BUTTONS CONNECT!

i’ve said it before and many have seen it before – but BUTTONS CONNECT! the future may be wireless but buttons are right now. buttons, wires, cords, switches, are all physical knobs we could use right now. my curriculum as of late has been stitching, sewing, and cutting various threads.

WHAT IS BUTTONS CONNECT?

well think about it. buttons do connect. if an articel of clothing is divided by space – it’s secured safely by connecting the button. it’s a simple mechanism that has changed the game in terms of functionality and aesthetic appeal.

planet buttons

a door and circle

color on white

I formed the idea behind ‘buttons connect‘ as I realized the therapeutic value it created for me. I saw a story behind the button instead of just seeing it as an accessory. buttons are probably the easiest way to add color to an outfit without being too flashy or extravagant. there’s a story behind everything and buttons happen to be about the most reasonable of all functions – CONNECTION.

buttons are so common that you probably don’t know anyone who has NOT worn any article of clothing without them. they are THAT functional and plentiful. the button would be nothing however without the thread which holds it down. this string provides enough girth and strength to keep the button fastened to the surface.

: looking like here is not where it use to be

in the same manner, the thread is nothing without a medium – this is where the needle makes its introduction. the thread is then carefully inserted into the needle hole and then fastened at the end, which creates a knot. these things must come together, this is likened to a seed. there is a need for fertile ground, an energy source, and then water to flourish a flower. in order for a button to connect:

you need only a button, thread, and a fertile (stable) surface in order for the needle to go through to stabilize the connection.

buttons connect is a movement where I am bridging the gap between use and misuse. remixing by adding and subtracting. changing. this is a new movement where there’s an emerging statement. my feet are arrows because it aligns with the idea of me going all over the place. the green arrows keep going and flowing!

buttons connect attempts to listen to what our hearts say and channeling that information into our creations so that we connect with one another and free ourselves from the mental baggage that we have been laced with since birth. buttons connect is connecting those encoded symbols in a way that frees our minds and hearts from the illusion of the false fabric of reality so that we can begin to sew and weave our own realities in a way that connects each of us with one another in creative ways.

you can start with something simple – then transform it and recycle it from what it was into something that you want it to be. turn less expensive things into fashion statements and weave them into your new fabric of reality. buttons are a great symbol of taking something which we all have access to, and recycling it into something new based on the moment and occasion.

(rift your thrift!)

this is all creating more instead of consuming! we have to connect and work with one another to build new patterns into the framework of reality after untying and unravelling the influences of the previous world of illusions which is keeps us tied down into a system (stares in capitalism) that has never been in our best interest. here is to reconnecting to our hearts to become our own weavers of our own realities!

connect with me by sharing the ways you’ve seen parallels between what is spoken and what is not. the thread is not as alien as it may look. it’s a small world but a larger one when you can remove the veil and understand what was there all along.

H & I

*This post came to me in a dREaM – so if some of it doesn’t make any sense, you should probably sleep on it and then write down your dreams – then try correlating the lines.* If you don’t want to read through all of the lines of explanation – here’s a sentence to simplify it for you. “By surrendering your “I” (ego) you create a bridge to cross.”

“I” is a bridge to cross. When explaining yourself – to someone else, think of the capital letter ‘H’. There are two poles on opposite ends but have the equal lines to connect what’s in the middle.

The line (“I”) in the middle should be seen as the ego. In order to understand where someone is coming from, one must surrender their ego simultaneously so their cargo (argument) can be successfully delivered.

The ego must submit as to not get in the way. A bridge is essential if you want a shortcut instead of carrying extra baggage because by then everyone could have missed your point. The feeling of being wrong is one that we often run away from.

All of us are convinced on opposite ends that what we’re saying is valid. We tend to believe the information that confirms our side. We blindly may accept the normative played out without challenging the veracity of such sides.

Getting to where we want to go means discipline but also curiosity. How much would you love the end result? Even if the result is not in your favor. For energy comes and goes. Sometimes it may stick around other times it may convert into something else. It may be useful or a pest – dealing with the volume of passing chemicals is, after all, a potentially deadly experience.

