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| This Week's "I Want to Go to There": A cabin in the woods. Maybe without that pesky snow around. |
Native American Ballerinas
I truly loved watching this interview with Yvonne Chouteau, Native American ballerina. First of all, I confess that I honestly held an expectation that Indigenous people wouldn't be interested in ballet -- it is such a bourgeois, European art form. Second, in many ways I am still a little ballerina at heart and so I always get a little teary hearing dancers talk about their work.
She is one of five Native American ballerinas featured in this Hyperallergic article.
Fake it until you make it.
Well. If this is what it takes to be a skateboarder, I'm in.
But seriously, it's hilarious and a kind of awesome example of just going for it.
Transformed
"I've never seen a life transformation that didn't begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit."
-Elizabeth Gilbert
Loopy Creatures
How entrancing/adorable/funny/weird/fascinating are these gritty animations by artist Ori Toor?
See more on his Tumblr or Instagram.
Alana's Welfare Food Challenge
The Welfare Food Challenge is an annual event here in BC, to draw attention to the meager food allowances available to those living on income assistance. I have sort of heard of it in the past, but never fully encountered it. Thanks to Facebook, I have seen that a friend of a friend of mine is participating this year. Her blog is a useful insight into both the challenges of living on income assistance as well as the challenges of reaching outside of a privileged life.
For the record, a person living on income assistance would be lucky to be left with $18 a week to spend on their food, and that is absolutely horrible.
Be Careful Where You Find Yourself
This quote could be just as much encouraging as it could be terrifying:
"Pledges and promises have power, as do uniforms and parades. Remember in the absence of extrinsic rewards you will seek out or create intrinsic ones. Take into account that the higher the price you pay for your decisions the more you value them. See that ambivalence becomes certainty with time. Realize that lukewarm feelings become stronger once you commit to a group, club, or product. Be wary of the roles you play and the acts you put on, because you tend to fulfill the labels you accept. Above all, remember that the more harm you cause, the more hate you feel. The more kindness you express, the more you come to love those who you help."
-McRaney
In light of this, let's all pause and ask ourselves some questions: where do I find myself committing time and energy? What sacrifices am I making to be there? Where am I ambivalent, but present? What role am I playing? What if this ambivalence did grow to love? What if I became just like those around me? What if I became the person I am pretending to be? Would this be a good thing?
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