Jessica Böhme

on creating lifestyles beyond sustainability

Archives for March 2018

What’s in the closet of a person who wears the same dress her whole life?

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Socks (as few as possible): It’s not that I like them. Honestly, if I didn’t life in a place that frequently feels like the arctic (I am exaggerating here), I’d never wear any socks. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, in the 8th century BC, the Ancient Greeks wore socks called “piloi”. They were made from matted animal hair. Later, the idea of socks was to absorb the sweat, which seems nonsense, considering that in the summer we actually don’t wear socks. Note to self: re-think if I actually More +

Is Yoga a trap?

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New age spirituality are spiritual or religious beliefs and practices that developed in the Western world during the 70’s. Mediation, Yoga, retreats in Bali. It’s easy to condemn today’s practices as inauthentic, and - especially if aimed towards ‘healing’ the world - hypocrite. But most people engaging in new age spirituality practice it because they are looking to escape nihilism . They are fed up with the lack of belief towards the reputedly meaningful aspects of life. With More +

The key to a flourishing society

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When I started studying sustainability I became a dictator. I would tell everyone about the problems we are facing and what they need to do and what they can’t do. via GIPHY The result wasn’t that all those people turned their life around in an instant and became what I required them to be. The result was usually that nothing happened. Except that people got annoyed by me. The most important lesson I learned during the past seven years is that we can’t change anyone by talking. The only way More +

how stories define who we are

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We tell stories. We dress our thoughts, experiences, and arguments in a pair of meanings. The core is pressed into a tight corset of beginning and ending. What doesn’t work goes into the washing machine, to be exposed anew. We place our surrounding in a personal context of meaning and tell the story of our life again and again. Narration is a constant in human history. "There is and never has been a nation without narrative" Roland Barthes culture and stories In Cultural Studies the More +

Are we a bit fucked?

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“Sir, what sciences have you addicted yourself to?” someone asks Don Quixote in an eighteenth-century English translation of the Cervantes classic. To Shakespeare, addiction was an activity that one was passionate about. Today, when we talk about addiction, we have quite a different understanding. Where 15 years ago, people thought of drugs, alcohol, and gambling. Today, we can be addicted to sex, food, sleep, or dogs. I am addicted to my dog According to addiction More +