Breaking Down the Status Quo is my Love Language

I know we’re not supposed to be on Instagram anymore, but my friend shared a meme the other day in their stories that I wanted to share here:

elisebesler

A post shared by @elisebesler

I mean, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain this one to you, but reading it did make me think about some of my strange love languages—not the ones from Chapman’s Five Love Languages, which have largely been debunked, but love languages as the activities or actions that make me feel loved, not only by others but also in the sense of feeling love emanating from me outwards into the world.

I shared with my friend that I discovered last year, amid hormonal imbalances and the emotional rollercoaster that came with early pre-menopause, that my secret to managing low moods is engaging in activities that dismantle the status quo. It usually makes me feel better.

“Like what?” my friend replied.

I was thinking particularly of foraging sunchokes from an empty block near my house on my bike (pictured below), or climbing that parking lot apple tree to harvest some bounty with other passersby.

But it did get me thinking about what these activities have in common that lift me up from low spaces.

Foraging is a beautiful activity that directly challenges many aspects of capitalism I despise—consumerism, privatization of land, commodification—but what is it about this act that lifts my spirits and helps me feel better?

As we move into the very late stage of capitalism, and things are unravelling, it is becoming clearer to many people who study these types of things that our collective societal well-being is directly influenced by the crumbling socio-economic system we are confined to every day. There is growing interest among researchers, especially in the fields of psychology, sociology, and critical theory, in exploring the links between mental health issues like depression and the social, economic, and cultural conditions shaped by late-stage capitalism.

“The more we are subordinated to the system, the more we become alienated from our own needs, and the more society becomes a prison to which we resign ourselves.”

• Theodor Adorno, Minima Moralia

If I view my depression through the lens of the capitalist state of the world, it comes as no surprise that participating in counter-cultural activities would alleviate that depression.

So… like what?

I mean, the more I tried to think about it, the less revolutionary the activities seemed: sharing food with friends, going for hikes, eating local food, drinking tea from foraged herbs, taking up space on busy roads on my bike, playing with my kids in public spaces.

At first glance, none of these things feel particularly radical.

But when they are done with intention, mindfulness, and the motivation to escape the dystopian landscape in which we all currently find ourselves, everyday actions do have radicalism baked right in.

Last year—or maybe two years ago (time is so slippery these days)—I made a zine called 66 Things To Do (that don’t contribute to collapse). It’s a basic list of activities that don’t require spending money or even really using materials. I wanted to share examples of how we can spend our time outside the capitalist paradigm right now, even while still being forced to exist within it.

These are not complex actions. They are not revolutionary. And while there are plenty of more direct actions that will provide the same response, like protest, civil disobedience, or building new post-capitalist systems to propel us beyond the current capitalist state that is causing so much of our mental malaise, sometimes, when we are at our lowest, simple actions are all we have room for—all that we are able to manage.

And so, I offer to you a web version of the zine here to download and enjoy; to reference when you need inspiration or fall back to when you need a reminder that there are easy ways to exist outside the system. Some require friends (or lovers), and some you can do on your own, but there’s definitely something for everyone. Just click the image below to download the PDF.

If you’d like a printed copy, you can get one here.

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66 Things To Do (that don’t contribute to collapse)

1. Go for a walk

2. Grow food

3. Recycle trash into art

4. Host a swap

5. Hug someone

6. Sing

7. Have sex

8. Take a nap

9. Make up a story

10. Make a new friend

11. Have a conversation

12. Listen to the wind

13. Play hide and seek

14. Upcycle

15. Daydream

16. Go swimming

17. Share food

18. Tell a fairytale

19. Create art from nature

20. Go shopping at the dump

21. Play tag

22. Howl at the moon

23. Share knowledge

24. Meet a bug

25. Drink some water

26. Get lost

27. Play tic tac toe

28. Forage

29. Build a shelter in the forest

30. Paint with mud

31. Pick up trash

32. Meditate

33. Make up a poem

34. Compose a song

35. Stretch

36. Dance

37. Exercise

38. Save seeds

39. Compost

40. Meet an animal

41. Snuggle in bed

42. Stargaze

43. Give a gift

44. Pretend

45. Play catch

46. Clib a tree (or just visit with one)

47. Get nostaligic

48. Learn about wild edibles (and maybe eat some)

49. Imagine the future

50. Find the perfect rock

51. Make a walking stick

52. Throw rocks

53. Plant seeds

54. Help a neighbour

55. Learn from an elder

56. Make up a game

57. Watch the sky

58. Build a nest

59. Find shapes in the clouds

60. Meet a plant

61. Kiss

62. Volunteer

63. Explore your neighbourhood

64. Plan an adventure (then have an adventure)

65. Smell flowers

66. Have a thumb war

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