends who are older than you, not because you're a dumb kid, but because you'll be terrified of growing up otherwise
being the oldest person you allow yourself to know will eat holes in your brain and you'll start saying weird stuff
Get a hobby that is intergenerational. The friendships with people much older and much younger than you will mean that wisdom and ideas are shared among many and not isolated among the few.
