October’s Theme is Ethos

Our October theme is Ethos, chosen by our Asheville chapter and illustrated by Colin Sutherland.

Ethos is that specific quality that defines a place, time, or group of people. When you step into a room, a busy downtown, or a community gathering, you intuit its spirit. A messy DIY space invites experimentation and mistakes, a lush city park promises tranquility to anyone who seeks it. Maybe you even know of a monthly event where everyone is welcome and everything is free of charge.

At its core is a paradox: despite the specificity of an ethos, it’s impossible to pinpoint or trace to a specific origin. What honed that distinctive sensibility is long gone, vanished into myth.

With our actions and words, we embody these values and beliefs beyond conscious knowing. In turn, we subtly shape the ethos that our descendants — of family, of place — will receive from us. Ethos is alchemic, ineffable, and infinitely ponderable across place and culture. What ways of moving through the world did you inherit?

We asked you to share stories, images, and other artifacts that speak to your “ethos.” Here’s what you shared:

🌬 Ethos of All Forms

I believe my ethos is a butterfly – free, flitting and trying to put a little beauty in this world. — Joy Doll, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

I recently worked in an office almost entirely of introverts. When I arrived for my first day at work, it was like landing on the moon. No one talked to each other, everyone was under headphones and my approaching people seemed to cause more of a disturbance than everything else. I had a terrible time handling the quiet of the space. As an extroverted person who greets everyone and tries to build relationships with everyone I work with, I had no idea how to handle this environment. Eventually, someone told me directly what to do and how to handle it. Before you find yourself in a similar situation, I’ve prepared a guide on how, as an extroverted person, to become more introverted. — Cameron Lee Cowan, Seattle, Washington, U.S.

At the end of 2020, I came across another statistic of COVID-19 cases and deaths. It struck me again that we rarely discuss what is hidden behind these numbers and what has happened with our psyche since the beginning of the pandemic. All the losses, the isolation, the remote work or the lack of any work, the influence on children’s development — these are just a footnote under the omnipresent statistical data. That is how ​​the project “How we live now?” was born. This project aims to put the spotlight on the viewpoint of the people, who work with our most intimate world, and for some reason were ignored in the public debate: the mental health professionals.

I asked psychologists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists to give their impressions of people’s inner experiences during the pandemic. I myself needed to put my own thoughts, fears and desires into the context of what is going on with the other people. The profession of the therapist is quiet. Most of the practitioners shy away from public appearance. That is why I am grateful for my participants’ trust. My meetings with these professionals were lively and intimate, they happened in their offices or their homes, from which they work online. What are these people like? How do they manage to deal both with our anxiety and their own ones? The “How we live now?” project analyzes in depth the psychological impact of the crisis on all of us and at the same time presents the people that take care of our souls from the frontline. I believe that this project answers our Ethos theme – our common fears and shared beliefs. — Vera Gotseva - Lomovera, Bulgaria

I’d like to share Audre Lorde’s Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power essay. I chose this reading because I see it and use it as an anchor text for myself and my students, who wish to live in their bodies, claim sovereignty, and embody their own truths without patriarchal pressures and conditioning. I want more people to read and treasure the words in this essay too. To pass it along. To assign it to their students. To discuss it and not let it die. We deserve this in our arsenal of truth as humans with bodies and power. — simóne j banks, Pennsylvania, U.S.

The millennial ethos is caught in the balance between causes, conviction, and advancement. — Deepti Kannapan, Los Angeles, California, U.S.

I am very interested in enough being enough. Instead of searching endlessly, how about we notice what we notice and that is more than enough? — Alexander Mackenzie, Edinburgh, Scotland

I’m sharing the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver, because it exemplifies the ethos of my generation and community. We reject the masochism uplifted by recent generations to focus instead on connection, love, wonder, and self-determined purpose. — Charise Alexander Adams, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.

I would like to share a remixed photoshop piece that I created as it is a perspective of my generation. For my generation, I think there’s a lot of trust placed in the media and as a result, we sometimes lose ourselves or our own way of thinking in the process. — Shelley Feil, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.