Brenna Quinlan

Be Present

drawing, 2022

Is shopping really a hobby? Is it really be a pastime that leads to happiness? Who does Black Friday really benefit? Us? Shop owners? GDP?

I took a quick look at instagram today and it was full of ads. I walked through Fremantle yesterday and had a similar experience. Black Friday is the day when people go into further debt. Where the Earth's finite resources are chewed up at an increasing rate. Where marketers are paid big money to convince us of scarcity and to incite a buying panic.

We are more than what we own. Convenience always has a cost. Our stuff burdens us in other ways that the shiny adverts don't ever hint at. I'm spending today doing something meaningful, and I'm certainly not going to buy something.
2022
  • Brenna Quinlan

We are stronger when we work together

Illustration with a purpose

I had a big conversation with someone last week who has very different views from what I do on a number of issues. But we agreed that staying friends is important. When our town had a peaceful climate protest (we formed a human sign saying 'We Can Do It' and sent the drone photo to parliament), he was there with his family. When tragedy struck another local family, he was there to support them in their grief. And when we needed help with our house build, he was first in line.

Wherever we argue amongst ourselves, we're distracting our energies from the bigger issues, and we're damaging the most important things: family, friendship, community and our capacity for collective activism. Of course, we need boundaries in our lives to protect ourselves from people who harm us. But for everything else, we gain so much from being able to disagree in a healthy way.

I don't want to be caught arguing with my neighbor while another gas plant is snuck through parliament overnight.

Let me know how you're going with this - have you been able to overcome differences?
2022
  • Brenna Quinlan

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