The Beirut explosion brought many feelings to the surface and kind of represented a microcosm of the general feeling and despair of what is happening across the entire world.
Immediately after the travesty it became abundantly clear that the people of Lebanon have a fractured and toxic relationship with those who govern and are sworn to protect their best interests. But what I saw was no trust, a lack of transparency and confusion. The same thing we are seeing across the entire globe. The United States. Hong Kong. The United Kingdom. Belarus and so on.
A positive in all of this is it is beautiful to see so many people beginning to wake up and see this world is run by egos and power hungry monsters. Not humans.
Jimmy Lai. Media tycoon from Hong Kong was arrested for exercising his freedom of speech. They (Chinese communist government) have imposed a new security law over the citizens of Hong Kong where they can not speak one ill word of the powers that be. More oppression.
This is were our world is heading. We are losing our freedoms everyday and we don’t even know it. They will offer us “safety” in exchange for our freedom.
The governments of this world play chess while we play checkers.
More power and more love to my black brothers and sisters. They tried to crush us but we have endured. We have with-stood. We have resisted. We have fought. We have forgiven. We have pain. We have anger. We have love. But most of all... we have each other.
For over 400 years we have suffered physical, emotional and mental abuse, served on the dirtiest of dishes. We are born into a world where we can see a ghost that no other race can see. When we speak up and say we can see this ghost, we are told it’s not real and it’s in our heads. Amongst us we know this ghost has always existed and is always present with every breath we take.
Now the world has had a glimpse of the ghost we have been seeing since the moment our minds could comprehend racism and oppression. Albeit some still want to pretend it doesn’t exist. Black people included.
We will continue to endure all of the above but now we have a new spirit manifesting from within. This spirit must be cultivated and nurtured through effort and consistency.
We ride together we die together. To anyone else who is genuinely riding with us much much love to you too. Just know it’s gonna be a difficult position to occupy as you will have to accept the hate and ignorance of those who have upheld and will continue to uphold the archaic systems in place.
Don’t you often feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your back? Crippling expectations from yourself and those around you? Life should feel light and fluid. Not heavy and congested. Expect nothing from nobody. Don’t even expect anything from yourself. Just be as you are, moment to moment.
Here I stand, the height of a skyscraper above ground to meet you eye to eye. If I extend my hand will you extend yours? We are not and have never been enemies, just two misguided fools. I misunderstood you as you did me. You are the greatest master of deception that ever existed. You came disguised as resistance, procrastination, laziness, doubt and anxiety and many more. I have always had great dreams and things I want to achieve in this life time, but your presence has loomed large over my existence. I spent years upon years trying to run and hide from you but realised I was running in the wrong direction. Now, here I stand eye to eye with you. I am extending my arm, will you extend yours?
How long has it been? 1,2 maybe 3 years since I walked into this cave. Time becomes blurred within darkness. I have walked and crawled enough for 3 life times, just trying to find my way out of this labyrinth. I was told it would be hard to find the light, but I could never have imagined the mountain I would have to climb mentally, physically and emotionally. I was on my knees more than I was on my feet but something deep within myself tied a rope around my waist and dragged me to the other side. Now, Here I stand, drenched in the beauty of my own perseverance, my own light. This is what Freedom looks and smells like.
I’ve seen you roaming the landscape of my mind. What are you looking for? I spend so many hours watching you, just observing your movements, your roars your cries. I used to run from you but now I see you for what you truly are. There was nothing to ever fear, You just want to be acknowledged. I acknowledge you. It took me years to build the strength in my legs to climb this rock just so I could watch you and see you in plain sight. What a beautiful beautiful view this is.
We all need to be saved. Not from the ones that hurt us in previous relationships or from toxic friends and family. Nor from the ones that will hurt us in the near and distant future. We need to be saved from ourselves. The only person that can save you, is you.
Shining the light of your own self awareness will expose your demons and you will see them in plain sight.
Artwork from a series created for Hatami upcoming EP. The inspiration for the artwork came from speaking with Hatami and hearing about his journey starting in Iran as a child and the influences that time on his life had on him as a human and as a man. I looked into the architecture and the beauty of Iran with its rich culture and distinctive aesthetics. The EP sonically represents the stories his parents relayed to him about their experiences during the war and revolution and his journey to Sweden, whilst the artwork visually represents this journey. A truly talented musician, creative and a great friend!
