In Common Light
Rooted reflections on belonging and being
Category: Society& Culture
Reflecting on and challenging cultural norms, socialization, and commonly accepted truths
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Just like how our bodies crave a balance, so too do social systems. We can see that systems will begin to revolt when the balance is thrown off. Expressing Emotions is a Tool for Maintaining Homeostasis In the previous post, I explain how the body craves a state of homeostasis and has tools to return…
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Have you ever tried to turn back downhill to your car during your hike, and then stopped yourself by saying, “No, let’s keep going, let’s make it to the top.” You want to get to the highest point offered on this hike with a satisfying end. You push through the last difficult moments and reach…
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I am viewing the mud on the tires of my car and remember how they got there. They got there from a trek into dirt on the side of the road. Not a regular business. I bought flowers from a woman on the side of the road. She needed money extended beyond a regular business.…
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“Something seems different, everyone seems happier,” my friend said to me as we walked with our senior class from the football field to our lunch period. My friend and I both had noticed a change in the general social atmosphere after attending school online for the past year and a half. “I think what it…
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Shame makes us feel like we are inherently flawed or inadequate in some way. It threatens our sense of connection, and therefore triggers the stress response, producing a felt sense, rather than mere cognitive thoughts, of unworthiness, brain fog, and a sense of being watched and in the spotlight (Firefly Therapy Austin). The feeling of…
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Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967 said, “We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society.” And yet here we are with massive wealth inequalities and rampant materialism. When we focus more on things, we focus less on people. When we focus more on things, we focus less on the…
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Sometimes, the idea of being held accountable feels scary. This is the case when it feels like an attack on our character—an experience deeply rooted in shame. Once we free ourselves from shame and recognize that guilt allows us to redeem ourselves, we can feel the gifts of accountability: earning (instead of being automatically granted)…
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Social power is transactional. When one group loses, another group gains. We may understand this in economic terms. Money is transactional. People give up money for some type of product. What is not so obvious is that power is also transactional. We think that power is one-way. That we have power, and that is that…
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We often hear the phrases, “Nobody has life figured out,” and “Nobody knows what they are doing.” Upon hearing them for the first time, I felt relieved. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough in my school, I felt like everyone was happy all the time. I felt like there was something that I was…
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When I first started practicing yoga, I was a bit surprised when I first heard the common saying from the instructors: “Do what feels good, do what feels right.” I asked myself “Really? Doing what feels right can help my physical and mental health? It doesn’t require something super difficult, strenuous, or hard?” I thought…
In Common Light 