Somatic Aliveness

  My relationship with the Earth and my ecological consciousness have evolved over the years through an organic shift toward falling in love with the Earth. Like any love affair, my relationship with the Earth involves complicated and sometimes contradictory feelings—love, pleasure, intimacy, guilt, and grief. What began as an awareness of the natural world has gradually become a deeply personal and embodied relationship with the planet that sustains me. In most world mythologies, including Persian mythology , the Earth is traditionally assigned a feminine gender. My love affair with the Earth, however, goes beyond gender. Many people who personify the Earth as a mother have found a loving way to relate to them. I relate to the Earth as a living being with a soul, while choosing not to assign them a gender. This allows me to experience the Earth without projecting masculine or feminine qualities onto them. Some argue that because the Earth has traditionally been imagined as fe...

  No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, it is hard to escape the weight of a world that often feels unsettled. As a gay immigrant in these unprecedented times, my nervous system is frequently on high alert. I carry a constant awareness of the threats facing people like me, and that awareness inevitably shapes how I move through the world. Because of this, I seek resources that offer me a sense of agency and help regulate my nervous system. Fashion and style have become both a personal resource and a form of armor — my runway to nervous system regulation. When I put thought into what I wear, I am not simply getting dressed; I am preparing myself to meet the world. Each outfit is an intentional act of protection and self-definition, allowing me to move through uncertainty while affirming my strength. Clothing becomes more than self-expression — it becomes a practice of resilience, presence, and self-preservation. Whether my clothing changes how others perceive me is im...