Hey everyone,
First of all, welcome to all the new readers! đ The responses to the first issue have been absolutely heartwarmingâI loved hearing about how my ramblings on language tied into your experiences both in and outside of the Philippines. If you haven't yet, feel free to slide into my DMs and introduce yourself!
In today's issue, I'm writing about wellness, a topic close to my heart as an athlete and psych student. This is about more than just self-care; we'll look into how healing can be a force for social good (as illustrated by the viral community pantries in the Philippines), and ask: What are some actions we can take to center care not just around ourselves, but for the benefit of the collective?
Welcome to Reclaim Vol. 2: Collective Healing. đ
In today's overwhelmingly weird world, the biggest threat to our psyches is disenchantment.
It creeps up on you, bit by bitâamidst the harsh conditions of community quarantine, and the fear and isolation that come with it, we start to question if our actions (at school, at work, online) still have any meaning in this world. And with no clear answers, we risk retreating into our shells, away from the absurdity outside our homes.
In one of my favorite newsletter issues ever, Venkatesh Rao writes:
The greatest endemic risk to the psyche in 2021 is not that youâll end up on the streets next week or fail to fund your retirement in 30 years. The greatest risk is that youâll feel so relentlessly battered by the weirdness all around that youâll go numb and simply disengage from the world entirely today.
Sociologist Corey Keyes the term languishing to describe this dwindling of drive/overpowering state of blah. I see this in those close to me, both at home and in college. I was recently talking to a fellow athlete who was considering leaving his varsity team and with it, the school.
"Parang hindi ko na pagmamay-ari yung sarili ko. Utak ko nasa academics, katawan ko sa sports," he said. (I feel like I don't own myself anymore. My mind's with my academics, while my body is with the sport.) For months, he'd been training online five times a week, sometimes more, on top of tackling a full academic load and family issues. When conditions compel one to keep up with everything, thereâs a danger of feeling alienated from oneself, immobilized from pursuing what really matters.
Without the space to nurture ourselves and our psyches, we end up limiting our active participation in society.
I'm grateful to be in an environment that supports me in reclaiming this time and space for myself, away from work and the pressure of man-made goals. It's what eventually led me to start this newsletterâwriting and curating are acts of healing for me, and it's my hope that the ideas I share bring value and meaning to our shared state of limbo. Occupying yourself with yourself is key to making space for the lived realities of others.
Before we get into our case study, I'm leaving you with some notes I took for myself as I navigate my journey into wellness and mental health tech:
⨠Wellness should not be about a singular vision. Think of all the strict diets, meditation apps, and flashy new workouts there areâwhat if we embrace that self-care looks different for each person, that it never has to feel imposing or unattainable?
đ¤ Ask yourself: "Is this activity I'm doing tied to productivity or improving or fixing myself? Is the goal of this is to nourish me as I am, or punish me for not being something or someone else?" Wellness is about discovering who we are, rather than fixing it.
đ¤ Most importantly for this issue, self-care is inseparable from collective care. Capitalism espouses an unnecessarily individualistic approach to wellness by commodifying it; in doing so, it obscures how suffering is not just the result of individual faults, flaws, or medical disorders, but from the social organizations in which all of us are located.
To see collective care in action, weâll be examining the viral community pantry movement in the Philippinesâhow feelings of disenchantment with the government's inaction can be alchemized into initiatives that encourage mutual aid.
Case study: The Philippines' community pantries
The first community pantry started on 96 Maginhawa Street, a once-bustling 'Eat Street' in Quezon City lined with restaurants and cafĂŠs. Its name's root word is ginhawaâwhich I think is a lovely coincidence, as it refers to Filipinos' indigenous concept of well-being; thus, the state of being maginhawa literally means "being prosperous, peaceful, free from want or problems".
However, this couldn't be further from the state of the Philippines last month. Despite one of the world's longest and strictest lockdowns, COVID-19 cases were still hitting record-highs, straining hospitals and healthcare workers. Those belonging to poorer sectors, many of whom lost their jobs, were subjected to dehumanizing punishments for violating curfew rules. The effects of these have been devastating on psychosocial well-being.
So when small business owner Ana Patricia Non took a bamboo cart, filled it with rice, canned goods, and vegetables, and started the first of many community pantries, it felt like a quarantine spring had surfaced.
Above the cart was a cardboard sign that said, âMagbigay ayon sa kakayahan. Kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.â (Give only what you can. Take only what you need.) Non emphasizes that this is not an act of charity, but mutual aidâher first volunteers were not members of rich households, but local vendors, tricycle drivers, farmers, and fishermen who gave what they could for free. "They were also the first to take items from the community pantry, and their response was, âWe got what we really needed, so now itâs our turn to help others,'" she said in a statement over Zoom.
Soon, people were flocking to line up to get even a few oranges or cabbage heads, with more coming to drop off whatever they could donate. In less than a week, the Maginhawa pantry was estimated to have directly served 3,000 Filipinos. Indirectly, it helped thousands more, as a different kind of virality emerged: a contagion of mutual aid.
A study by the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS) showed that there was a 'first wave' of replicators in nearby cities from April 15 to 16, followed by a viral stage where the number of pantries around the country increased eightfold in less than a week. Non's pantry was making headlines, and the idea had reached different corners of the archipelagoâthe cardboard sign's slogan had been translated into English in Aklan, Ilocano in Pangasinan, and Cebuano in Lanao Del Norte. Filipinos in Timor-Leste had set one up too, in support of those affected by the historic flash flooding in Dili.
