Coping

Back in April, not too long after the Covid quarantine started, I took some art classes through Sketchbook Skool.

I really loved the boot camp class for its diversity of art techniques, and I loved the “How to Draw Without Talent” class to help me beef up my skills with drawing. But my favorite of the classes I took ended up being the mixed media journaling course.

When I first started the journaling class, I didn’t think I would actually journal in the same way that I write in my journal. I thought it would take too long to do an entry. That I’d never be able to fit it into my schedule.

I don’t do a mixed media journal entry every day. Shoot, I don’t do a written journal entry every day. But over the months, I’ve created dozens of spreads, playing with different materials and techniques. Addressing everything from the mundane to the missing my dad who died back in 2011.

And days like today (below), it helps me to process things in a way writing doesn’t. We had a hell of a storm come through, so that’s where part of it comes from. But I also found out my aunt is very sick. She’s been in the hospital with pneumonia, and she got a scary diagnosis.

I’m feeling sad. I’m feeling … well … a lot of things.

And I wanted to share these images and ideas with the world, because there is a lot going on with all of us. There are many things in the world that are seriously fucked right now. Every single person in this country is facing trauma at some level. The real question is: what do you do with that?

If we let fear, anger, and frustration take over, they will immobilize us. We’ll tread water with boulders on our backs, missing any chance of joy.

I lived that way for 30 years of my life, and there’s no way I want to go back. And I don’t want it for anyone else either.

There are a lot of fucked up things right now. But there is still beauty. When we take care of ourselves, we can continue to put our energy towards manifesting the beauty in the world. Which might sound hokey, but it’s true.

We have to let go of those boulders that don’t serve us anymore. And as we lighten our load, eventually we’ll be able to swim towards our goals. If we keep the boulders, they add up, weigh us down, and can take us under. We’ve got to let them go.

Your way to cope may not be the same as mine. But if you are reading this, it is my sincere hope you are taking care of yourself through the maelstrom of Covid, Black Lives Matter protests, continued police brutality, Trump’s daily shit-show, wild fires, unsafe school re-openings, 2020 elections… Especially my organizing and activist friends. The struggle is real.

There’s so much going on in the world. More than I listed, I’m well aware. It feels like too much. It feels like too much too often. During this time of uncertainty and upheaval, we must prioritize self care. We must be selfish so we can continue to fight for the world we want.