Cultivating Sensibility (I)

Compositions for vitality

I'm dedicating my writing to continuously correcting my alignment with the world. The form that I seek, while shape-shifting and open to transformation, is one that capitalism can't subjugate. It is, therefore, a sensibility, not a product or a service; it cannot be provided, only offered and shared. A sensibility is not subjective; it is a competence cultivated through conviction and faith. It is reaffirmed or transformed through experience, spiraled time, and recollection.  

There is a specific lexicon that I'm choosing to use here. So, I want to provide a brief glossary to orient my work:

Correction: I seek to differentiate this term from its historically prevalent use in institutions that use force to regulate and justify the creation and keeping of societal hierarchies, such as prisons and schools. Instead of looking at what is correct from the perspective of rules externally determined, "the correct" in my work speaks to what we recognize as the action that takes us closer to what is necessary for a specific moment.

Alignment: Using this term, I do not seek to establish a "line of thought" or the image of a straight path to be followed. Instead, I recognize the existence of a short and circumstantial line created by one specific action. The notion of alignment gives into the idea of form, as each line, like in a drawing, composes a volume that can be a corporeity in itself or embodied into one.

Competence: Is one specific ability or a combination of abilities already in us or that we can expand through practice. A Competence doesn't require mastery or excellence but a functional and useful existence. In its standard definition, competence is also related to financial security, "an income large enough to live on." While my use doesn't directly speak to monetary considerations, the competence of sensibility enriches the use of already-available resources and the noticing of always present abundance. In short, a competence provides a baseline for an existence that recognizes the inherent value, contribution, and worthiness of every living being outside hierarchical and exclusionary systems of promotion, such as professional paths and educational degrees.    

Conviction: A certainty created by an experience of truth strong enough to initiate and sustain an intentional action. Convictions change throughout time, revealing different layers of truth, which is why we shouldn't convict each other like in the legal system but use conviction as a temporary internal force that directs practicality towards correction.

Faith: The sustaining of doubt due to a lack of direct experience as we imagine a better, more correct, ideal situation. It is a sentiment of hope strong enough to initiate and sustain intentional action.