i wish to be among people

September 4, 2025

a thought occurred to me yesterday; if there was a phrase that summed up what self-actualization ideally means to me, it's to be, in a sense, "of the people, by the people, for the people." the quote may be attributed to Lincoln and government and grassroots movements, but the alternative (or opposite, rather) is "of myself, by myself, for myself," and that hardly appeals to me. i watched a video that deconstructed the irony of the term "self-actualization" on maslow's hierarchy -- how is it that only the self remains at the top of the pyramid?

over labor day weekend, i reconstructed a diorama of one of my favorite neighborhood ice cream shops and presented it to them -- much to their delight. the ice cream shop is heavily community-oriented and celebrates the diverse Asian enclaves of the san gabriel valley, where i was born and raised and currently, until next week, live. they told me that they want their space to be of community, with contributions by everyone. the moment made me realize, with conviction: i love community spaces, especially ones with local, handmade art, and eventually maybe i want to create one myself. but that's a goal for my forties and fifties, or maybe even later. or not?

i think about Ruang Tamu Ekosistem, the little art collective shop with beautiful prints on the second floor of an unassuming strip mall in Kota Kinabalu, home to art and activist collective Pangrok Sulap and their inimitably detailed community-made handiwork. i think about Empty Shelf, the local "shared bookstore" with a collection of curated shelves of art, each by a different local artist. what if we thought of the world as a construction of billions, each distinct and unique, rather than a homogenous handful of corporations? if i were ever to open a community space, it would be a space handmade by the community it serves. i wish to be among people.