We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Claire Collins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Claire below.
Claire , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Here’s my offering of a poetic interpretation of the question. A ‘how to’ guide for those seeking some inspiration.
How to Be Optimistic
Don’t just be a mediocre optimist
Be a violent one
Like you look death in the face and laugh
No, cackle.
Obnoxious in your silver lining shoes & rose-colored glasses.
Tally up all the reasons not to be:
3rd-year pandemic, a looming Climate Crisis
Hottest July on record
and rebel
against the machine.
Plant trees, pick up litter, and leave anti-capitalist love notes in the aisles of Target.
Imagine not the end of the world, but the bloody middle of it.
Imagine a new beginning. Begin your new life as an optimist today!
Disregard the outdated notions that fear is normal, that we’re all doomed.
remember the trust you have in the brilliance of the universe,
it’s hardly naive. More like a tough-as-nails persistent miracle that is you.
and you’re just learning your name, kid.
It’s the day you got sober and trusted that your life would be better, and not only was it better, it was brilliant.
It was trusting the present moment, standing in the storm instead of clutching an umbrella.
Welcome to life!
Violent Optimist Rule #1
Be Confident.
Be confident in your inherent worth as a being made of complex systems that work seamlessly without you even having to think about it, that breath you just took, wow! You’re the only you in the whole wide world and goodness we needed you!
Know that. Deeply. It’s your superpower.
Speaking of superpowers. Be confident in your ability to tolerate nonsense.
If it smells like extraneous bullshit, it probably is. Clean your room and move along.
Violent Optimist Rule #2
Trust
Like your sweetie sweet, heart has never been broken.
Like you know, that you know,
that you know, you can’t really get it wrong.
You might take a wrong turn but you’ve got guardian angel navigation guiding you- and google maps ain’t got shit on them.
You’ve got the workings of a universe that is bent towards justice and chaotic good.
Do the cosmic trust fall into the arms of ‘right now’ like every step you ever took, delivered you exactly where you’re meant to be.
Know meant to be is the name of your miracle.
My mom always says, “There isn’t a version of this where you don’t win.”
Trust your mom. Trust yourself. Trust pleasure. Trust the god of ecstasy, trust the good of all things meant for you are on their way to you and they can’t take a wrong turn. Trust the process, trust the messy, the middle, the can’t see the finish line, the cramp in your legs & the will to climb. Trust the dirt under your fingernails & the weather on the day you were born. Because Fear is lazy, and a poor use of creativity. Trust.
Violent Optimist Rule #3
Radical Acceptance
If it’s out of our control, and most of it is! We accept it- radically.
Throw a party for all the things you can’t control, light candles & eat cake!
Celebrate the fact that it’s not our job to judge it.
We’re just animals with technology, everchanging parts of nature.
Keep it movin’.
We aren’t machines, we aren’t static beings in a mechanistic world.
Praise the roadmap of your skin, the ways you stretch to fit all the goodness.
Bless the adapting body, the changing seasons, praise it all.
As Octavia Butler said, “The only lasting truth is Change. Change is God.”
Worship at the altar of temporary, leave pennies and feathers & prayers.
So what if the future’s uncertain? That means anything could happen! And in the aggressive optimist’s worldview, we inhabit a universe that dances in concert with benevolent forces unseen.
Do cartwheels on the ground floor of anything is possible. Keep walking and you can never be lost. Ride the waves of change like an expert surfer blissed out on sunshine. Accept the wild mystery, stand slackjawed at a parking lot sunset, kiss flowers, wed the unknown with a smile, and wink at the shadow of doubt.
We are not naive- we choose to believe in the infinite possibilities.
Because we’ve got trophies in triumphing over eighth-grade bullies AND the ones in our head. Because we’ve made a dollar out of 15 cents, cos we’ve hustled to make rent, been provided miracles when we were told nothing is left. Met God in a speakeasy and she said we made her believe in herself again. Stared death in the face and laughed, took shrapnel to the leg & still had the audacity to dance. It’s not easy but it’s the most fun you’ll ever have.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m a queer poet, teaching artist, shapeshifter, painter & auntie. I’m devoted to dancing, liberation, sleep & pleasure. I’m the co-founder of Poetic Justice, a program that teaches literacy and poetry to incarcerated people. I am on the committee for Spoken Word at Living Arts of Tulsa. I am of Mohawk, French, and Dutch descent, as a member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, I am working to reconnect with Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) Language and literacies. I’m working on my forthcoming collection of poetry to be released in April 2024. Both autobiography and self-help, this collection explores themes of awe and survival. I’ve been moved to expand my mediums and recently began painting poems and sapphic art on doors, clothes, chairs, and reclaimed canvases. I offer custom pieces and hand-written poems. As a teaching artist, I am available for workshops, residencies, and talks. I am always looking for collaborators and artists of all mediums. I think the world is better when we work together. I believe in community, that rest is radical, and that the world is better when we work together! You can find out more about me and all of my offerings at ** TheClaireCollins **
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
It’s interesting that optimism is possibly inherited- studies show that it can be both inheritable and a learned trait. It’s great news that optimism can be something we practice and learn! My optimism comes from trust, confidence, and acceptance. My advice would be to start in the middle. When things are difficult, I shift my perspective and often, don’t even entertain the ‘best’ case scenario, but one that furthers the plot. Maybe it’s a mid-case scenario, maybe it’s a situation that will be seen as a pivotal moment later. My optimism comes from being honest about my successes and my failures. It really helps to be able to accept things without judging them as good or bad. In the moment, they may seem to be, but often I’ve looked back and realized that those were actually positive experiences. Also, accepting that the world is in a constant state of change, and so are we.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m always looking to collaborate with other artists. I’ve been painting and would love to collaborate/learn from other visual artists. I’m also incredibly interested in working with more filmmakers and photographers. Acting was my first love and I would like to see more of my poems come to life on film. I’ve been lucky to collaborate with visionary filmmakers in the past who can hear a poem or story and be able to bring it to life with visuals. I recently had a showing of my short film, ‘I Love You Like Science’ at Circle Cinema as a part of Parla Fest and it was amazing to see it on the big screen. More of those moments, please!
Contact Info:
- Website: theclairecollins.com
- Instagram: @thereallclairecollins
- Facebook: facebook.com/foxycollins
Image Credits
Cornelius Johnson Jamieson Campo