I have been caged in this fortress for longer than I care to remember. Yet I have never seen a wall or a painting. Just darkness. How long have I been here exactly. Days? Months? Years? What does fresh air taste like? What does fresh water smell like?. The basics allude me. Silence has been my best friend. Darkness my greatest enemy. This window... my greatest hope. I will find my way out.
I remember the last window I came across was 20 feet high. Impossible for me to climb and escape. Now I have stumbled into this room with this window. Low enough for me to climb, yet it’s occupied with these metal bars. I haven’t eaten for weeks but still I’m not skinny enough to squeeze through them. My spirit is slowly reclining, I don’t know how much longer I can continue...
If there’s one thing I have learned on this journey it’s that inner peace and freedom isn’t something that is given to you. It’s something you give to yourself. Something you have to work hard for and earn through your own commitment and dedication. Obstacles are opportunities to move closer to your inner peace. Struggle is a necessary foe. Obstacles are nothing more than a curtain covering a window of light.
Met a guy who was colour blind and also had Synesthesia. I was asked my name. The colours associated with my name were greens and bright yellows. I told him I’d create some art in honour of this information. Here it is
Like a solar eclipse, the moon attempts to block out the light of the sun. Much like our darkness attempts to block out the light of our spirit. It’s Impossible.
“I hope my death makes more cents than my life”A masterpiece of a film! From the second it started I was gripped. This film helped raise the awareness of mental health and human suffering in the most artistic and creative way. Within all of us is a “joker”. The dark night of the soul. If I took anything from the film it is to be kind to people. No matter what be good to everyone you come into contact with. If the person you are communicating with is rude or unpleasant that is the person that needs your kindness more than anyone. Your kindness and compassion can save a life or lives. Everyone has value and everyone should be seen.
May your spirit carry you through the hardships of life. May your spirit protect you from any external or internal war you may be facing. sometimes surrendering is the only way to get the answers you are seeking. Trust yourself and trust everything is always ok.
To those of you who feel like you have to wear a mask everyday I want to say it is ok to remove it for moments at a time. Long enough to reveal your truth and for those who love you to see YOU. We all want to appear unaffected and stoic but the reality is most of us aren’t. What I have learnt is to be unapologetically true to yourself. It’s a difficult process being honest and open about how you may feel about yourself on a daily basis. Be honest with yourself before the world. When you become aware of yourself you become aware of the world. Like two sides of a coin. You cannot have one without the other.
Beating yourself up won’t change your situation. Your spirit won’t guide you when you force it. When you fall, reach out your own hand to yourself and help yourself up with as much compassion as possible. This is the only way to build trust with yourself. Trusting oneself is the source of impenetrable 'Self' confidence.
PERSON 1: ummm I have a question that’s been bugging me.
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PERSON 2: what is on your mind? Tell me?
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PERSON 1: what am I? I mean, I know I have this body and I have a brain that is constantly on the go but I feel like there is more to me. Am I deluded?
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PERSON 2: there is more to you. finding the words to truly describe it is impossible, but I will try my best.
what you truly are does not have a conceptual understanding. you are the incomprehensible. it has no personality. no likes or dislikes and no instagram account. some people call it the spirit, some call it the heart and some call it god. It has not a single flaw. Even the word perfection devalues what you truly are. It is awareness itself. That part of you that allows you to know you are thinking. To know you exist. It does not exist as an external entity. It is very much within you. To truly experience your true Nature you have to step out of thought.
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PERSON 1: hmmm ok. so what happens when you step out of thought?
PERSON 1: hmmm ok. so what happens when you step out of thought?
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PERSON 2: take thought out of your experience and you are left with a dancing heart. pure expression. Perpetual motion. Everything you do becomes authentic to that exact moment. You are responding from the heart and not thought. There is no fear, no hesitation and no doubt. You are completely connected to the moment. The heart will express itself in a myriad of ways. Through forms such as art, dance, music, communication, compassion, gratitude and love. The list goes on. To be truly creative means to bare your soul and hide nothing. The most creative people are the most fearless.
