Thinking About Intentions
Hi Treasures!
Welcome to my second blog/newsletter, the first was in February 2023 and crafting an appropriate follow-up proved challenging.
Back then my intention was for this to be a marketing communications tool away from social media. I received really nice feedback, which I appreciated. However the past two years didn’t feel very “marketable”.
I grew exhausted from monetising my coping mechanism, AKA creating things. So instead I started teaching casually at numerous institutions and tried to go back to creating things in order to process the world around me.
Something I created is a podcast called The Disappointing Friend. Co-hosted with Fatuma Ndenzako of Collective Closets, our first season wrapped up a month ago with a series of deep dives into adult friendships.
Thank you to anyone who listened and said nice things about it.
I also helped my friend Aretha Brown put together “Decolonise Your Self!” a 75 set of conversation cards for the thoughtful ally. Designed to support people in exploring their relationship to Aboriginal Culture and Indigenous Allyship. As it’s NAIDOC week now is a great time to order a set for yourself or workplace.
Pre-order a set here
Otherwise I’ve been thinking about intentions, perhaps because it’s the new financial year. When as a freelancer, my looming ATO obligations remind me that I managed to keep earning money from being creative. So I should reflect on that, re-assess and where necessary re-direct my energy for another year.
Years ago, when I fully committed to a life of self-employment I immersed my brain in “girl boss” intel: business podcasts, self-help books about millionaire mindsets, Instagram profiles filled with motivational quotes and finance webinars aimed at teaching non-cis-het-white men how to build financial security. I even had one-on-one consultations with financial councillors and advisors.
Something that kept coming up was this belief that Millennials were not likely to receive a pension from the government in old age. Analysts predicted our economies would be tight and that right wing austerity would dominate our “golden years”.
Within the same content were messages about the power of positive visualisation and affirmations to rewire our wounds around money to “pull in abundance” like a magnet.
Using our mind to manifest our reality.
Don’t get me wrong, I too believe in the power of manifestation. While working in call centre for nearly a decade, I maintained a hidden excel spreadsheet called “Goals, Hopes, Dreams” with a column for my short-term goals, next to a column for my mid-term hopes, followed by a column for my long-term dreams.
During moments of boredom, stress, or feeling trapped in my job I would open the spreadsheet to tick things off or adjust goals that no longer aligned. Even though my physical circumstances hadn’t changed, my mind, body and soul felt connected to a destined future. I found satisfaction in the tedium of my life then because it felt a part of a larger picture.
Plus unlike a vision board, it looked like an ordinary spreadsheet so my boss couldn’t tell I was micro-dosing on ambition. Many of those goals quickly transformed into realised hopes and dreams within my first few years of working for myself full time. As if by magic,
Though, something was missing in all that manifestation talk. In all of our goal setting as people in business, there was little talk about manifesting collective abundance. Where were the webinars on ensuring you vote for politicians who prioritize your values? Or the session explaining how funding public services over prioritising private profits for billionaires benefits society? Or discussions about mutual aid?
It seemed we couldn't even dream of liberation from a culture tied to hustling. Rather than creating a system that sustainably provides for all, we were encouraged to aim towards becoming the 1%.
This was especially apparent once I understood business jargon. When economists talk about “quarterly projections” they’re making a prediction based on past performance. It’s like astrology for finance bros. Consumer spending = community spending, as in what actual people spend money on. The economy is us. That’s why an economy that is set on perpetual growth needs us to perpetually spend. That’s why boycotts work.
So now in this new financial year, with the so-called “cost of living” increasingly subscription based I've found it challenging to commit to goals. It’s difficult to set intentions or even focus on a personal vision when witnessing global politics pivot sharper into authoritarianism.
Last year my father went into cardiac arrest, technically dying for 8 minutes.
While recovering in hospital, he was ecstatic with purpose and a vision from beyond. He wanted us all to live in “a multi-generational creative compound” otherwise known as a renovated version of our family home. Where we all had living quarters and studios on site. Did the idea of living and working on the same property as my immediate family give me immediate anxiety? Absolutely, but the clarity of his vision and passion to create a space where all of his family had a place to sleep, eat and make art was beautiful.
So far, they have painted one room and replaced a broken window. But the vision persists. I’m yet to find my own vision for collective abundance but in the meantime I’m running a co-working event for like minded freelancers.
Have I completely abandoned my “girl boss” indoctrination? No. I still have bills to pay. So I have at least four “revenue” streams going at any one time. But in hope that I don’t fall into worship at an altar of hyper-individualism, I’m making an effort to regularly contribute to mutual aid call outs, Paying The Rent and funding First Nations Futures and encourage you to do the same.
For now, my short term goal is in spite of everything to be open hearted even when I rage. Whilst dreaming of a world less set on destroying itself.
XOXO Ju Ro