Burnout and capacity
Are we doing 15 things all at once, because they all matter? Are we forcing ourselves? Are we having enough discipline? Are we having enough nourishment? Where is some bloody fun cause how tf do we keep going without it?
How to square all this with politics that actually meaningfully, materially work – instead of just making us feel better for a desperate hot minute?
We have some deep thoughts on what capacity is link and content to come, and how to approach it with commitment both to feminist liberation and our communities, but also to ourselves. We have some knowledge on bodywork too, and lots of “activism” experiences to draw from. We are adamant that Prickly Pears will not be a site of burnout – but also not a group for tick-boxing an interest or morality. Our approach is being honest with ourselves and with each other, mapping and re-mapping our commitment to specific actions before we start them, practising good boundaries and clarity, and respecting the continuous commitment to each other and the work. We believe that political work that is aligned with our deep values, and that is generative/creative, hopeful and connected with others, is quite energising actually – even if it takes time and effort.
We commit to squaring our scope of work to our energy, authentic interest, ability and alignment (because that’s energy too!) Not to moral top-down “shoulds”. But also doing the squaring with the political responsibility of maintaining our own individual strength, health and capacity, so we are sustainable – because feminist work genuinely matters to us.
Basically, we try to do this the mature, adult way because we have adult (sometimes mature) lives, and we’ve seen shit go wrong when emotions, trauma, and moral badgering drive political strategy, instead of solid reflection and material analysis.
