important reminders

noniramicitia

teriel:

I remember the first time I shared my pop culture magic with someone else. It was a person I respected a lot and I was certain he would support the experiment I was trying out.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. He coolly told me that I wasn’t practicing real magic and that I should give up this idea of pop culture magic.
Fortunately I didn’t listen to him. Instead I stopped working with him shortly after, realizing he lacked the creativity and imagination needed to be a really great magician.

But as I continued to write about pop culture magic, first in articles, and later books, I continued to get people telling me I was reinventing the wheel, that pop culture magic wasn’t real magic, and on and on and on.

And I could’ve listened to them…

But I knew they were wrong.

Pop culture magic is a real and viable practice. I knew that 2 decades ago, when there really wasn’t anyone openly practicing it.

And now lots of people practice it. But here’s a tough reality…

You will get people who want to tear you down because you practice pop culture magic/Paganism. They’ll tell you its not real or its not the same as what they do.

And they’re kind of right because pop culture magic isn’t what they do.

But they’re also wrong because what makes a spiritual practice viable is what the person brings to that practice.

People who have nothing better to do with their time than attack other people’s beliefs are insecure. They want to tear you down because they feel threatened that you’ve found something that you are devoted to. They’ll lie to you and themselves and say its something else, but deep down they’re insecure.

And here’s what I want you to remember. You don’t need to engage them. If someone is going to try and tear down what you believe and practice, they aren’t your friends and they aren’t worth your time or effort. Focus on your spiritual practice, focus on developing your relationship with your pop culture spirits and magic.

And remember you have a community of people who may not exactly work with the same pop culture as you, but certainly get what you’re practicing and why.

noniramicitia

clatterbane:

myautisticpov:

It can be difficult when you’re disabled to consciously prioritise yourself.

To admit that you’re having a bad day and that you need to step away from everything that isn’t essential to your day-to-day survival.

Often, your subconscious can handle rationalising why you’re pushing off tasks.

The world won’t end if you live off Pot Noodle for a few days or the kitchen isn’t clean or you don’t shower over the weekend.

But right this second, in this political climate, it’s very easy to feel as if the world might end if you’re not marching or phoning people or engaging with incredibly heavy subject-matter constantly.

And everyone always tacks on “if you’re able”.

“Everyone should be doing this! But, like, I mean those who are able. Don’t feel bad if you can’t. But also, here’s a list of ways to engage with it anyway if it’s difficult for you. No pressure, but this person did it and they hate phone calls!”

But what about those of us who are nebulously able?

Who could maybe push ourselves, but at the expense of the essential day-to-day stuff, like our jobs or studies or basic self-care?

So here’s a reminder to everyone who is nebulously able: doing shit like this is for good days.

And it’s not even the first thing to do on a good day because you have to put the hoarding for bad days first.

Wait for a good day.

Make sure you’ve caught up on basics like shopping and cleaning and all of those things that shouldn’t have gotten so far down your list.

Make sure that engaging with these kinds of topics isn’t going to drain you of spoons that you need for the near future.

Then prioritise this stuff.

You’re no good to any cause if you’re burnt out.

Always relevant: Looking After Yourself as Radical Political Activism

There are already enough people/institutions insisting that your wellbeing just doesn’t matter. You don’t have to help do their work for them.