Shiny New Shell

And it left a pearl in my head
And I roll it around every night
Just to watch it glow

-Mitski, A Pearl

StarHaus Psychotherapy - March Newsletter

updates

What’s New?

We’re continuing to explore themes that fall under our word of the year, adaptation.

This month, we’re diving into collections. Inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s essay “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction,” (which was in turn inspired by Elizabeth Fisher’s Carrier Bag Theory of Human Evolution) we’re examining our species’ tendency to collect as an evolved trait.

“If it is a human thing to do to put something you want, because it’s useful, edible, or beautiful, into a bag, or a basket, or a bit of rolled bark or leaf, or a net woven of your own hair, or what have you, and then take it home with you, home being another, larger kind of pouch or bag, a container for people, and then later on you take it out and eat it or share it or store it up for winter in a solider container or put it in the medicine bundle or the shrine or the museum, the holy place, the area that contains what is sacred, and then next day you probably do much the same again — if to do that is human, if that’s what it takes, then I am a human being after all. Fully, freely, gladly, for the first time.” (Full Le Guin essay linked above)

In the same way that a pouch is a container for things and a home is a container for people, we see people as containers for memories, experiences, feelings.

Read on for more on our exploration of humans as both collectors and living, breathing, walking collections ourselves.

p.s. Do you have your own word of the year? Want to talk about it? We would love to help you brainstorm, clarify, celebrate, etc.

Reach Out

events

Add to Your Collections…

Visit the Quincy Street Maker’s Market “in the heart of Northeast Minneapolis at Quincy Hall. This beautiful, spacious venue will host dozens of local makers, plus we'll have a coffee and bakery popup from local vendors to keep you fueled for a day of shopping from local artists.” (March 10th, 11am-4pm)
Search for special clothing items and trinkets at the Minneapolis Vintage Market at the Machine Shop. Sort through “two floors of Minnesota's best vintage clothing, accessories and home goods vendors all in one spot in this spacious, industrial venue. Plus we'll have coffee, a food truck and Machine Shop bar open for beverage purchases, plus DJ Buster Baxter spinning tunes.” (March 24th, 12pm-4pm)

extras

March Playlist - from Lauren

This playlist is an ode to collections, lists, and the things that we carry with us. Whether they are treasured physical items, relationships, or experiences that leave us altered, it’s worth taking a look at the things that we've stored up throughout our lives. These songs explore the different kinds of relationship we might have with our collections, corporeal and not.

Listen Here

Archetype of the Month - from Liana

The Curator

“Inside the museums, / Infinity goes up on trial / Voices echo ‘this is what salvation must be like after a while’” - Visions of Johanna, Bob Dylan

How does a collection come to convey a message? The discerning eye of the Curator is similar to that of a collage artist. They work with discrete objects or images and form a gestalt, an organized whole that is more than the sum of its parts. The Curator blends contextual knowledge, a seedling of intent, and an intuition about what pairs well together before the why becomes apparent.

If you’re a collector, offer your collection some curation and see what narrative takes shape. At first glance, my countless vials of perfume samples could be sorted by genre, by maker, or even chronologically. However, in looking to my favorite scents, the ones with the least liquid left, I find a recurrent theme from my life: paradox, especially between sacred and profane, as found in the amazing perfumer and neurobiologist Ellen Covey’s creation Dev #3: The Inevitable.

The same process of curation might be applied to your collections of experiences and self-stories; meaning may be revealed through curatorial intuition and attention paid to the underlying feeling.

Image credit: Collage by Liana Brinson, 2020.

Creature of the Month - from Kenna

The Decorator Crab

Have you heard of the decorator crab? Think the crab from Moana who collected shiny objects to adorn his shell. The decorator crab collects things from the seafloor to camouflage itself from predators. Pieces of seaweed, hard pebbles, stinging anemones, etc. Once chosen, the crab attaches the treasure to its shell. The goal is to blend into its surroundings and become one with the seafloor. But what happens when the crab sheds its exoskeleton as it grows? As the crab spends precious time curating this life saving collection, they may want to keep some of these items. In fact, they actually place some of their treasures back on their new shell. But that means the crab has a decision to make. The crab must decide —What to bring with me? What to leave behind? Should I bring this spiky sea urchin with me, or should I find something new? Is this sea anemone still in style?

As March is upon us, we may be ready for some spring cleaning. We may find ourselves asking the same questions as the crab. What do you want to bring with you? What do you want to leave behind? Which items, traits, or coping skills that you have accumulated over time are worth taking with you? Maybe some are worth leaving in the winter. As your environment changes, some coping skills are no longer needed and are ready to be shed. Some, though, are still helping you meet your needs. That shedding, or clean up, leaves space for new strategies. So...what do you want to adorn your shiny new shell?

Thanks for reading!

xoxo -StarHaus