Series of Looping GIFs centred around mental health (our inner-state).
These looping GIFs display how we feel as a pulsating orb — bright yellow equals positive, dim red orb equals negative. How our inner-state is can be effected by many different factors, internal and external. We go through life changing day by day, how we are and who we are goes through chapters. Allow change.
Inner-Drive / Life In Phases
Allowing phases in life to affect how we feel and to affect our internal drive is important. We all go through different chapters in our lives - some sad, some positive and some less easily definable. We need to be able accept that how we are now, is how we are now, but we will feel new things and go through new things, as we always have done, but that there are both external and internal factors that may be affecting our mental health. For example, a mobile phone is a suppressor, and fragments our attention, but if we were to surround ourselves by nature, we may better our mental health.
We can appreciate that a combination of these different factors may contribute to what we can refer to as ‘chapters’ of our lives, and that, at an overview, each chapter and the events, feelings and thoughts we experience in them are all part of the rich tapestry of our lives, and not “wrong”. There will be new versions of ourselves across time. Acceptance and allowing yourself to gain perspective on the now is key.
Our internal light, that I refer to, is a metaphor for our internal drive and state of mental health, and can be mirrored by the fictional character ‘Calcifer’ (the fire) from the Studio Ghibli film ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’.
Here are my manifestos intended to help guide a sense of perspective on the factors that may dim or help our internal light shine:
Manifesto 1 - We all have a unique creative potential, but our internal drive that affects our output (and state of mind) may differ. Like a light, our internal drive can be dulled or shine bright, and may be affected by conditions that could be self-imposed, or external.
Manifesto 2 - The environment around us and the state it is in can be intrinsic to shaping our mood.
Manifesto 3 - Reduce fragmentation and clouding of your attention or focus by not being on your phone so much, or by simply agreeing a reason to pick up your phone rather than mindlessly picking it up.
Manifesto 4 - Don’t dwell on the past, don’t overthink about where you are going - try to be here in the present (be here now).
Manifesto 5 - ‘Life In Phases’ - Allowing phases in life to affect how we feel and our internal drive, is important - we all go through different chapters (some sad, some positive). Acceptance.
Manifesto 6 - We should go through our lives trying out different things and going out of our comfort zone - we won’t always know what comes next/ what the consequence of our decisions will be or look like, but we sometimes find something that works, and we gradually find out who we are.
