LipstickStains

 I often think about the Wingnut Dishwasher Union lyric where he says “I dont wanna kill a cop, I just want to live in a world where they don’t have to get called when the shit goes down because our neighbors are enough.” Pat the Bunny, or Patrick Scheeweis, believes in anarchy through local support, and has multiple lyrics to stand by it. Lately, and in my recent relistening to the amazing “Burn the Earth! Leave it Behind!” album, I find myself agreeing more and more with his words. 

  I cant change what’s happening in Gaza, I cant free the people who have been locked up by ICE and I can’t change the world. What I can do is focus on helping my neighbors, supporting local businesses and being a better person to the people I see everyday. I believe that to make any type of difference in people’s lives I must focus on my community first, and in a day and age of social media, that can be hard. Because I have access to everyone, I also have access to everyone’s problems, which can be frankly, overwhelming. 

  I knew I had tons of options when it came to helping my community, from donating to thrift stores, to volunteering at a local charity. I took some time to think about what would bring me the most joy and help me feel accomplished. This is the challenge I have set for myself this month:

• Learn my neighbors name

  Upon recently meeting my upstairs neighbor, I realized that I want to know the people who live around me. I think that by introducing myself to them it will help me build a stronger community. I hope my neighbors grow to a point of knowing they can ask me for help and I’ll be there.

• Pick up litter when I see it

  This is something I try to do anyway but I want to push myself to do it even when it’s not super convenient, when there may not be a trash can close by or when it means I may be carrying trash for a bit. I want to push past my disdain for incontinence and make a change in my community

• Donate books to Little Free Libraries

  All my old books are donated to LFLs but I want to focus specifically on donating children’s books to my nearby Little Free Libraries. I believe literature should be accessible to all people of all ages and reading levels, these donations actively help with that goal.

• Shop Local

  This is something I’m guilty of not doing. Outside of my dispensary I don’t really shop local and all too often find myself in Walmart. I’d rather my money go to my local co-op rather than a billionaire who doesn’t really need or care about it. To reduce cost with this my tactic will be to get only small things from my local co-op and big purchases will still, reluctantly, be at corporations. I’m looking forward to looking at the financial difference this makes. Shopping locally can often be more expensive and I use that as an excuse not to do so. I’m excited to see how much it actually changes in my monthly spending

• Regularly attend city council and/or neighborhood association meetings

  Honestly, I didn’t even think of this as an option but it’s something that I need to do. There’s a big issue with speeding on my street and attending these meetings would be the best way to fix it. I feel like this will also be a good way to stay in the loop of what is happening in my community.

• Support local artists

 This can mean local painters, sculptors, and musicians. Anyone local who does any art. Rather than spending my money on drinks at shows, I buy merch from all the bands. I collect CDs and tapes and those are normally pretty cheap so that’s a great way to fund the arts.

• Volunteer two or three hours a month

  I’m very excited about this one, I’ve been curious about this process for a while and I’m eager to see how it develops. I decided to volunteer with my partners as having people do it with me will help me not be so anxious.

  I’ll be documenting this process (to some extent) and I’ll share how this impacted me, my family, and my community. I’m hoping I grow closer to those around me and I hope to make my sense of community even stronger.

  I believe change starts next door, and by turning our focus off of our phone and onto our neighbors we can build a nicer world.