Photo Credit: Mickey Z.
Mickey Z. -- World News Trust
“Love is hate/War is Peace/No is Yes/And we're all free.” --Tracy Chapman
Feb. 9, 2012 -- At the end of the day, it's like this: The 1% want to suppress liberty while the 99% want to amplify it. Thus, in the spirit of inspiring you to your own liberty amplification, I offer a few free tidbits in the areas of health, love, and lifestyle...
#OccupyFreeFitness
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” --Michaelangelo
The Situationists said "concrete breeds apathy" but just because we live in Asphalt Nation doesn't mean we can't find ways to appreciate the outdoors.
Humans stayed in shape for centuries before anyone thought to charge money for the right to push around inanimate hunks of iron beneath the soothing glow of a flourescent light. Even Ah-nold admits this: "One hundred years ago we had to do everything with our bodies. We worked to get lumber and stones for building a house. We had to work with our hands, we had to run, we had to crawl under things, we had to swim. The efforts of everyday living kept the body in shape."
Mic Check: Parkour.
Sometimes abbreviated to PK, Parkour is old school. No electricity, no computers, no treadmills, no giant health clubs, and few restrictions and rules. Parkour harks back to the type of unregulated play we enjoyed as children. You'll be leaping from walls and over gaps, performing ground rolls and executing precision jumping. A little bit of gymnastics, a dash of bouldering, and a helping of chess-like strategy -- all combined to condition you from head to toe, inside and out.
As the Long Island Parkour Facebook Group explains: "The philosophy of Parkour is training and developing your mind and body to move past any obstacle; to go from point A to point B using only the abilities of the human body."
#TheWorldIsYerGym.
#OccupyFreeLove
“Him that I love, I wish to be free - even from me.” --Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Born and raised in a dominant culture that offers sit-coms, Prince Charming, fairy tale princesses, and of course, "happily ever after," it's no wonder we're so often left chasing fantasies -- trying to adhere to parameters of a cultural lie and ending up in haze of alienation and confusion.
But how do we love and live in a balanced, ethical way when we are surrounded by this world of imbalance? I asked that question of Natty Seidenverg in a 2009 interview and here's what she suggested:
"I would say the first step is to name the disconnections, exploitations, and power imbalances. Secondly, we need to consider how each of these imbalances are 'normalized' through the institution of compulsory monogamy. And finally, radical or ethical love relationships requires challenging ourselves at each level of imbalance -- between humans, humans and the natural world, and human values. Only when we begin to think of our relationships as deeply entwined with these other processes will we begin to live in full, healthy, empowering, free, and abundant communion with others."
Sure... but how?
I don't pretend have that answer, per se, but I can share something that inspired me --from a hardcore punk/anarchist publication called Inside Front (pardon the pronouns):
"The most important thing here is to get over the idea that a person’s value is measured by whether she alone can be 'enough' for another person. The world is infinite, and so are we -- no amount of living, no number or depth of interactions with others should be 'enough' for any of us, just as no amount of interactions with a person you love will ever be 'enough.' We have to free each other to be and become ourselves. This isn’t just about other lovers or sex partners or friends, it’s also about other undertakings, needs, even the desire for space and solitude."
#NoLimits.
#OccupyFreeEverything
“Living simply makes loving simple.” --bell hooks
Freegans practice "strategies for everyday living based on sharing resources, minimizing the detrimental impact of our consumption, and reducing and recovering waste and independence from the profit-driven economy. We are dismayed by the social and ecological costs of an economic model where profit is valued over the environment and human and animal rights."
Again, if you're thinking: How?
Well... try these for starters:
- Dumpster Diving
- Swap Markets/Freecycle
- Bike Collectives
- Libraries
- Squatting
- Couchsurfing
- Guerilla Gardening
- Wild Foraging
- Working Less (because all of the above "will reduce the need to work at a meaningless and alienating job in the money economy")
#SmashCapitalism
#OccupyYerFreedom
“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” --Toni Morrison
If exploring the freedoms touched on above -- and so, so many more -- feels like a better, more authentic way of living, then I suggest you Occupy. Today's activists are not just seeking legislative tweaks and reforms -- far from it.
This movement is more about imagining an alternative form of human culture and beginning the process of making it happen.
Mic Check: The best things in life are free.
We are the 99%. Expect us. Join us…
#OccupyHolisticFreedom. #OccupyHolisticJustice.
Upcoming Mickey Z. event: Let's welcome the American Spring in NYC on March 23
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Mickey Z. is the author of 11 books, most recently the novel Darker Shade of Green. Until the laws are changed or the power runs out, he can be found on an obscure website called Facebook.
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