#creative actions

Before I begin, I would like to give a short background about my way of writing. This year has been immensely phenomenal for me, in terms of thoughts and being, in terms of spirituality (for the lack of a better word, but i will find it for sure). So most of my posts address my sense of "time" as lately, past few months, nowadays... something that means in recent times.

Getting back to the post. I now have a new habit. Purging. Gosh. It has been mentally and physically liberating every time I do this. Why physically? Because I feel a weight lifting off my body every time I purge my belongings.

Again, coming to "my" belongings. Another thing that I have realized is that, nothing truly even belongs to me. Even my body is just a vessel. However, what I truly can utilize to become mine, is my mind - thoughts, intentions, emotions and feelings, that bring forth my actions and breath - how deeply and intentionally i breathe. That is all I can say mine.

Now, creativity is something that i have just understood for myself. Not from dictionaries, or looking at what others are doing. It isn't simply about a painting, a craft or a design. It is more about making use of what one has at the present moment.

Something along the lines of: I am not looking over fences to find a better view. Because the grass is as green as it gets on my side of the fence.

Now that's where lies the creativity. A lot of my clothes from over 8 years still fit me. Even of good quality. So this year, i decided to make use of what I have and use it creatively. Because that is exactly where my skills and expertise lie - using bits and pieces of my clothes, and present myself creatively. :)

The Diggers were a group of people that had revolutionary ideas and express them in very extreme way. They were a group with no leader that wanted to get attention of the young people at that time. One of their philosophies was the notion of freedom. They believed that they could act as they wish and that’s their right. One creative approach to that was The Invisible Circus. Peter Coyote mentioned that they don’t like the separation between the crowd and the “stars”. They decided to throw a party for San Francisco with no separation between the host of the party and the gests of the party.  It was wild and uncontrolled people were taking their clothes off and having sex everywhere.   Like one of the Diggers said, ” It was a manifestation of both the hidden and overt minds of the people of the time. Which encompass an incredible variety of unbelievable actions.” 

Another creative approach to this philosophy that Diggers believed that 1% of everything that people get should be free.  They cooked for hundreds of people every day.  Diggers gathered products from the farmers market and cooked meals in the park and gave it away for free. They went in the park close to the Haight-Ashbury where cars passed by and gave away free stew. To get their attention Diggers created this “paining”.  Around the people in the park, they put a big orange frame that no one can miss. Diggers intention were to give people free life and destroyed the notion of you have to go to work to have food.

Analogy to Diggers today is hard to find.  There are many charity organizations that give out free products to people in need or organizations like the Red Cross. However, Diggers were more than a charity, it was a way of life. They promoted the notion that life is out on the streets among strangers and nature. Diggers lived day by day with no regrets or concerns for the future.  They had their door open for strangers who slept in their beds. In today’s world with high crimes rate and terrorist attacks, this kind of hospitality is very hard.

Along the lines of having an engaged practice, you may be interested in this call specifically looking for magicians and others as part of a coordinated day of action on February 29th sent me by Katherine Ball, an activist in Portland, OR:

Hello magicians, squatters, artists, journalists, poets, experimental geographers, inventors, bicycle healers, hactivists and resistance scholars,

I am writing to invite you to participate in a coordinated day of direct action to shut down corporations on February 29th: www.shutdownthecorporations.org. The corporations, which run our government, place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and domination over equality. In this justice, liberty and a livable future are casualties. This is a call for a national day of direct action to reclaim our voices and challenge our society’s obsession with profit and greed by shutting down the corporations.

There are over 50 cities across the United States planning to take direct action on this day (full list at bottom of this page), and as of this week Mexico City has also joined.

This email is a call out to creative individuals and groups to also take direct action on this day. Just imagine what an outpouring of creative actions could do! I have listed some of the groups/individuals receiving this email at the bottom.

If you are interested in participating and want to make your participation public, there is a form on the bottom of the contact page. If you prefer to keep your participation autonomous, I thank you and wish you the best of luck. If you cannot take direct action, if you could use your means to further these ends, I would greatly appreciate it (such as writing an article, sending the call to action out to your network, etc). Any action---small or large---in solidarity would be appreciated.

This call comes from the Action Lab, a spokescouncil in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Thank you for your time and your wonderful work in the world, Katherine