Dragica Carlin, Fountain

One way to know that you might be experiencing an identity death:

You feel like you have something traveling around your body that's like a cross between a vibrating Roomba and a black hole and you're so tired you can barely move and also the external circumstances of your life are changing rapidly in ways you did not predict.

But the main way to know that you're experiencing an identity death is that you just know that you are.

I can't tell you what yours feels like. You know what yours feel like.

CASUAL POLL: ____I am having an identity death ____My identities are fine _______________________________ Results: 57% identity deaths 43% we're still us How did I get those results so fast Never mind I just did

IF YOU'RE HAVING AN IDENTITY DEATH

(OR IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE YOURS LATER WHICH DON'T WORRY YOU WILL)

DON'T PANIC

I'M MAKING SOME SHIT UP FOR US TO DO ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW

1. Give yourself a home haircut.

Look, it's fine. What's the worst? Somebody else might have to fix it. But what if it turns out you're pretty good at it? POSSIBLE NEW IDENTITY.   HOW TO DO IT:

• Feel your hair. Feel it all up and down the strands. Feel how much is the dead you and how much is still relevant to who you may be going forward.

• Go get the best scissors in your house. Here's hoping they're okay but you're not buying new scissors for this. If you're leaving the house for new scissors you could probably just go to a salon. No, this is to be done on the spur of the moment immediately right now because you need this.

• Splay a hand through that hair like you know how to do layers. You know? Spread that handful out, pull it taut and angle those scissors like you think you saw somebody do before. This is it, baby.

• When was the first hairstyling academy? When was the first haircut? You see where I'm going with this?

• Find the death/life divide on the hunk of hair in your hand and chop it at that place. Err on the side of getting all the death off.

• REV A NEARBY MOTORCYCLE

• Do the rest of your head. Don't doubt yourself. Just go. Whack. Ch-thwock. Don't overthink it which obviously we're already not doing that but keep it up. Fwock.

• Whatever bits are sticking out, some of them are cool like a rock-and-roll fairy so keep those ones. Fix the bits that feel more like you escaped from a sanitarium. Those bits you can finesse a little.

See, look! You did that. It's better than if you didn't because you at least got the ball rolling.

• Ride away on the motorcycle.

2. Investigate vitamins.

There are some you're not getting enough of. Have some fun figuring out what they are. Then of course get some. Some of them may not end up being vitamins. Some may end up being actual medicine that you need and some may end up being ginger or more sleep or ayahuasca, hey, I don't know, I'm not your mom.

3. Do you need a new dance move?

It's something to think about.

Inspiration:

Waacking 1 on 1 FINAL: Rada from Italy vs. Yoon Ji from the Korean Republic

4. Deposit your old identities here

this photograph of a fire has been specially designed to attract and dispose of any identities that are ready/need to go so go for it and take a second and drop one in there

I've told you about #5 before and now I'm telling you again. If you want to throw down, this is the one.

5. Wild Writing in the Canadian Rockies with Sonya Lea

Sonya is rad in the fullest sense of the word. Radical down to her cells. If this is for you, you're going to want to look into it and get cooking quickly.

Banff, Alberta, Canada, June 21-24th

Moraine Lake near Sonya's home in Banff

Edvard Munch, Two Women on the Shore, 1898 And One Is Obviously A Dying Identity Obviously

Let's review. Don't panic. We all have to die a lot. You don't want to be the same costume of a person for your whole life anyway. That costume was not even that well thought out.  Love, Tina