For sure, community-led initiatives in response to the pandemic arenât novelâtake community kitchens and collective gardening as other examplesâbut the PSS notes that previous ones "did not catch the imagination of the public the same way that the current community pantries did." Here are three things that differentiated the context behind the viral movement:
đł By the Filipino, for the Filipino. "It goes beyond the mainstream and elitist notion that in donation drives, only the rich provide for the poor,â says sociologist Ash Presto. Pantry organizers worked outside of global relief systems, which, despite their long-term nature, aren't able to provide the masses resources exactly when they need them. Contrastingly, those in the village could get their next meal from just a few steps away, creating a pool of nourishment that didn't feel distant or elite-driven. The mere awareness of this resourceâs existence was healing.
đľ Outlets for exasperation in the absence of official action. The PSS describes the contagion of mutual aid as an "emergent behavior", that is, it was dependent not on a system's individual agents but on their relationships to each other. These "rise when people feel that the preexisting organizations fail to meet the demands of the public, when usual tasks and structures are deemed to be inefficient and inappropriate, and when communities feel the need to respond to a crisis situation by themselves." Responding to their disenchantment with the government, Filipinos were able to "get out of the comfort of their immediate family bubbles and recognize the shared needs of their neighbors in the community."
đ Networks of trust, not intimidation. When Non posted about the community pantry on Facebook, many expressed concern that people would take more than they neededâwhich may have been influenced by the mainstream and discriminatory narrative of the government that labels the poor as "pasaway", or unruly and selfish (a topic I can go on about in another issue). This was far from the case: many from the lower classes flocked to the pantries not just to take, but to offer what their family could afford to give. So, this movement helps Filipinos unlearn the Dutertismo culture of coercion and harassment, replacing it with kindness and compassion.
To an administration that espouses brutal violence as the right way to govern, why is kindness at this level threatening? It could be because it exposes the governmentâs ineptness and inability to actually cater to the needs of its citizenry. This form of mutual aid would not be necessary had there been enough assistance given to us. â Zofiya Acosta
Building infrastructures of care
In this issue, we've seen two types of contagion: that of the virus, and that of mutual aid. With them are two opposing cultures of intimidation and of trust. When we acknowledge both sides, we see how it is possible to be critical and loving at the same time; Community pantries show us what it means to take what we need, give what we can, and to continually trust and learn from the masses in elevating wellness and social good.
To recap today's ramble, here are some ways to start building infrastructures of care:
Hold on to what brings enchantment in your life. Periodically recalibrate your relationship with the world through rest, reflection, and play, and in whatever form self-care looks like to you. Maintenance is crucial for managing our psyches and illuminating goals that are meaningful for better futures.
Recognize social inequities that shape our experience of wellness. The pandemic has shown us that we're all in the same ocean, but not in the same boat. Spaces like community pantries, which support the most vulnerable, should be defended against those who want to hijack its narrative of mutual aid.
Redirect attention towards the collective. Movements are made when people pay intense attention to the same issues and to each other. In a world that tries to rob us of focus, choose to enlarge the center of your attention, weaving yourself into your local ecosystem and community.
Once again, I love hearing back and meeting new peopleâif this resonated with you, let me know your thoughts via email or Twitter. What's your idea of care and healing?
Stretch Your Mind
đď¸ Community pantry risograph posters for a cause.
Radical zine-maker Makò Micro-Press and illustrator Diigii Daguna of Bad Student collaborated to produce this stunning collection of community pantry posters! All proceeds will be donated to Soup Kitchen Cainta, where food packs will be delivered directly to Senior Citizens & Kids from Floodway, Cainta. Order posters here.
đ Escape as the next digital divide.
First of all, I love Disconnect's concept of an offline-only consumption platform. The reading experience felt instantly more focused and intimate. Second, this is brilliantly metaâit's an essay that tackles how getting away from the internet will be the privilege of the future.
The tech haves will attend digital detox camps and learn mindfulness practices to develop healthy tech habits. They will develop the means to break the cycle of relentlessly checking their phones or have the independence to part from them without serious consequence...In contrast, the have-nots risk being stuck to their devices. There are the parents, children, or employees who will feel obliged to be available and hesitant to risk extended periods of disconnection.
đ How to experience more wow.
Psyche is one of the publications that continues to enchant me with its content. In this guide, they break down the psychological basis of awe, how it makes us better social beings, and how we can foster more of it in our lives. "Awe might seem an unobtainable luxury to many but, with the right approach, you can enjoy it daily â no mountain required."
đĽ Building community through making art and taking it slow.
Another gem from Psycheâthis is an 8-minute short film about a homestay in Oiso, Japan called Ăpinard, which "doubles as a small utopian experiment centered on building ephemeral communities and art".
đ What we need from the wellness brands of tomorrow.
Interested in wellness and mHealth tech? Check out this report from The Digital Fairy on disrupting wellness. After exploring Gen Z attitudes and consulting industry leaders, they identified four key shifts that wellness brands can take today:
Homogenous aesthetics â Breaking visual rules
Commodified well-being â Activism, not affirmations
Decolonizing the narrative and shifting the paradigm
Peak influence â Relatable figures
đ Also, Reclaim has a landing page now! :3
I discovered the site builder mmm.page last week and was instantly hooked into whipping up a chaotic, sparkly page for Reclaim. Super fun to use, and it was a welcome respite from the complexities of Webflow work.
Thanks for joining me today!
I'm Nikki and I study psychology, design at NextPay, and write on weekends. If you enjoyed this issue, please feel free to spread the word, buy me a coffee, or let me know your thoughts and feedback :) Have an enchanting week â¨