The Importance of Communal Care
Leaning towards community, improve your audio, the truth about NFTs, and beautiful music
Hi friend,
During these early months of the year centered around heritage (Black history month, API heritage month, Pride month), it’s a busy season for so many community organizers hosting events, being a part of panels, and creating space for our communities.
One thing that I’m reminded of during these months is the power of communal care - leaning into our communities for support and uplifting those around us. Especially with so much happening around us with technology, politics, and media, our communities can help us navigate through even the most complex of times.
1. Communal care is vital in filling our tanks
During these months, community organizers are often going a mile a minute. My physical and mental reserves are often running low, but I’ve been surprised repeatedly when folx around me have reached out, offered support, and been a solid ground to stand on. I am reminded to rest and take a step back — especially since this work is never done alone.
For those who are always doing work on behalf of others, allow others to show up for you in ways that you haven’t imagined. Be open to receiving. Others may actually enjoy finally being able to provide you with communal care for once!
2. Communal care sets new expectations for ourselves
Since coming back to New York City in 2019 and taking steps to be more intentional with my life and relationships, I’ve been moved by the people that have come into my life. They not only remind me to rest (especially as a recovering workaholic at times 😂) but also to want more for myself.
More peace.
More joy.
More success.
More depth.
More additions to my life that I wasn’t even aware of or thinking of.
Communal care expands our own capacity to imagine what our life could be — being open to the richness of life’s offerings beyond our immediate awareness.
3. Communal care combats industrialized inequity
Although we are more connected than ever, there seems to be more violence, hate speech, and vitriol in media than ever before. Communal care is the remedy to combat these forms of injustice, shifting us from self-preservation (at the root of this hate) to community support and care.
But beyond shifting how our community shows up for one another, communal care combats the capitalist and toxic evolution of self-care that we’ve seen recently:
Communal care places the onus upon one another to care for each other without the necessity of capital. We can gift services to one another in support, we can offer healing modalities directly to our communities, and we can simply share space and offer presence — without having to capitalize or extract from one another.
And with pride season here, I am reminded of the history of pride — a brave protest in the streets collectively demanding equity. Pride was a radical form of communal care that demanded more for our collective community and paved a path for a brighter future.
How are you leaning into communal care this month?
What I’m up to
Speaking of communal care, had an amazing time at Asian Creative Festival a few weekends back with my fellow collaborators Kim Thai, Sally Chung, and Phim Her, talking about our Asian heritage and creativity.
The event was a beautiful collaboration between several organizations, including Asian Creative Foundation, ACE, Mixed Asian Media, Asian Creative Network, and East Side Stories. Highly recommend checking out their amazing work!
For our community
For QTBIPOC: UX Bootcamp applications are now open for the 2023 cohort
For QTBIPOC: Tue, June 13 - UX Nights (psst: we’re planning a drag bingo)
For all: Thu, June 15 - Conversation with House on finding mentorship
For queer Asians: Thu, June 15 - Yellow Glitter Sparkles
Something to use
Just recently installed SoundSource on my Mac and I’m in love with the customization capabilities and the radical improvements it’s made to the sound on my computer. You can set custom equalizers, download custom headphone profiles, and adjust audio per app. (Free trial & $39 for a license you can use on multiple computers)
Something to watch
Everything I’ve been talking about blockchain & NFTs has been condensed into this extremely informative video: Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs.
TLDR: blockchain’s attempt to financialize everything is both corrupt and unnecessary. NFTs exist primarily to pull more victims towards unregulated crypto.
Something to listen
I’ve been hooked on Fred again… lately (house, electronic) — especially this latest NPR Tiny Desk Concert that transforms sounds into a melodic journey.
As always, thanks for reading!
P.S. If you enjoyed this, share or sign up here: mindfulmoments.substack.com
Anything else? You can always hit "reply" to email me directly. 💌
Have a beautiful day!
Metta (loving-kindness),
Steven
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Collaborate: Stranger Creative | StevenWakabayashi.com
Support: QTBIPOC Design
Listen: Yellow Glitter Podcast on Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast
Hey Steven. We are trying to reach you for a potential collaboration. We are Biyaku, a sexuality app. You can check our Substack and Instagram below.
https://biyaku.me
https://instagram.com/biyaku.app/
If you are interested at all, mail to mete@biyaku.me please. Love...
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