What Do We Do when Our World’s Burning to the Ground?
There are so many ways to create art. Wheel throwing pottery has become one of my personal favorites!
— In this Article —
I don't need to tell you that we're undergoing a collective existential crisis. The world is (and has been) on fire, with POTUS & Co. adding a seemingly endless supply of accelerant.
So what do we do?
We make art.
I know that this may sound trivial, given that people are being murdered by ICE on the streets and in detention centers. But creating art brings both us and our communities more joy, better health, and a host of other benefits. Benefits like agency, purpose, and connectedness.
"Creating gives us agency, it gives us control, it gives us delight...Art heals our bodies, improves our mental health, and creates thriving and connected communities." —Amie McNeeConsider how much more capable we might be to show up, effect change, and feel empowered if we aren't feeling resigned or numb. Creating things—making art—can move us into flow and leave us feeling wildly alive and free.
Doesn't that sound more lovely than feeling helpless?
Consider how moving art—in it's infinite forms—is for you to witness. Do you listen to and feel moved by music? Do you swoon over a perfectly proofed and scored baguette (#yep)? Do you enjoy your morning coffee in a handmade mug? Are you transfixed by a powerful film, novel, or painting? Has a particular podcast inspired you to make some longed-for and empowering changes in your life?
THANKFULLY, SOMEONE DECIDED TO SHARE THEIR GLORIOUS ART WITH YOU.
Thankfully, they didn't think that it wasn't worthwhile or bought into the cultural lie that engaging in art is a waste of time.
"Humans rely on the arts to inspire, to take refuge, to challenge, to awaken. Communities flourish when artists live within them." —Amie McNeeThink about that for a moment.
Think about how much more despair we'd be feeling in these dark times if we couldn't listen to that one soul-inspiring artist who leaves us feeling a bit more hopeful by the end of their song. Or if we couldn't momentarily escape (and arguably reset our nervous systems) via a film that completely sucks us in and leaves us feeling empowered to do something.
Or even if you had to read that quote ^ in an ordinary italicized font? Said quote uses a font called Founder’s Hand that was created by Jen Wagner…and the headings font—also hers—is called Runaways. Both cost me a pretty penny to buy the rights to use. But I love them, and I love supporting artists like her who create things that make life more stirring and beautiful and emotive!
Now, think about YOUR role as an artist. What are you depriving others of by not drawing out and sharing what lives deep within you?
I hear you protest, thinking: "But I'm no artist!" BUT YOU ARE.
Your art is what you create.
And friend, I know you have the capacity to create. Maybe that's something culture already views as art: music, books, poetry, paintings, pottery, fonts, etc. Or maybe it's not.
For example, I facilitate a monthly women's circle. Not many people would call that art, but I can tell you that judging by the sisters who keep coming back and the feedback I receive from their handwritten cards, texts, and emails, something in them is stirred within them when they experience my art—the art of guiding a simple women's circle.
I'm not saying that all we need is art. On the contrary, we need a helluva lot more than art! We need a new world order, for starters—one that places humanity and Mama Earth and all of her beings over profits...and that is daunting AF.
But there ain't no way we'll ever get there if we succumb to numbness or despair.
Creating art—however you define it—is a tonic for creating more fulfillment, joy, and purpose in our lives and in our communities; creating art is an antidote to the numbness and despair POTUS & Co. wants us to feel.Some final thoughts...
When I began typing, I'd planned to focus on Wayfinding through these times. Shocking, right?! But I got distracted by Amie McNee's TEDx talk*, which entirely shaped today's newsletter.
*In support of Amie rather than YouTube's algorithm, that link is to her website.
AND making art is—in many ways—what a Wayfinder does naturally when the world's burning. Perhaps not in a literal let's-break-out-the-paints kind of manner (although this could definitely be the case!), but as in let's-follow-our-curiosity approach. After all, curiosity, creativity, and art are inextricably linked.
I hope you will watch Amie's TEDx talk.
That is all.
Hey! I’m Kristi—a Wayfinder Master Coach and Women’s Circle Facilitator.
I’m committed to helping fed up feminists like you navigate capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy from a place of empowerment and deep inner alignment. I serve humans—mostly women—who yearn to ‘be the change’ and seek support from someone who truly gets it.
