Starting anew this 2022

Centering ourselves in the grace and compassion of resetting, an anime metaverse, house music, and rest as resistance.

Jan 17, 2022

Hi friend,

Taking a look back at 2021

2021 was quite exhausting, to say the least. Our communities survived another year of the pandemic, political unrest, social inequities, and economic instability. Speaking for myself personally, I found it difficult to continue a few of my personal side projects (including this newsletter) due to pure exhaustion and running on fumes. Typically, I refill my energy through community and personal connections, but this winter was another season of putting that on pause as we experienced COVID spread our neighborhoods once again.

This year in 2022, I want more rest. I want to nourish the soul without the incessant need for hustle culture or capitalism. I want to rest without feeling guilty or waking up in the middle of the night fearing that I left something unanswered. A big part of this is taking my time back, clarifying my vision (which includes rest), and holding myself accountable for the things I say “yes” to. 2021 brought a slew of life lessons, including the preciousness of time. Our physical body is not eternal, and unfortunately, capitalism has led us to believe that dedicating our prime years to labor exploitation will somehow lead us toward a more rich and fulfilling life upon retirement... I digress.

Starting anew

I’ve always appreciated the start of a new year. Along with the positivity and energy emanating from those around us, it reminds me of the process of renewal and starting again. It’s the reset that we’ve been craving all year, or the chance to reframe a challenge we’ve been yearning to overcome.

The beauty of starting anew is at its core of grace and compassion. It offers our process gentleness and kindness. Sometimes, this is all we need to take a step back and simply try again.

Especially for those who’ve been conditioned by self-criticism as a means of growth, grace and compassion are needed more than ever to dispel the fear and apprehension reinforced by this negative self-talk. (Not-enoughness and self-judgment can only empower us to a certain point. What we see and experience is a sacrifice of long-term growth and sustainability for immediate short-term gains.)

Starting anew allows us to let go of the anchor of the past. What’s happened has happened... and that we can and will move forward once again. As we release the grip on history, we open ourselves up to the present where we can then begin once again.

And for those whose process may have wandered away since the new year, this chance to start anew can happen whenever we’d like. Today, tomorrow, a month from now... and as often as we’d need it to.

Perhaps this new year (or anytime this year), we can hold space for us to simply reset and start anew.

What I’m up to

For Asians: Wed, Jan 19 - Asian American Healing Space

For queer BIPOC designers: Tue, Jan 25 - QTBIPOC Design Book Club

Something to Follow

One of my favorite Instagram accounts is Nap Ministry - centering rest as resistance and social movement. Every post shares a bit of wisdom, helping to decolonize the way in which we think about capitalism, hustle culture, and productivity.

Something to Listen

I’ve been getting back into music recently in the past few months, and I cannot recommend Ben Böhmer enough for house/EDM lovers. I personally think his full sets are better than individual tracks - check out this beautiful Cercle set recorded from an air balloon atop Turkey and the award-winning BBC 1 Essential Radio Mix.

Something to Watch

Among many of the new year shows and movies, I really enjoyed the beautiful artistry of Belle by Studio Chizu. A modern take on the classical Beauty & the Beast plot through the futuristic lens of a metaverse anime. The English dub is out in theatres now, but if you want to catch the Japanese version with English subtitles (which I highly recommend), you can find it through a simple Google search.

As always, thanks for reading!

P.S. If you enjoyed this, share or sign up here: mindfulmoments.substack.com

Anything else? You can always hit "reply" to email me directly. 💌

Have a beautiful day!

Metta (loving-kindness),
Steven

Darren Stehle

Happy to see a new post from you, Steven. When I signed up to Substack, I found you when I searched 'queer' or 'LGBTQ' and added you to my reading list. I appreciate your thoughtful kindness in today's post. We are on similar paths for improving the common good, but with different work experiences.

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