miss niki

It’s been 158 days, and it’s still not normal.

This list, by Yale Professor Timothy Snyder, is from “Fighting Authoritarianism: 20 Lessons From The 20th Century”.

Resist.

Guess being extra is ‘in’ now?

So, uh, yay?

Every day, a new awful. I’m having a hard time keeping track of all the things rich white men can get away with. It’s a weird headspace to be in, trying to honor the shadow-shit-parts and also allow for laughter and light.

Some people are saying that joy is resistance, but damn if it ain’t hard.

In honor of Earth Day and the March for Science.

So I designed a mug.

You probably need one in every color.

Go ahead, don’t be shy.

What are you asking for?

Words By Tracy McMillan

Source: Words Of Women on Instagram

❤

After many years living with a constant, back-burner desire to learn massage, I began class last week at a great little school in downtown Oakland.

I am excited about this endeavor for many reasons, and I’ve seen them all close-up as my aunt has been a therapist for nearly two decades.

I’m excited about how much independence and flexibility I will be afforded. I’m looking forward to cultivating my own style and practice, and being able to use it as a transferable skill, in work trade and as gift. It’s a bit of a headtrip, though. I’ve spent years working from a place in my head, creating a language and classroom culture all based in verbal communication. Massage therapy school (once the immense amount of new information gets processed and synthesized) is requiring me to come from a deeper, quieter place. A slowing down, tactile, grounded place. I’ve noticed my yearning for this lately, as I’m also returning to dance after years off. There’s been an internal shift and I am welcoming it.

It also doesn’t hurt that I will be receiving bodywork at least once a week for the next year or so, especially during a sustained national crisis (that is seriously affecting me at a cellular level).

Plus, I miss being in a learning environment.

❤

I wrote a little thing about the necessary act of taking care of your body and mind during times of intense trauma and stress.

***

Let’s talk about stress and normalization!

Let’s say, for example, there’s a national crisis affecting personal safety and liberty. Your cortisol levels shoot up, in order to prepare to defend yourself: “Fight, flight, or freeze.” Your levels don’t get to come back to normal, though, because the danger is still present. Over time, you lose sleep, get headaches, get sick, weight fluctuates, anxiety and depression increases, etc.

To deal, your body starts turning down it’s response to the danger. It normalizes it, without your active consent, in order to protect yourself. It’s why you see blank stares and impassive response from people who are longterm sufferers (i.e. refugees).

So, you NEED to manually turn down your cortisol levels so that they can keep responding to the danger, when needed. You NEED to take a hot bath. You NEED to put down your computer. You NEED to watch cartoons. You NEED to hug your family. You NEED to get a massage, take a walk, laugh with friends, go to the dance class, make the art, play with the dog. Because if you don’t, your body will decide that all of this is normal. And this is NOT NORMAL.

Also, your guilt about taking care of yourself does not serve you, or the resistance. Laugh hard. Smile wide. Let the endorphins rush in. Every single act of self love is a radical act.

The Resistance needs you.

❤

I had a big dumb idea this morning.

I decided to keep track of all the bullshit flooding out of the White House since Trump’s inauguration.

I know, right?

Follow along on my Trump Tracker. And in case it’s all just too much, I’m also going to try and compile Acts of Resistance, found on the second tab on the bottom.

If you’d like to help me compile and maintain this Big Dumb Thing, please contact me.

❤