Art as a blanket for my soul.

Yesterday was a shit show. So, unlike then, I am making a concerted effort not to consume anything on social media. The coup happening down south is happening in front of everyone’s eyes is horrifying.

Never mind that the insanity, outrage, fear, and depression had me on edge all day. A rollercoaster of emotions that took me away from keeping my life on track.

So, while sitting at my dining room table, I briefly looked at the New York Times to track the kind of stories they are sharing, which further deflated me seeing the lack of dissent voices in the headlines.

Tomorrow, a group will organize a peaceful nationwide protest for all 50 states in one day. Emails and phone calls to government representatives can never hold a candle to in-person presence to show collective support and voice a collective message. This type of action is necessary to avoid saying nothing, which only allows injustice to continue.

I found one article about it yesterday on a small media site. Only one! I didn’t see any media coverage at all outside of it. There needs to be more, and I wish there were more action up here in Canada pushing back against the machine.

As journalling does, it opens up creative ideas to flow, and one of them was for corporations when they provide an annual report, they should be sharing how many people they staff who are being paid under a living wage. Make that a higher gauge of an organization’s success and health. Profits only line the pockets of those who already have more than they need. Reasonable profiteering is okay if there are more than a few benefits. Everyone within an organization should benefit when it does well.

Another idea is that interest rates on savings should be higher for those with less and less for those with more. Equality is spreading the abundance. It could encourage those with less to save and those with more to spend into the economy instead of hoarding it all.

I briefly considered the insanity of the real estate market. Imagine profiting off of a piece of land that you briefly live on. The planet has been around for billions of years and our spec of an existence has really no ownership at all.

I managed to sit and journal for about 20 minutes, stewing in annoyance while taking on an art challenge I came across in the New York Times to observe a piece of art for 10 minutes. I have to say there was something about the art triggering and activating quiet parts of my brain while observing this space of suspension.

There were no short video clips to activate dopamine, and I noticed my heart rate slow down and my anxiety level out. In fact, observing the art felt like a weighted blanket on my soul. I think I like this idea, so I will try it out again tomorrow.