Musings of An Angry Hippy.

Had a bit of a meltdown this morning. Ok now but it was pretty unpleasant. Since a series of bad stuff went down in my own life several years ago, I have relentlessly and successfully pulled myself back up, supported by kind folk and my own graft.  That doesn’t mean that on occasion something can’t put me on my arse for a morning, floored by the seeming futility of self improvement (‘masturbation...’ according to all knowing Tyler Durden, whom I am partial to agree with, on pretty much everything), or how, no matter what good you try to create in this world, life will remind us that we are all nothing but an insignificunt, in the bigger scheme of things. A realisation I find alarmingly liberating, but that harsh reality check still stings when you feel its bite.

Following the successful completion of my second degree in August last year, I decided to go it alone, career-wise, as already mentioned in an earlier installment here. I hold an unremitting belief that being kind, doing whatever you can to help others, is the most sincere act a person can do, if said kindness and support is offered with no motive other than to help. (It is pretty much the closet thing I know which provides any meaning to life). Gloriously, the world is full of people who feel and do the same.  I am a rubbish misanthropist: as much as I decry how grotty human kind is, as a whole, I am entirely in love with the human race. So, thankfully, very few of us ever really have to go it alone. 

Kindness isnt a big deal, and the fact that people regularly share posts about ‘random acts of kindness’ on various social media platforms, is actually a bit depressing, really. Shouldn’t helping a person out when you see they are struggling be a go to, no second thought given, action? This is not me being cynical or trying to sound cool (ugh), I genuinely dismay that we have to celebrate what should be standardised human behaviour. That said, acts of kindness do make great, undoubtedly positive differences, I am just personally uncomfortable with the ego based desire some feel, to tell the world they bought a near frozen homeless person a hot drink, or took a cat who had been run over to a vet. Injustice seems to be a global norm, at the moment. Challenging that presents us with the key to unlock massive reserves of human kindness. Did we forget, as one huge consciousness, that the very noun used to describe us as a collective species, is also an adjective which describes the altruistic behaviour we should demonstrate to each other?

Years ago I had to stop watching/reading the ‘news’ (don't start me) as it genuinely started to mess with my emotional wellbeing, seeing the acts of large scale but also day to day atrocities which were foisted upon people by their fellow kind. I mess up loads, I’ve made some crumby life choices but I have never set out to hurt someone. We all mess up. It isnt even a big deal, if we own it, seek forgiveness if necessary, and move forward. Sanctimony is not an attractive quality in anyone. Nobody is to blame for our actions but ourselves (ok, some cases of extreme manipulation happen but you get my drift). With that in mind, and in the context of my rumination concerning kindness here, the impact our actions have on others can be greater than anything we imagine or intended, to either positive or negative ends, depending on the action and intention.

Cultural Squatters is the embodiment of kindness, in a personal, social and business context. ‘Cruelty free’ is a vapid phrase oft churned around, profiteering from the exploitation of our genuine concerns and kindnesses, and our will to do as little harm as possible. ‘Cruelty free’ is a misnomer which serves only to line the pockets of corporations or establishments who make gain through our altruistic need for compassion in commerce and services. Ideologically it is undoubtedly a beautiful concept but it is not something that can be attained in any honest, practical way. There will always be someone or something,  somewhere who is/has been exploited, if not by a legal definition then morally. How may we right this infalliable wrong? Im no know it all, but I reckon showing kindness to all, and being honest about motivations, is a pretty good start. Cultural Squatters is a space where every member of our community is welcomed and included.

In the conceptualising and subsequent actualisation of Cultural Squatters, I  have found a very personal sanctuary from the arbitrary beast that life may be, and I am driven by the knowledge I can offer the same to so many, through something as seemingly simple as a coffee shop...because Cultural Squatters is so much more than a coffe shop. It is an allegory for personal and artistic discovery, for fairness and compassion to all, for opportunity, creative freedom, and for kindness.

Cultural Squatters has been set up by second chancers who believe that you can create sustainable income through hard work, good service and kindness, and not have to compromise core ideologies. Community is the fundamental bedrock on which Cultural Squatters is built. Community to Cultural Squatters is every person, every shop, business - large or small, every service, faith, subculture or scene. There can be no divide if we are all equal. People not in employment are as valid by Cultural Squatters as those drawing six-figure salaries. Cultural Squatters needs the support of its true community not just to break even - nothing as tawdry as money - but to create a space where every person, service or external establishment/business associated with the movement is seen as truly equal and valid.

I kind of remembered all this today, through more acts of kindness, this time which I was on the receiving end of, and my meltdown seemed less... well just less. Not unimportant as my troubles were real. Remembering why Cultural Squatters was created, and why it exists and didn't become just another great idea that gets thrown around but never acted upon, why it has become a physical and allegorical space, soothed the sting life barbed me with and I remembered I am driven by sharing that mollification with anyone who may need it.

#bekind