Downtown Funk

Funky feelings and finding my groove

In the soupy spells of my self-diagnosed funks, the antidote is often to embrace the things that make me feel most like myself. As silly or ambiguous as it sounds, it is easy to melt outside the lines of ourselves when our energy is focused on Mondays, Monotony, and the mountainous pressure of Milestones. To mop up the edges I need to remind myself that I have a center, an essence that can’t be erased- only rearranged. Even after I cut my hair and start a new job, I will still love yoga and paying 7 dollars to be surrounded by strangers at a coffee shop - a microcosm of people high on caffeine and perceived creativity, just as I am here writing this. My favorite pose will still be half-moon and I will feel my heart crack open each time my arms expand from the mat to the yogi heavens. I will order my usual, a cappuccino with almond milk, even though they will charge me 0.75 extra for my intolerance to dairy. 

As far as I travel to all ends of the earth, my teeth will sink into the ripest of fruits. I will split an Apple and place half into the palm of my companion, lover or stranger, like a priestess with the Eucharist. I can find home anywhere I can play my most adored songs for someone at a volume many would deem unholy. I will preach that the only religion I’m sure of is rooted in my belief that music and the sweetness of fruit can only be works of divine hands. When I move to a new city, my hands will be the same… Even if my touch is unfamiliar, I can have faith it’s still warm. I will offer my friends a massage to ground myself in my gift of nurturing others. My heart will crack open as their worried shoulders melt under my palms. I will adorn my hands with funky little rings to “express my new sense of style,” but more importantly will adorn my soul by reading more, listening more, and positioning myself closest to a window. 

I will face the sun and look down at my hands, nail polish half chipped away, and think “Those are most definitely mine.” 

***Funk is such a groovy term, maybe that is why these little spells of starless nights so often call us to creativity.

xx Lauren

Downtown Funk Flavor Profile:

• A song: “Not a Witch but you know she’s controlling your mind”

This song is sooooo groovy and I can always depend on it to pull me out of a funk and into my physical body. It is one of my forever favorites that MUST be played at an unholy volume.

• A quote: “Only by discovering and loving the goddess lost within our rejected body can we hear our own authentic voice.” - Marion Woodman (Coming Home to Myself)