Finally, utopia!

-by Barbora Horská (Curator / Editor-in-chief of Improper Dose)

But first, let's grieve the healthy levels of serotonin some of us might have been experiencing during those few months of prolonged sunlight.

Yes, summer's gone, and while the heat waves could have been challenging at times, particularly for at-risk groups, I can't be the only one already dreaming of spring. At the same time, using the last bits of happy chemicals in my brain, I'm trying to see a silver lining and lean into the symbolic meaning of winter. A period for contemplation and the opportunity to let go of what no longer serves. Like the way we pride ourselves, we no longer need to abide by Nature's rules. Is it really progress if we use all the technological innovation to increase productivity? If only we, as a society, could live more attuned to these natural rhythms. Instead of surrendering to the early sunset with the rest of the ecosystem, we choose to live inside a tampon commercial, celebrating self-exploitation on a daily basis. No need to stop or slow down, ever, even when you're literally bleeding out of an internal organ or having a hard time functioning enthusiastically for more than a few hours per day thanks to lack of light. Take a pill and use a stronger light bulb. Most importantly, keep working. And be grateful for the opportunity to do so because it still means you actually DO have a job while living in a relatively safe country with access to a reasonable amount of material resources, freedom of speech, and voting rights.

So back to utopia! For starters, I'd wish to have enough body fat to survive winter hibernation with bears or marmots and wake up to the world with UBI*, workweek adjusted to seasonal changes, and days off for people on periods. Not only for the sake of my own mental health but also for considering how the system of economic oppression benefits from sexism and racial injustice. What a complex issue! However, as @triquidick pointed out recently, we should see it as an advantage instead of a difficulty, and I couldn't agree more.

How empowering is it to realize that within that overwhelming complexity there’s always something we can do? We don't need to wait around for a magical cure of the whole image or be stuck at something that might be truly unsolvable right now. Just take a tiny bite of something digestible for you in this given moment, and thanks to that complexity, it will impact the bigger picture.

Maybe it even makes the obstacle keeping your goal out of reach dissipate. For sometimes, what feels insignificant from a distance can prove to be essential in the healing process.

For more inspiration on personal utopias and some additional food for thought, here is your monthly Dose: Hospitable Utopia: Interview with Miloš Vučićević, Improper Sessions presents Florian Bocksrucker, INTEGRAL \ 2021 - P2 by LT.art Vienna, and another episode of Pedro del Real's comic series.

Last but not least, don't miss out on a list of tips for interesting events happening in Vienna this month, prepared for you by our new intern Kata Martincsák.

See you next month!

*UBI - Universal Basic Income

IMPROPER DOSE NO. 15

Finally, utopia!