From Anxiety to Action

Finding Strength in Sustaining Practices

Dear Livable Futures community,

There are many difficult and dynamic energies at play right now. The election in the U.S. has been an ongoing source of anxiety and hopelessness for many. This has shifted a bit since President Biden stepped back and Kamala Harris stepped forward but panic seems always very close to the surface. The “new beginning” of Harris’ leadership of the campaign has incredible momentum and it is worth taking advantage of any new energy we can locate right now. I've written more about new beginnings if you want to reflect on them some more.

Ride the wave, get involved, enjoy the fun of the newness, and be prepared for the backlash to come. It is inevitable and need not be frightening. Climate justice activists say: Be Prepared Not Scared. Preparedness often stokes anxiety and separation but that’s because it is done in a state of fear and attachment. If we can calm our nervous systems and act from a more grounded place, getting prepared can feel empowering and connected. 

The good news is that in the Livable Futures community, we are used to dealing with uncertainty and there are many creative allies out there as well. The first action is non-action as the Taoists say.

Start by ARRIVING. Breathe and sense into what wants to be known. Tune into the moment, the actual moment you are in, the place, the beings around you human and more than human. And when you are ready, gently TURN TOWARD the things that are making you feel unsafe, that are dark or frightening or overwhelming. SOFTEN into the magnitudes of the issues at hand. Send breath to the tense places, listen to the feelings. Let them come and let them pass on through. Move with them. If you enjoy EFT tapping, acupressure, or other somatic practices, activate them now, movement is life. RECENTER what you are reading, listening to, posting, sharing, and consuming around voices and practices that sustain you. Listen to voices in the margins. Congolese theatermaker Faustin Linyekula might be helpful this week on the podcast, and his wisdom on communities sustaining each other, mutual accountability, and living creatively amidst uncertainty.

Exploring Personal Sustaining Practices

One of the questions we ask every contributor to the Livable Futures project when they join us is “What practices are sustaining you? And how can you share them with others?”

Sustaining practices are the things we do day to day that help us feel grounded, nourished, and alive. When we acknowledge them as practices vs. habits or routines, they can take on bigger importance in our lives as rituals with intention. That’s already great! And there are added benefits because once we are aware of sustaining practices, we can develop and share them with others. 

For example, I love to read. When I hold reading as a sustaining practice, I start to think about how I read and when. I consider what different reading practices do for me and I can share this with others. To read as a sustaining practice I sometimes work with reading as prayer as in the lectio divina of Catholic monks. Other times I read as a playful practice, dipping into books at random like tarot or diviniation. My new favorite is linear reading where I read every single word of a book but only as much as I want at a time (sometimes I read only one sentence). And I always love adrienne maree browns’ offering that perhaps what we need is just the idea of a book. Reading as a sustaining practice is best in the morning for me, as a way of giving each day meaning. For you, it might be evening, on lunch breaks, or Fridays.

Read more responses from Livable Futures contributors in our community bios.

The pandemic was a big teacher for all of us about sustaining practices. Consider what you did during the pandemic to help you deal with the pressure, anxiety, and stress. What made life more livable? How can you keep practicing this in your life today and share it with others? I noticed during the pandemic that if I read first thing in the morning it kept my brain in a slowly oscillating peaceful state and inspired creative thinking. I also found tending my houseplants helpful and walking and collaging and of course journaling.

It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or unusual, just sensing into your own experience and listening to what you find there. As always, follow what feels good. Even the act of asking the question and expanding the space in our consciousness for these considerations can do good in our lives. 

What practices are sustaining you right now? What new practices do you want to cultivate? What feels easy and fun?

Expanding Consciousness and Cultivating Support

In considering your sustaining practices, explore what support means to you and novel ways to find it.

What does support look like? 

What forms of more-than-human support are available in the world around you? 

How can you expand their presence in your life and inspire others to do the same? 

I love it that there is more and more research these days supporting the things we know intuitively. Humans are sustained and nourished by movement of all kinds and by being in relationship with other humans, especially in contexts that are playful and safe. When I move, I find joy, when I move in playful open-ended way with others, I find communion, when I move spontaneously, I listen to myself and find inspiration from the choices others are making around me. I am grateful for the increased resources online for dancing with others (although I do love in-person whenever possible). 

Livable Futures is one giant, iterative, ongoing, multivariate set of actions for better futures, I’m so grateful for all of you in this community and how the project has emerged and the people involved. Artists are accustomed to dealing with the unknown and can be valuable guides, especially for practices that are sustaining and new approaches to activism. Seth Godin said once about dealing with the challenges at hand, “We are all called to be artists, to create in ways that matter to other people” and that’s a kind of mantra for me.

Be well, keep in touch, and courage,

Norah

*This issue of the newsletter includes selected content from my recent interview with Seisma Magazine. Read the full interview here.