Sitting at my studio (or as I like to call it my “Hotel room” because it makes me feel like a Rock Star on Tour) for the biggest part of my day, because the country I live in is in LOCKDOWN, does not sound idyllic to say the least. But the more you stay inside, the more you’re stuck with yourself and your thoughts. By the age of twenty-one, I want to believe that I know how to accept and actually enjoy spending time with myself, but the one thing I have not learnt yet ABOUT ME is: How to control my THINKIN. But is this even possible? I don’t believe that there is a specific age or time limit when human beings can acquire the “skill” to tame their thoughts, because you simply cannot ESCAPE your own mind. Throughout our lifetime, we learn how to wear our way of THINKIN, we start styling our words and actions and we slowly become IT, building our unique personality.

 

So why would I want to learn how to control my own personality, in times when what we need the most is to listen to different versions of each story and character

Looking back at 2020, I cannot underestimate it by describing it as an interesting or even bad year. 2020 was a pandemonium. From a historic perspective, some people would resemble it to the 60’s, which is considered a revolutionary decade framing a mass legal, demographic and social change. However, I still find this resemblance a bit of an understatement. The activists back in the 60’s were protesting about freedom and equality without having a pandemic crisis as their enemy, placing a physical burden in their actions. The new generation of protesters and activists had to overcome the burden of the physical “cage” they found themselves in. Maya Angelou in her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, she symbolizes oppression and racism as a bird and its song is nothing more than the power of a “voice”; the ability to express your depressed mental and emotional state. So I am starting THINKIN that the aforementioned “cage” is not made out of iron or four walls but out of one’s own thoughts. So did I just contradicted my own words five sentences above, stating that the fighting and suffering of the people in the sixties was less of value because there was no Covid-19 messing with their plans? What I thought seconds ago was wrong, because the people of this era had to fight different demons. But this is what I meant about not being able to control your own THINKIN; you start with an initial thought only to be replaced by your next one.

 

Which thought will you choose to express then?

Using social media this time, where the physical barrier plays no significant role, people all around the world started expressing their thoughts and through them, their opinion. Women started raising their voice louder about inequality in leadership, education and job opportunities as well as sexual abuse, aiming at the reformation of the female role in modern society. The murder of George Floyd was only the spark needed for the “Black Lives Matter” movement to explode against racial discrimination which unfortunately pervades nearly every aspect of current life; from policing to health care to employment to housing. The recent election of Joe Biden as President of the United States with Kamala Harris by his side as the first woman of color in the position of Vice President was only a small step towards the redefinition of democracy. Can I take a break to say how stunning Michelle’s inauguration outfit by Sergio Hudson was? Sorry, I just could not stop THINKIN this. But other than the woman empowerment, BLM and political movement, we also started paying attention to the environment. It was ABOUT TIME to start THINKIN about sustainability and try to find ways to implement it in our daily life. The past year set the base for our world to start changing BUT 2021 is here to ask each one of us: Now that you’ve made your statements and reposted those stories, how will you take it further? Are the words you strung together reflective of your lifestyle online? Does your voice still carry when you break away from the online crowd? Do you still use your voice and stand by your words when you don’t have a protective liberal bubble that repeats your thoughts?

This is a call for you to start THINKIN, if you haven’t already…

 

P.S. Don’t forget though that sometimes all you need to do is a bit of NO THINKIN, like spontaneously reacting on an Instagram story to find the motivation to put your thoughts into words.

 

xoxo, Elisavet
(Em)brace yourself-NO THINKER
Since 2000