The Basics
The Basics, it seems like a growing list of essential self-care tips rather than an immediate list of essentials. If I was going to get right down to the bare bones, which indeed the home page of my website once used to. I once talked a lot about air and water. Those are the real full-blown basics of human life. Beyond that maybe even the potential of land on which to find nurturance. In 2020 even air has become toxic and it seems to be a continuing theme of my writing, as I go. That even the most basic of human necessities seems to be under threat as part of our unrelenting anti-human system.
People these days talk about essentials like they really are disposable facial cleansing wipes or indeed scented bath time candles. I wish I agreed and I think the revelation that someone packed scented candles as essential travel must, was probably around the time I stopped reading any kind of lifestyle magazine, along with all women’s magazines. I often wonder why these magazines don’t come with free loose-packed razor blades or a craft knife? As all most people seem to get from them is as an opportunity to entirely berates their life or claw together a vision board. Fuck I’m cheery today.
The real thing when it comes to the basics is what is necessary, what are the absolute essentials? The thing is that when you are living on the edge of survival a candle can feel like a luxury. I’m not talking about a luxury candle. I’m talking about a sock standard household candle. That people in the first world rarely have to consider as an essential item. After several years in South Africa candles are no longer quaint. They became necessary along with the cute little enamelware candle holder. After several years of load-shedding (that’s where the government turn the electricity of whole cities off) electricity was no longer a given, nor even running water due to a drought and a climate disaster.
This year it’s air, like some kind of elemental warfare is taking place. You see in extreme times we can find the deepest appreciation for the simplest things. Air, water, light, a candle. Nail scissors, a hairbrush, a shower. For me beyond access to our most basic elemental nurturance is the idea of safety. In an anti-human system that pushes people into survivalism, safety can seem forever out of reach. The endless quest for security (due to poor land access) can push us into extreme acts of self-deprecation. It’s ok it seems to be what the capitalist system requires. Anyways what you really need to know right now in the era of post-truth and divergent narrative (that always existed) is the fear-driven perspectives are fueling the breakdown of society. Love is an added bonus in a world that values human productivity over soul contribution. I know, it’s brutal out there and remember the only ones worth holding onto are the ones that are holding on to you.
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I am the only one of me in the world. However there is a chance my soul is shared. View all posts by kimberleen
Originally published at https://thelifedoula.com on September 14, 2020.
