Cyclical Meanderings
on moving away from linear thinking, and a beautiful solstice ritual + playlist
At the end of today’s meditation, I have crafted a solstice reflection ritual, a winter solstice playlist, and radical reflection questions inspired by the teachings of Audre Lorde, bell hooks, James Baldwin, and other teachers. Enjoy!
“I haven’t become a millionaire, but I have left something to my people, to those who will come after me” Ousmane Sembene
In Marrakech, Morocco, there is a square called Jema el-Fnaa which is a chaotic melting pot of poeticism. Once you enter, you cannot get out until your senses have absorbed everything that is going on. Like in all chaotic places, you can only concentrate on things in pieces. There is the man dancing with a black cobra as four men play hypnotising instruments for the animal, there is the orange juice vendor shouting things I cannot understand, there is the woman crossing the square to go to her job, a dentist removing teeth in public. It is messy, chaotic, and incredibly beautiful. Jema El-Fnaa, reminiscent of syncope, is devoid of linearity, weaving multiple stories at the same time, it looks alive, like the sun.
Across the square, I see a circle of people gathered around something. My vision is now isolated towards that circle of people, I want to know why they are gathered, I want to know like they all look mesmerised, and I want to know why they are sitting in a circle, silently, with eyes wide open.