THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS (16TH MAY)

Listening to the warnings signs of the body, physical and mental
What does self care mean to us? How can we listen to our bodies and give ourselves what we need? Do we listen to our bodies?
We need top create balance within our bodies and mind
Lot mentioned textile and how we are constantly in contact with a textile, which made we question how does this relate to feelings of comfort and discomfort?

Think about the ways in which you move in/through the world. Think about the vectors of your identity, not only limited to the ones mentioned in the text. What are vectors of your (embodied) experiences that reflect in how people understand you?

I'm from a multi-cultural background.
I'm a woman with short hair.
I'm not straight but I'm in a straight relationship.
I am someone to recently lost someone very close to them.



Think of situations, ways, reasons, vectors of your bodily existence and experience, that is outside of the ‘norms’. Is there any? Think of them and name them.

I think I have a hard time distinguishing parts of my life that are the "norm" and parts that aren't. I think this is maybe because I surround myself with people who are quite similar to me.


Think about what networks of forces is your body entangled with? What cultural forces, social ones, what norms, what ideas of normality, what networks of people, networks of care, networks of support, etc.

I think my body battles with what it means to be feminine, or rather the fact that I feel like as a woman you have to choose if you want to be feminine or masculine, as if you can't be both or neither depending in the day. I see this to be a game of balance but also a great challenge sometimes, such as "how can I make stereotypically masculine features feel feminine?"


Think about the general conceptual image that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘body’. What kind of body is that? What image of a body comes to your mind when talking about bodies in general? Maybe, try drawing that.

Warmth, softness and peace
The body itself does not have a physical shape but rather a feeling that I aspire to have. I am done aspiring for my body to look a certain way.

Do you feel like your knowing of the world is different from others’? How and in which aspects?

I don't think any to peoples knowledge of the world is the same, this is based on our individual experiences. Even someone that has a very similar life to mine as the end of the day we have different personalities which will impact how we see and what we do with our experiences. Although this might be just idealistic thinking since there are like 7,8 billion people in the world.



What is one of the things you worked with, using your hands, that felt like you are coming to know it intimately? Like the mud brick mentioned in the text. What was a way in which you came to “know” that thing intimately, using your body?

Wood working
This is a material that I think requires a bit of a push and is a little bit stubborn. I really like the fact that its not man made, even though it is man-manipulated.