Anjalism #6: We Need More Fucking Love
The below is a re-post from my travel blog, TheLITMOLife.com: We need more fucking love. Not romantic love, not “this is my boyfriend” love, not “we are meant to be together forever” love. In fact, we probably have too much of that. We’re sold this lie (among the many other lies we are sold) that the ideal design for life is getting everything you need – including love – out of one person. They’re meant to be your bestie, your partner, your lover, your support. And then…we neglect all the other ways we could be spreading and receiving love in our life. The moments where a friend throws a bid for connection, and we could turn towards them…but instead we’re just waiting to talk. Or the moment where...
Anjalism #5: Fuck You, “Retail Therapy,” “Liquid Lunches” & All Our Other Bullshit Coping Mechanisms
So a good friend of mine and I are in the mall the other day, so I could get a kale smoothie like a good hippie vegan, and we decide to walk around the mall a little bit. Why, the God I don’t believe in only knows. So we’re walking and we come across this sign, the sign you see in this post, that says “Treat yo self…to retail therapy.” I was a little irked but decided to just ignore it…until I couldn’t and had to go back and take a picture of the same. Fucking “retail therapy”? Really? Now, I know by now you’re probably tired of hearing me rant about how fucked up our world is but this is just another prime example hitting us in the face: RETAIL therapy. Like, our lives are so fucked up we need a form of...
Anjalism #4: Everything I Need To Know About Life I Learned From Clarissa Darling
Sometimes, I wish that I lived in a TV show. Scratch that, I always wish I lived in a TV show. And I actually have a few very specific TV shows I would want to live inside, if I couldn’t, you know, swing it all the way and constantly be the star of “The Anjali Show.” (I mean, I’m already the star of “The Anjali Show” in my own head, so I’m not sure I’d need the external validation. I’d be happy to live in someone else’s dream world.) (Who the fuck am I kidding – of course I need the external validation.) I know watching TV a lot is supposed to mean you’re stupid and I know that we don’t really have a high opinion of “couch potatoes” who are constantly viewing “the boob tube” and getting dumber. The thing is, I really think this is a narrow and misguided...
Anjalism #3: Heaven Might Be Overrated
I’ve been asked a few origin stories on the title and nature of this blog, so I wanted to share how “Anjalism” truly came to be. Around the ripe old age of about 11 and a half, my older brother (he was 14 at the time) and I collectively decided that since we probably weren’t getting into heaven, we should just give up and create our own religion. We dubbed it “Anjalism.” Over the years, Anjalism evolved, grew, and expanded. Anjalism’s tenets were born out of multiple things: my own head, my brother’s head, quotes from our amazing sister and parents, random etchings on the sides of buses and bathroom walls, things I think my dog is thinking and many, many others. I know, I sound like a lunatic, and I might be, as noted in my previous post. But, I...
Anjalism #2: There’s No Substitute For A Good Therapist And A Stiff Cocktail
Starting to make this transition into my new nomadic, financially unstable lifestyle has made me have a few serious come-to-Jesus talks with myself. Not actual Jesus. More like, the Jesus that loves you unconditionally but also offers you sage advice when you need it most. Like a therapist. Without the love. And I’ve had a lot of therapy in my life. Like, a lot. I was never one of those people that was resistant to it, either. I don’t actually understand those people – why be resistant when what’s promised is, theoretically, a better understanding of yourself and your inner emotions? And some significant learning about how to control all the bullshit that gets in your way? Before the first time I ever went to therapy, I was really looking forward to it. I...
Anjalism #1: The World Is Broken (And So Am I)
Let’s be real: the world is fucked up. Like, really fucked up. Like watching the news night after night can drive you to the brink of insanity and hopelessness: that kind of fucked up. And I, for one, am not immune to the effects of living in this fucked up world. Because, one day, I woke up and I hated my life. The thought took me by surprise. So many things about life were fantastic. I had a great fiance that I thought I loved (we’re now divorced, 11 months of a shittastic marriage and kaput), I lived in New York City (once upon a time, my favorite place in the world) and I was a newly graduated young attorney with a bright future ahead. I had a rich emotional life filled with family and friends. I should have been happily living life and discovering how...