As it turns out, meeting in the middle is often actually just one person bowing down and compromising for another person. If someone wants to do one thing and another doesn’t want to do it – meeting in the middle is either one person deciding to do it or the other deciding not to do it.

It’s not good enough to half do it. It’s also like a see-saw. One is up and the other is down.

A great way to simplify the H & Bridge is by a lyric from Prince: “If eye say 11, U can say it’s 7 – still eye wish u heaven.”

Truth is: there is no such thing as winning an argument *at least there shouldn’t be*. Imagine you on one side screaming your head off while the other person is screaming their head off. The two of you alternating between highs and lows – uppercuts and low blows.

One player feels like an aggressive antagonist. The other one reduced and misunderstood. The relationship is spoiled, the argument is specifically engineered – guaranteed to be exact – to be repeated. A circle that never reaches any conclusion.

Shoulders are tense. Arms are tightly embracing the opposite arm. The mood is stubborn.

If the person you are trying to win an argument against is important to you, then you may see how using the word “winning” is really misused.

*unless you really enjoy stomping to the beat of your own drum without yielding to the other bandmates – so that they may fancy the chance, to solo to their heart’s content!*

Morning Breath

It’s not easy finding out what to do next, it’s scary because next could mean losing what you love or even fought for. However, leaps of faith are necessary for growth.

Sometimes, you have to grow without the comfort of the familiar. If you’re only on the cusp of what’s been given to you – how do you know what can be obtained? What can be dreamed of? What can be seen for what it is?

The future is all that imagination is capable of creating. We don’t always know presently how the future works but our goals provide the map to those various destinations. There is often a gap to the places that are near and far away. Which is why setting a goal at least creates a bridge to get there.

While on the way to your destination, life offers you various moments to learn something. Some people think you’re fucked when you don’t know, however, it’s when you learn about life when you realize how fucked you are.

The mind can enter early crises of thought when you think of what you eat, drink, think, wear, feel, know, don’t know, etc.

But be encouraged cuz knowledge is power and actually protects you from the dangers of not knowing. There’s so much to know and yet so much to discover. When you open your ears to all that’s available – you’ll constantly thirst for more.

There is no shortage of what you can learn in the universe. Just the idea of the universe itself expands so much interest for me. I never get tired of learning from the stars and galaxies around me. I still don’t seem to know shit about it in detail – cuz it’s so vast and ever expanding but still, it’s still so near.

I’m an astronaut in space, tethered to observation and a think tank.

We can get so caught up in what’s happening we often don’t consider just how close we are to being bitten.

Around the corner is what’s next and what’s next may have sharper teeth and to be bitten by the venom ain’t such a bad thing. You might get paralyzed by the bite. Unfortunately, Tragedy may lead to clarity – but everything is looking up! *When you low to the ground.*

When I think about how something ‘Happened’ I always have a better way of how I could have gone around it AFTER. Hindsight renews our ability to frame what we didn’t see before. I use to spend so much time – thinking how I could have said this or said that.

It seems now, the best option for me mostly is to be quiet, that way I can’t be accused of saying something when I didn’t say nothing at all. You have to pay for saying nothing tho cuz then people will think you weren’t listening. 😀

I think a reason why things happen like this is something that no one can avoid, no matter how hard they try and that’s Morning Breath. No matter how much you brush your teeth the night before. Even if you set an alarm in the middle of the night to brush – if you go back to sleep. There it is waiting for you.

When you wake up and make that first statement – if you’re too close to someone else, they’ll recognize the inescapable. Morning Breath comes without apology. You have to brush your teeth before you open your mouth to speak. You may also find someone who will tolerate your Morning Breath (for a period of time) until they even remind you about Brushing Your Teeth.

We are all alike in this way. Everyone has Morning Breath and everyone can do something before we allow others to deal with it. We can all be silent but eventually, we’re gonna wanna say something. Just make sure before you speak – you’re prepared with a proper wash. It’ll help prepare you for what happens next – no matter how hard the teeth may bite.

(shoutout to my friend Mark, from Louisiana : for his usage of ‘Next’ and the following sharp teeth that comes afterwards!)