Resilience in the face of madness

Photo Above: While shooting some photos for the site, I took some time to remember the moment.

Shit's weird is perhaps the most realistic and yet still understated way to describe the outside world right now. So, it might surprise you to know that I'm actually super fucking hyped about the future and you can be too! It's all a matter of perspective, here's mine and how I maintain it.

To see things my way, start with this quote I walked past daily in high school:

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King Jr.

I think about this quote a lot and especially in times like this. While I'm in no physical or even moral danger, with the state of things, we're all in danger of losing ourselves. So, I'm taking this moment to stand here and now sharing my method for staying sane through the onslaught of challenges to our sense of self and safety: Mindfulness.

Making up a statistic, I'd say 98% of what we see daily will never matter to anything in the future. Regardless, the faucet of information never really turns off. Modern life has given us more information than ever before and less time to process it. It's crucial to be informed but all that excess info is just a distraction from the joyous reality in our own households, neighborhoods, and communities.

It feels like the world is crashing down around us, but it's not. By all statistical measures, we are in the safest and most prosperous time that has ever existed - yes, COVID included. Nothing has ever been more possible than it is in this exact moment.

Mindfulness actually allows you to enjoy that truth, even in times like this.

Mindfulness takes you out of the information ocean and allows your brain to dry out for a few minutes. In fact, like a duck's saliva, regular mindfulness hygiene can lead to buoyancy and flight.

Mindfulness is a simple math problem with complex and wide reaching benefits: M=(Awareness)+(Acceptance).

Once you solve for M, you'll find the ability to see all that happens in the world, experience your feelings, and still appreciate what's happening in your life. I think some people refer to that as gaining perspective.

When I say mindfulness, many people hear meditation because that is the most commonly know version but here's a list of some mindfulness practices that you might not have thought of:

• Showers

• Rolling blunts

• Organizing meds

• Stupid government mandated daily walks

• Laying on the floor watching lights

• Focusing on the breath

• Puzzles

• Isolation tanks

• Masturbation/Partnered sex/Impact play/Pet play

• Journaling

• Crochet/knitting

• Watching a flame

• Cloud watching

• Swinging

• Sensory deprivation

• Deeply appreciating something

• Drawing

• Painting

• Any repetitive task

• Singing

• Dancing

• Focusing on the body's sensations

Mindfulness, as I practice it, is simply channeling the current of thoughts. I have ADHD and cannot sit still. There's no fucking way I'm meditating. But I did find my mind emptying when I settled in to draw. I've also found myself in complete awareness & acceptance while filling, capping, labeling, and sealing products here at The Butters.

Shit's weird but it looks a lot better when you take control over your own emotional experience. What will you find in 5 minutes of mindfulness practice? Could be yourself.