The Terrible Ts, I guess

This teetering toddler Substack turns 3 today

Three Halloweens ago, I wrote a little thing and hit publish, and for every anniversary, I promised I’d offer a short sentiment about why I run this Substack, both to inform my readers what they’re investing their precious time in and as a way to self-reflect, reset or realign goals for this publication.

If you are new here, welcome, and thank you for entrusting me with a piece of your headspace. I’m not as prolific as most writers on Substack, so I shouldn’t appear in your inbox more than a couple of times a month. I’m an artist by trade, and my posts can vary: sometimes it’s social and political commentary, sometimes it’s woowooesque observations, sometimes I put out a smattering of personal transcendence posts, and sometimes I do the aforementioned through artistic expression, often with remote collaborators across the Stackesphere.

I come from the world of theatre and performance, and I often still see the world through the lens of the stage. It’s a bit apropos, especially if, like me, you’re a curious cat who likes to dabble in conspiracy theories and has started acknowledging behavior patterns akin to a narrative spun and enacted by actors. We live in strange times indeed. I rarely go see movies these days. The most intriguing film I’ve ever seen happens to be real life itself, who cares about Marvel?!?

I looked over last year’s post to see how much my purpose for this stack had changed, and I was a little taken aback by its energy.

Of course, this was the idealistic voice of someone who didn’t for sure yet know they were about to be diagnosed with cancer. It was just a gnawing thought in the back of my brain at last year’s post - it could have turned either way: a Schrödinger's Cancer, if you will. Soon after, I was diagnosed and began my healing journey, which I promise you will serve its third I Cancer Can Can update in a couple of weeks. Lots to announce. But let’s keep this about the Anniversary; cancer isn’t on the menu today.

I still haven’t gotten all the collaboration out for this year, so there are more juicy nuggets to come, but I managed to work with Isaac Middle, Mary Poindexter McLaughlin, Thumbnail Green, Tereza Coraggio, Gabe and Spartacus, Mathew Crawford, and even got some fun parodies out:

I’ve embraced AI, something some of my fellow artists often roll their eyes for at best, and downright shun me for at worst. These tools are already out in the world, or in the pipeline, might as well have fun with them.

I mean, come on! 👇

But my favorite artistic endeavors are based on the sharing of the human condition and the healing of negative patterns through writing, music, and film. Sometimes, all of that aligns within one project and that’s my sweet spot.

The main purpose of this Stack is to keep lifting the veil of the reality we have been sold and expose what’s under, warts and all, and to provide visions for how it could be, how it ought to be. No real change can happen without naming the problems and some might even say, naming the problem specifically, is half the solution. Having said all this, I fully recognize reality is never presented in totality since it isn’t an exhaustive field. But it sure can exhaust a person!

Reality is an acquired taste.

Matthew Perry

The Matrix is the mirage and serves as the peacock’s feathers.

Mathew Crawford

It’s difficult to convince people to get on the ark when they don’t even know it’s raining.

Unknown

That might rustle some feathers or it might make me look like an ass. Oh well. Rocking boats is how we discover the ocean.

I do consider myself to be intellectually curious. So, I can entertain a fair amount of “out there.” What I have learned throughout the last five years is that living comfortably in uncertainty is actually part of the fun. I can enjoy the dance, without knowing the steps; I can traverse the journey with pleasure without knowing the destination. And my favourite thing in these reality sifting engagements is getting my mind changed. What fun! When was the last time you had your mind changed?

My friend really puts it rather well here:

One of the biggest impediments to getting people to let go of prior beliefs that they realize are wrong is that they have too much of their identity, emotions, and morality invested in these beliefs.

People often just need someone to 'hold their hand' while they 'transition' to keep them emotionally centered & able to process the myriad dimensions to their errant beliefs (that span the gamut from trivial feelings of personal esteem to having acted in significant ways predicated on said beliefs with significant consequences or implications in their personal lives) in a way that allow them to 'save face' with *themselves* - they need to see a path forward where they can salvage their sense of self & who they are while essentially revolutionizing core aspects of themselves/worldview.

I have personally found this effective one-on-one in getting people to acknowledge/embrace changing their minds, for the most part it comes down to (1) validating they had a rational basis to presume what they did initially; (2) that they don't have to identify or be on the side of the 'crazies' to believe in the general positions of the MFM / anti-establishment; & (3) redemption/penance is a fundamental part of human existence that they are perfectly capable & worthy of (i.e. you're not eternally stuck with bad decisions/actions you made, spiritual growth is the objective of human existence, etc.)

On the flip side, people can skip wrestling with this if a general consensus of society - or their social circles at least - adopts a revised belief on an issue, where they can just 'go with the flow' as their excuse for their newfound beliefs without having to grapple internally with the fact of their initial 'fallibilities'

Also there are some people who genuinely possess the moral fortitude and honesty to acknowledge they had been living pursuant to false beliefs/worldview that they bear personal responsibility for without any emotional mollycoddling

-Ashmedai 

And if we aren’t expanding and learning and expanding some more, what are we even doing here? And for the record, one of the most valuable aspects of this Substack is the community that hangs around in the comment section. There are almost 2,000 of you readers who have signed up for this Substack, only a handful of which I know in real life, so it feels extra special to know I’ve attracted people who aren’t here just out of pure sympathy or obligation because they know me. Although, an extra high five goes out to all my real life freinds who do grace this stack with their presence - I know some of my positions are controversial and yet you still haven’t unfriended me (I hate the fact that to “unfriend” has become a recognised verb; autocorrect let’s that one go, but seems convinced that I keep wanting to text people ‘duck me’.) I am so grateful for the wisdom, humor, and warmth all of you have brought to Visceral Adventure. And the healthy disagreements as well. It’s how we learn. As the saying goes, if we all think alike, someone isn’t thinking. Truly a joy to share this ride with you. So, here’s to us quilting reality one patch at a time!

If you celebrate Halloween, have a safe holiday! Coming from the special event work space, October is always my busiest month, it’s double that with kids around. Real smart of me to have to also pen a meaningful post for the 31st every year to celebrate my anniversary! And still make this DIY costume for my youngest:

And as my annual promise goes, here’s my own Halloween portrait. This one is from an insane asylum themed event in which I played the character of a nurse.

So happy 3rd birthday, Visceral Adventure and friends! I came to Substack out of frustration and desperation, but I stayed for the community and camaraderie. Oh, and the insane amount of talent and critical thinking that goes around this here internet corner. Visceral Adventure is teetering out of the terrible 3s and heading towards the sweet childhood years. Let’s run amok together. If you find being here valuable, drop a comment or share the posts you find meaningful.

Cheers to you all and thank you from the bottom of my fast beating heart!

EDIT: I just received an email from Substack about a targeted campaign for free subscribers to offer a 1 month free towards an upgrade for a paid subscription. This is activated through Substack and not the authors, and I want to reiterate that this stack has no paywall (you can read about my model below the dividing line), but since Substack is footing the bill for a free month, if you’d like to support your favorite stackers, you can sign up for that and then cancel as/if you wish. The free month will still result in a $5 contribution paid for by Substack, and that can add to a nice little bump if a few readers do it.

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The author of Visceral Adventure believes in the gift economy and therefore offers all content with no paywall, asking you to contribute whatever amount feels good to you. Since value is unique and subjective, only you can decide what (if any) contribution is gifted at this time. All contributions benefit and support my family.

To upgrade to a paid subscription to this stack, click on the button. For a one time gift, click on this Ko-Fi link. Or if sats is your thing, I have one foot on the BTC exit ramp and you can contribute here: 

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As always, thank you for being a part of my journey.