“How do you want to heal?" is an introspective tool for community organizers and activists regarding self care. Instead of mainstream materialistic movements that focus on bath bombs, face masks, etc, I attempt to create a more collective and holistic approach to self care. My hope is that through this introspection, my users will be able to look at themselves and their connections critically, and learn how to form healthier connections (with themselves and others). In this way, my goal is to connect self care with community care, and to show that self and community care go hand in hand: that to nurture yourself is to also nurture your community.
“How do you want to heal?” uses simple words (that have specific connotations in community spaces) as tools to guide the user through a reflection process. For this project, I have chosen the words “build”, “hold”, and “ground”.
These specific words (build, hold, ground) can have very literal meanings and physical connotations. For example, to “build” is a physical action that can be applied to furniture, houses, etc. However, in community organizing spaces, these physical words are taken out of their literal context and used in intangible and theoretical ways. Here, the term “build” is used to refer to building community, connections, and a sense of home rather than a literal house. It’s crucial to recognize that the physical and literal element of these words are an important part of the reason they’re such useful tools for community organizers. I’ve noticed metaphors are common in community organizing spaces because they can help visualize and conceptualize the grassroots work that we do. When it’s too hard to explain the fulfillment associated with pouring your soul into your community, we say that we’ve “built a home” with the people around us. Using these words, we can convey our feelings in a way that other people can resonate with profoundly, yet understand simply.
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