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PERSON 1: I don’t feel like my heart dances often. I feel stuck. Restricted. incarcerated in a way. Why could that be?
PERSON 1: I don’t feel like my heart dances often. I feel stuck. Restricted. incarcerated in a way. Why could that be?
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PERSON 2: I will start with thoughts and thinking. One misdirected thought can have a catastrophic effect on ones spirit. A single thought carries with it a multitude of outcomes. Think of it like this, a talented musician expresses themselves in the most open and honest way. They get signed and the label start telling the artist that they can't be so open and they need to dumb it down for it to be acceptable to society. your thoughts are like label execs. Projecting your expression through the lens of fear and approval. That artist now doubts their unique expression. Thus the cycle of fear and doubt in ones expression begins. ————————————————
PERSON 1: This is something I deal with every single day. My thoughts constantly barking at me. But what creates a negative thought pattern? how does it begin?
PERSON 1: This is something I deal with every single day. My thoughts constantly barking at me. But what creates a negative thought pattern? how does it begin? ————————————————
PERSON 2: Negative thought patterns about ones self can start from anywhere. Something as innocuous as a sarcastic comment from a friend regarding ones choice of career path. judgements about a persons career, beliefs, values, sexuality, fashion sense, their physical form and so on. the list is endless. These all represent an opportunity for the mind to use fear and approval as a means to quell ones spirit. As I previously stated, we are an expression but we live our lives as if we are programmed robots. Cramming one another into the tiniest boxes.
PERSON 2: You will notice that ones heart begins to regress and the dance slows down. The imposing ideas and opinions coming from yourself and others start to build a fortress of perpetual doubt and fear around ones unique voice. We start following the belief systems and ideas of the majority rather than the minority. The minority being ones self. This is where duality comes in. The mind separating itself from the heart. This is what creates suffering on seismic levels.
PERSON 2: This is the tragic case of humanity. The incarceration of truth. Replaced by the illusions of ones mind. Which we believe to be what we are. So to answer your initial question, you are infinitely more than what you believe, you just can’t see it. ————————————————
PERSON 1: This is tough to hear. I have been a victim and a perpetrator of judgement. I have never understood the impact it has had on me and on those I have judged. I now understand why I am so pessimistic about life and why I hesitate and doubt everything. Why I care so much about what others think of me. What steps can I take to reconnect with my heart?
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PERSON 2: Don’t be so hard on yourself. You have been unconscious to it. But now your are conscious of this cycle you have no excuses. Start with mindfulness meditation, this is a great way to learn awareness of ones self and notice thinking patterns and the accompanied behaviours. It is not an easy process to
begin with but over time you will notice subtle changes that lead to big shifts in your thinking.
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PERSON 1: Honestly, you may have just changed my life. Thank you!
Personal development, relationships, work, friendships, parenthood, goals, health.
How hard do you want to make it?
The threat to living and being the highest version of yourself isn’t coming from an external source. It’s coming from your own mind. Stay woke.
Swimming with your demons. You will lose 10 times out of 10. They own the waters. You can only tread for so long before the aggressive persistence drowns you. Who knows how deep the waters go. It’s not our place to find out. At some point you have to step out of the ocean and watch them stalk the waters from ashore. Sink or swim.
Burying your head between your legs never got sh*t done.
Escapism - A habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine.
How many times have you been paralysed by your thoughts. Disengaged with life because you are too busy attending to the many stories in your head. It’s impossible to stop thinking but it is possible to CHOOSE which thoughts serve your best interests and which thoughts don’t. Be mindful.
Birdbox - There were direct parallels between the film and reality. Many have been blindfolded their entire life. Face what demons you need to face and move through it with compassion for thy self. The pain body cannot exist when you are conscious.
Emotional isolation - on the surface it seems like a great place to be. Alone in a field made of mental spikes and barriers so no one can get to you. But there is no place worse than this for a human. We want love but not pain. Yet they cannot exist without one another.
It’s sad people feel they have to force a smile whilst dying inside. Live your truth.