By Ruth Abraham
It can be a scary, looking at our world right now. Portuguese politics are shaky, the government moving far into what Achille Mbembe would call “the nocturnal body of democracy” and as an immigrant, living in a hellscape of dwindling cost of living, an ever increasing hostility towards immigrants and the never worked through experience of the mental health impact that the pandemic left, it can be hard to see what to do next.
I get that. There is not one day where I do not think about the crushing weight of what is happening and, looking at the statistics of mental health problems and their connection to the state of the world, I am not alone.
But I would argue, we need to do it. Doing something, I mean. Not because I am person of utter optimism but for practical reasons. Let me explain.
Firstly – who wins, when we despair?
When we ask who profits off of our reluctant stance and doing nothing about the world being on fire… It most certainly is not our strength, our democracy or the values we are trying to hold. Whenever cynicism wins its a win for whatever system is in place and for whoever is going unopposed because we think we cannot do anything. So, do something out of spite.
Secondly – its more psychological safe to do so. Having something to do is, simply put, better than nothing. We as humans need a sense of self and a reason to do stuff, however imperfect, because it quenches the little voice inside of us that wants to belive that after all, we matter. Doing something makes us connect with the world we live in and get into motion which both reduces symptoms of anxiety and stress.
Thirdly – for spiritual reasons. Now, who knows me from my work in the community space might be confused, because I have been proclaiming my non-affiliation to religion and spirituality numerous times. But what I am talking about is sense in a philosophical way. If our life needs sense to be psychological bearable it needs to know that there is something we change. And that is exactly how utopian dreams have been born, historically: By a lot of people grasping for sense and a world they want to live in.
So, what do we do?
First of all, I get you are too tired to change the world. We all are. Good news – changing something does not need a big, concerted effort. It needs you stubbornly and imperfectly showing up. Thinking otherwise is feeding into a mechanism of capitalism that I call “dream crushing”: The decay of an idea or an impulse because we perfect it before we even ask how our ressources realistically are. By crushing imperfect impulses we make sure nothing changes. And who again is profiting off of that?! Exactly.
So, let us talk about some steps you can take. (sidenote: Obviously, they depend a lot on your privileges, lived experience, skills and general resources)
1) Reject cynicism
When I was in the midst of a really bad mental health episode I read Mary Oliver, obviously, as one does, and got pissed off. She was describing birds, the stars, the wind and nature as if she genuinely got joy out of it and my little depressed brain thought that was deeply unfair. Until I realized that I, too, can enjoy the stars! I did not even need to crawl out of bed. I could roll over at night, near the window and squint until I see one. Admired. Done.
Cynicism is a tricky thing and I admit I fall for it a lot. It seems so much safer, psychologically, to think that everything sucks and, crucially, to expect everything to suck, than feeling the very unsafe feeling of hope and tenderness and, oh no, care for the world and the people in it. But here is the problem: We need it. Cynicism is robbing us of our life force, quite literally. Every civil rights movement has emphasized the importants of joy and for a good reason: You need it to keep going.
So, look at the stars, bake a cake, call a friend. Tend to your joy.
2) Talk to your neighbour
This is a special one for my fellow white, european people with colonizer socialization. You have learned to use interpersonal relationships as something you are extracting from. And you need to fight that urge. With everything you got.
Go into contact in small ways. Help a neighbout with their groceries, ask someone who looks sad if they want a hug if you feel daring. Kindness is not what is left over after surviving, it is what makes us survive (sidenote: The IPCC did recognize community building as one of the survival skills to combat climate skills in their last report (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf)). So, practice it.
3) Tend to something in the community
One of the reasons I founded Aguas da Azenha is because our community spaces are dwindling. And resistance, that is a well researched sociological fact, needs community. Of course, you can be part of our Community, offer a workshop, show up for the Cafe or whatever you like. Or you go into whatever your nearest community is. The group meeting for pet owners, the park nearby, the volunteers of re-Food. Start small. Clean the park bench, offer your car for the food transport, connect two people who can help each other. It does not matter how small and it does not matter how wrong you do it (but please, if you fuck up, correct it). It matters that you do.
4) Get annoyed
It is inconvenient to be in community. Because the logic of relationships is not the one of capitalism. You cannot put 5 coins of „I was nice to my neighbour“ into it and then you get a cake. You will mess up and be annoyed and people might not be nice and thankful for you trying. This is where it is imperative that you do not do it to get something but to give. That giving itself is the idea, your contribution in itself is why you do it. And yes, being annoyed is part of community. That is what we sign up for when we embrace other people, we embrace the gap between us, too.
So this is what you can do. I am sure it is more, as I am learning myself what it means. But let us start here. Maybe next week in our Community Space in Coimbra?
