Weekly wisdom #11

Don't overwork it, don't underwork it. Nourish it right, don't deprive it. 

Make it feel good. 

True, when it comes to our bodies, not everything is completely within our control; sometimes things f*ck up when we least expect it. What we can choose, though, is how we consistently treat them. A little Aretha-style R-E-S-P-E-C-T can go a long way. People and places come and go, but the only person and space that's guaranteed to accompany you fo' life is you and your body. A cliché it may be, but your body is a temple and it oughta be treated accordingly.

So give that vessel the respect and ❤ it deserves: 'cos you're worth it. 

RUN FORREST RUN

Oh hey guys it's me Brogues Gump 

This weekend, something quite miraculous occurred. I, as no more than a complete amateur on the running circuit (pardon the pun), somehow managed to get myself on the podium at my first Spanish running competition, as the second lady past the finish line out of a good few hundred. To say I surprised myself would be a pretty sizeable understatement.

Don't get me wrong, I can certainly be a super determined and driven young lady when I want and need to be. However, for me, running acts as a counterbalance to my perfectionist proclivity; it's a purely pleasure-driven pastime, a time of escapism in which I can get lost in a sweet playlist and plod along at my own little pace.

 

But, right before Saturday's 10K, my host mamá (who I might add has never seen me run, not once) said to me: "sabes, tienes posibilidades de ganar un trofeo" ["ya know, you have a possibility of winning a trophy"], to which I chuckled and replied something along the lines of "no waaay, Jose!"; I hadn't won a trophy since my childhood football days at Dulwich Hamlet and Southwark Caribb FCs (ahh). 

For some reason, though, her words sorta stuck. So when the starting pistol fired, I just went for it, practically sprinting the first 25 minutes. There were of course a bunch of steep inclines when my legs were like "NAHHHHH". But then that little internal voice kicked in: JUST. RUN. So I did. And I placed for the first time ever. Haaaallelujah. What the mind believes, eh...

Ta-daaa.

ICA: Keep Your Timber Limber (Works on Paper)

Mall chillin'.

The Institute for Contemporary Arts (or ICA, as it likes to be called) is by no means a secret amid London's ever-blooming cultural backdrop. Nevertheless, it's amazing how many folk march pass this artsy hub, housed in a beautiful building on central London's The Mall. Just off Trafalgar Square, en route to Buckingham Palace.

It's a great little haunt, with its well-stocked bookstore, cute cinema, bustling bar (particularly of an evening) and thought-provoking melange of art pieces. As a student, too, membership is well worth it, costin' £10 a year. Perks include £3 cinema screenings every Tuesday, big fat discounts, free admission to a wealth of exhibitions and eeeeven a cheeky price deduction on entrance to BFI Southbank and IMAX. Win-win.

Come in, why don't ya.

Anyway. Currently running in the lower and upper galleries is a (in my opinion) cracking exhibition entitled Keep Your Timber Limber, which also has plenty of super interesting events surrounding its overriding themes and concerns. Zooming in on eight artists renowned for their often provocative and socially/politically/culturally transgressive works (namely Judith Bernstein, Tom of Finland, George Grosz, Margaret Harrison, Mike Kuchar, Cary Kwok, Antonio Lopez and Marlene McCarty), the collection consists solely of illustrations, all of which teeter on the brink of social palatability. 

Disclaimer: the display definitely isn't for the prudish. Addressing issues "ranging from the politics of gender and sexuality to feminist issues, war, censorship and race" (source link), the works are brazen, bold, laden with sexual imagery. They're an unabashed breach of and grappling with social "norms". Personally, I like that. 

Throughout its run (19 June - 8 September 2013), I've popped along to a debate on counter culture, a workshop named Honk! If Your Body's Not Yours and a bunch of other talks and film screenings. Really good stuff. Get down to The Mall.

Last night's venture.