Mid-Level Grit And The Need to Remember who I Am
I’ve been wading in mid-level grit for the past 20+ years
I’ve been wading in mid-level grit for the past 20+ years. What’s mid-level grit? Slogging on the subways with its assault of regurgitated late night reveries, the residue of homeless people living on the E line, caked-on body secretions at stations.
It finally caught up with me and I’m wondering how I get through the remainder of my time here in NYC. I eat the menu, right? I choose to cultivate experiences only captured here while creating a routine of gratitude.
“Beyond all thoughts,
Beyond all emotions and physical form,
In the stillness of the silence,
We discover who we really are.
Life is the ceremony.
How we live it is the sacred ritual.”
Instead of writing down a list of goals, I thought I’d start a ritual for what I want to add to my life; this year incorporating self-care, creativity and connections. I believe everything else I’m thinking about will flow out of these overarching themes.
Creativity
At the end of last year I came across Adinkra symbols from Ghana and have been obsessed with them ever since. I’ve been wearing the Bese Saka pendant I created last October. It represents abundance and power. I paid off all my debt by Jan 1, 2022. Yeah, I’m designing 5 more!
I’m also thinking about a pendant based on Jungian psychology’s assertion that the consciousness /subconsciousness must be equal to create The Self: open conflict and open collaboration represented by the hammer and anvil. Between them, through heat and repeated hammering, the individual Self is formed. Love it!
Corresponding design sketches—
Adinkra Symbol for Abundance
Hammer & Anvil Pendant
Adinkra Symbol for Adaptability: Denkyem
Injustice Collector Come Down
It becomes an exercise in futility to defend yourself. You’re wrong and they don’t hear you or care.
You’re on a trolley to your goals, sitting up front, when you’re blindsided by an Injustice Collector; a tax collector of sorts who feels you should be punished for all the injustices you’ve committed against him or her. These cape-wearing collectors wear a mask of righteousness on their faces as they read from a long list of your offenses that they’ve collected over time, rather than communicating their upset to you at the time of the “offense.” It becomes an exercise in futility to defend yourself. You’re wrong and they don’t hear you or care.
This is what happens when a perceived upset isn’t addressed immediately. This is what happens when an unrealistic expectation is left unchecked; disappointment is inevitable. I choose to keep looking forward and ride the trolley to a new destination.
What should my new piece of jewelry be? A charm perhaps?
The scales of justice, or a mask.
A new piece to create will be my task!
KA
What is P O W E R ?
Batman always found himself in energetic battles and yet he remained calm under pressure, relying on his utility belt to frequently save him.
What does POWER mean? How about having POWER? How about being POWERFUL?
I used to think it was dominating someone in all aspects. After years of being on the receiving end of my Father’s truculent tactics and verbal pummeling, I have a different take on the meaning.
Power is: knowing who you are and creating a space where everyone can’t help but start dancing to the rhythm of your mad beats!
“You don’t have Power, you ARE POWER.”
Being powerful is having equanimity. It’s standing in the face of major turbulence and staying even of mind, rooted in the knowledge of who you are.
Being powerful is like The Batman from comic books: the fierce, foe-crushing, inked version.
The Dark Knight of the Soul
Batman always found himself in energetic battles and yet he remained calm under pressure, relying on his utility belt to frequently save him.
Power is creating your own Life Utility Belt; accessing the correct mental armor to quickly, quietly, quench your foes, doubts or negative thoughts.
A few things…
I love comic books! I’m mostly a Marvel girl, but also grew up loving all things The Batman, especially Frank Miller’s version.
The quote from Joseph Campbell fit so perfectly with the image I found.
I encourage you to read anything by him
There is a great Netflix series: Joseph Campbell and the Power of the Myth
Equanimity and its meaning have long been occupying space in my head. I just finished designing 2 pieces, a charm pendant and a ring, that feature the “=” sign; literal but not too in your face. They are being cast in polished and matte silver. I’ll post pics to Instagram and FB when they arrive in a few weeks.
Renders of the Equanimity Charm and Ring
