things to get you thinking #1
no meaningful mindfulness under capitalism, pondering ancestral inheritance and our legacies, how small acts of kindness can build us up, and toxic tiktok trends
Hello, dear friends, and welcome back to Life in Technicolor, my newsletter where I encourage you to live life in full color! Today I’d like to introduce what I’m hoping will be a regular-ish segment here called “Things to Get You Thinking.” In these segments, I plan on sharing, well, things that got me thinking—thinking about life, thinking about meaning and purpose, thinking about art, thinking about society—very few things will be off the table! And, as I explain and express my thoughts on those topics, I want to open the comments section to discussion about your thoughts as well!
So, having said that, let’s get down to business!1 Today I’ll be sharing four things that recently really got the ol’ mind machine going for me—two video essays, a song, and a news article. Let’s take a look at what those are…
Boy oh boy, did the video essay “McMindfulness: When Capitalism Goes Buddhist” by YouTuber Elliot Sang get the wheels of my mind turning! I grew up in a household surrounded by modern psychology, as well as many Buddhist principles and practices, seeing as my mom is a neuropsychologist and she also studied to become a Buddhist nun for a significant period of her life—so this video essay rang true to many conversations she and I have had over the years. Specifically, my mom often talks about how mindfulness—especially the kind that seeks to emulate at least some Buddhist practices, but in a “secularized” manner—is never fully effective when separated from Buddhist principles, beliefs, and spiritual practices because it’s like removing the ideological heart from the practice and thus the practice becomes devoid of meaning.
Elliot touches on this in his video, and also goes further to talk about how mindfulness has been “corporatized” for a “hyper-Capitalist” world, which was a discussion I found fascinating. In particular, I thought it was interesting how Elliot also mentioned that mindfulness without purpose and without resultant ethical action can become meaningless and even slightly cruel. Like, what is the point of simply observing and intentionally noticing the present moment if you aren’t going to also seize that moment to do something purposeful with those observations. This is one of the things that has always bothered me about secular, Western mindfulness. I am naturally a very action-oriented person, and while I do understand the value in clearing your mind and allowing the present moment to flow through you, I also think that if that were all we did, the world would never progress or even be a livable, functional place. Then there’s also the issue of the selfishness of allowing yourself to simply observe the world’s injustices without feeling moved to help correct them. Because, as Elliot mentions, mindfulness as a practice without the balancing factors of ethical action and wisdom, easily becomes a justification to perpetuate unjust—and even violent—actions.
All of this leads me to the question: can we practice truly meaningful mindfulness in a Capitalist society? Well, I think the clear answer is yes…but not in the way we currently do? I think the answer to the kind of “mindless mindfulness” that Elliot discusses and that I’ve discussed above is what I’d call “mindful action.” Meaning, yes, clear your mind, but then use that clarity to act in intentional ways that make life better for yourself and others.
Okay, so next I want to talk about “Tlahuiliz/Light” by Xiuhtezcatl! First off, I just have to say it: I love this song so much! The music, the message, the way the song builds and softens and builds again—everything about “Tlahuiliz/Light” is absolute PERFECTION! Interestingly enough, the lyrics to this song also made me pause and reflect for a moment. In the song, Xiuhtezcatl speaks about ancestral legacy and ponders his own legacy—his music. It made me think about the ancestral legacy I’ve inherited and how I’d like to build from it to create my own kind of legacy.
I’ve always felt very connected to my Black, Lebanese, Cherokee, and Scottish ancestors in a way that is difficult to articulate. It’s knowing that all the way back through history to the beginning of humanity, my people—and the people whose lives they touched as well—poured their love and their labor into their life and the lives of future generations all the way up to the point that it allowed me to exist and become who I am today…Knowing that—and really feeling that—makes me feel so proud and grateful and loved and so full of purpose. And maybe that’s what “legacy” is: realizing that you’re part of your ancestors’ legacies and choosing to use that knowledge to live purposefully.
This Vox article all about “small acts of kindness,” caught my eye recently. The article is all about how studies show that despite the fact that so-called “small acts of kindness”2 can go far in making people’s days better, most people hesitate to actually go out on a limb and do these tiny actions. This can be for a myriad of reasons, but mainly boils down to that we underestimate the significance of our impact on other people.
Now, this article made me reflect because, personally, I’ve never been shy about giving out these “small kindnesses” on a regular basis. If I see a stranger dressed nice, I don’t hesitate to tell them, and I’m a big fan of sending texts to my friends saying things like, “Hey, I don’t have a ton of time to talk, but I wanted you to know I was thinking of you and it brightened my day!” In other words, if I see something kind I can do/say for/to a person then I don’t hesitate to, regardless of whether or not I know the person or of how big or small the kindness seems.
I often think about how disconnected and individualistic the dominant, overarching American culture is, and this hesitance to perform small acts of kindness as frequently as humanly possible seems to me to be a symptom of that culture. It’s hard to reach out to others in compassion when you see them as inherently separate from yourself, rather than as an extension of the world we live in, just as you are. In each of my cultural backgrounds—Black American, Lebanese, and Indigenous American—community is one of the most sacred parts of life, and that’s often a value that I think generally Americans could use more of. The understanding that your life is the beginning, middle, and end of a ripple whose flow you can direct. I think that with that understanding of how connected we all are comes the awareness that compassion isn’t a limited resource.
Finally, I recently watched a video entitled “the ‘MAIN CHARACTER’ and ‘romanticize your life’ TikTok trends are actually kind of toxic now” from the YouTube Channel According to Alina and I found it really thought-provoking. Alina argues that the “main character” and “romanticize you life” trends have become inherently tied to a priveleged lifestyle and thus have also become inaccessible to the masses and are no longer the meaningful practices they began as. Interestingly enough, both trends started out as ones that encouraged mindfulness and gratitude for the ordinary. Instead of being all about chic claw clips, stylish outfits, trips to fancy bakeries, and spherical shaped ice infused with herbs and flowers or whatever, initially both trends were about appreciating the small moments in the life you already have. And that’s a great practice to encourage—but, like Alina, I think it spiraled out of control when influencers got ahold of the trend and brought a consumeristic bend to it. Now the trend seems more about achieving a specific aesthetic of life, one that typically correlates with wealth. Which is a problem, considering that most people aren’t, ya know, wealthy. And, as the saying goes, “if it’s not accessible to the poor, then it is neither radical nor revolutionary.”
Alrighty, friends, that’s all I got for ya today! I hope I managed to get you thinking a bit! Now, I’ve got a good book and a cup of tea calling my name at the moment, so until next time dear friends, keep oiling that good ol’ mind machine…
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For example: complimenting a stranger, sending a thank you note to someone, sending a small text to a friend to let them know you were thinking of them, etc.