I have a friend who told me recently that ārejection is protectionā and I think about that every time something doesnāt work out. Youāre being protected from something and maybe even saved for something better. Once you tap into that mindset, the heartache and disappointment become tolerable. You will get rejected from all sorts of places / people along your walk of life, donāt fight it, roll with it, and get excited for what comes next.
It wasnāt meant for me, something better will come along that will guide me to another path meant for me. Everything always redirects to the right path in the end.
iāve been trying to articulate why i enjoy this space so much. yes, the UX is reminiscent of Tumblr and the early days of the internet. and thereās genuine sincerity and vulnerability on here that makes it feel really cozy and real, which i havenāt felt online in at least a decade. but i think whatās undergirding my love of this space is how anti-capitalist it feels. most of the recs everyone shares are vibe-checks, quality of life shifts, meditations and offers, music and movies, just plain good art. i donāt feel compelled to buy anything when i come here. i feel excited and pumped to be a cheerleader, find connection, find common ground. and FWIW the recs iāve shared that have gotten the most traction are my suggestions for leading a less capitalistic / consumerist life (quitting Amazon, getting off of Spotify, building community to take care of you and your things). all of this is to say, i love it here and i love you guys.
hear me outāthis one might feel impossible, but i quit purchasing items on Amazon in 2018 and cancelled my GoodReads account shortly after. i did some serious reflection and realized iād become super reliant upon, and frankly, quite used to the instant gratification of purchasing something and knowing iād have it within a day. thatās not normal. the labor practices, economics, and environmental impacts of getting what you want from the internet delivered quickly and right to your door are skewed. i was filling a void in myself with mindless purchases. iām aware that they service a huge swath of the internet (Amazon Web Services), own Whole Foods and Abe Books, and will likely take over more businesses we like and rely on. weaning off and avoiding entirely is very very hard, but it can also be a measured decision. that said, i know that it is a privilege to abstain from Amazon. i am able bodied, i donāt have kids, i have access to a car, i live in an urban environment with access to a lot of stuff at my fingertips. but making the choice to break out of the Amazon loop has ultimately been better for my pocketbook and better for my relationship to these mega-tech-companies that have their fingers in everything. in contrast, iām becoming more interested in alternate economies, like bartering and sharing. i love the idea of having commonly shared tools and items (tool libraries are very cool). we donāt need to own it all, we have each other. interested in exploring more? the zine pictured below is a great start, and summarizes a much larger book by the same author on how to resist the leviathan that is Amazon.
i canceled my Spotify account over the summer and have spent the last few months rebuilding my digital music library on a refurbished iPod Touch. reading critiques of the app (and itās enshittification), i realized i wasnāt even sure of my own musical tastes and preferences. i had stopped picking for myself, stopped seeking out new music, ceasing to know how to choose what i wanted or articulate what i like. breaking free from the algorithm has been such a joy! iām borrowing gobs of music from the library, rebuilding my old playlists, and consuming more music than i have in years. and better yet, my data isnāt being tracked by Spotify and i own whatās in my personal library. further, my receptors are more open when iām out in the world exposed to music, searching for recommendations in an organic way.