15. Mar 2022
post achievement practice
So I finally arrived in my post-achievement depression. Or I caught a cold, which usually put me in the same misery… But truth be told, it became aweful silent since I finished my MA. A quick research brought up some guides in what to do if you ever hit a low point after a big thing.
What to do if post-achievement hits1:
- Get involved in other things
- Plan in sequences, have the next thing ready
- Pause and reflect: What did I learn and how did I grow?
- Find yourself: Principles, what do I want, what excites me
- Mentor
I’m not sure how serious this can be taken, but generally point three and four are best practice for a good life anyways. So I did that last Sunday.
One of the biggest struggles I personally have is that I’m through and through invested in something, which I believe brings active harm to the planet and society. I live technology and especially digitality and code since at least three decades. And, I witnessed how the rise of the tech-sphere brought so much harm to our reality. Sometimes it’s hard to believe in a future where electronic and digital technologies have a place.
But then again, only a complete collaps of society and/or the planet will prevent such a future and I hope for neither.
So, who but not people like me, who are well versed, will be able to bring about another future. Or at least keep the ideas of another future alive. There are so many people like that out there and I want to be more active in joining them. Also to bring back joy in what I am back to myself and get closer to my values and principles.
My values and principles
- tenderness and respect
- care, maintenance and repair
- curiousity and true interest in the other (which is the not-self, and unknown)
- patience and calm, as far as enjoying the non-input, the waiting
- I really really like digital and electronic technologies that brings people together and makes them share their joy and knowledge
I decided that as a first venture I want to build a solar powered server2 on which this digital fallow shall run. I also want to have a good look at the work of Hundredrabbits (100r)3, which is super inspiring, as well as the feral web project4 by Austin Wade Smith, of whom I’m secretly super jealous because they make such nice and cool things!
Things
- Read Achille Mbembe: Planetary Politics For All Creation and A means to render our lives believable by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, both incredible important texts to deal with the ongoing multiple crisis.
- Read Animism: A Love Story for Longevity by Cristina Carbajo, which thinks animism in design. Of course I loved the piece :)
- I got to know the radio show La Face B during the media^alps workshop, which specialised on playing rare finds and it is honestly quite nice.