Words Seetal Solanki

Satya incense sticks

In my culture, sense is a really big thing because it’s all about cleansing space. I never want to bring anything from the previous day into the present day: every day is new, so it’s important for me to burn incense, sage or palo santo. I use different Satya incense sticks depending on the mood I’m in. It’s a morning ritual that takes place on a daily basis, regardless of where I'm going or what I'm doing, and it sets the pace of my day.

Mala beads

While I’m burning incense, I recite my morning mantras, which are also reflective of the space I want to arrive at during the day. I use these mala beads, which I made myself in Bali. We got to bless them in a temple which was such a beautiful thing; very heartfelt and touching. I’ve carried them with me ever since. Sometimes I wear them on me, or carry them with me if I’m walking around. They are like an extra layer of protection.

Kaweco Rollerball pen

This refillable pen has been with me for many years now, and it’s indispensable to travel with. It’s very ergonomic, and it has a nice weight to it too. Whenever I’m writing with it, it feels very intentional, but I don’t feel like everything I write has to be perfect. I do a lot of note taking, scribbling and doodling, and this pen also feels very freeing.

Are.na online repository

Are.na is an open-source repository that is great for online research and going down rabbit holes. It’s perfect for searching for images, learning about others’ thought processes, or organising your own thoughts. You can create your own channels or boards, and people can share their sources of knowledge. It becomes like a whole web of connection.

Movement

I work out pretty much every single day. I do a combination of calisthenics, Pilates, yoga and running. A lot of the work I do is research-first, and it can be very mind-numbing, so movement helps me to feel more embodied in what I’m doing. I usually run on Hackney Marshes, which helps me to connect with nature.

Cooking

For me, cooking is very much like working with materials: understanding how things are made, and how things can get transformed from one thing to another, from a base level of understanding a raw ingredient. I started cooking at around the age of five, so it’s a part of me. From an early age, I learned to make the most out of what you have, stretching one ingredient in various ways and never wasting anything. Cooking is very practical, and it allows me to feel really present and appreciative. Eggs are an ingredient I could never do without. I buy them in boxes of 30, and I use them in most meals.

Sharing brain space

This usually comes in the form of a walk and talk with friends. It’s really important for me to share brain space with people that I trust and respect, and it’s like having a sounding board. Combining it with a walk means that the processing can happen more easily, rather than feeling static or stuck. It has enabled me to really challenge myself despite the limitations I might set for myself, so I can expand rather than contract. Whatever the challenge is, it becomes a bit more manageable and diminished after sharing it with others. Having these disciplines allows me to live the life I want to live, without having to think about things too deeply all of the time. Last time we went to Highgate and took the scenic route down the green path along the railway. It’s very intuitive; we just follow our noses, essentially.

Elimination

I try not to overload myself, so I’ve been eliminating rather than adding. It’s been very liberating, but it’s still new and unfamiliar to me, as I no longer have many objects in my life to attach myself to. I’ve just finished Ramadan, which I’ve never done before. I'm not Muslim by faith, but I wanted to see how I could manage within that space for that period of time, and also be in solidarity with my friends and family in the Muslim community. The clarity that emerges is incredible. I have a lot of respect for people that do it on a yearly basis. I would do it again, because I learned a lot about myself in terms of what I can live without.

Ma-tt-er was founded in 2015 in order to readdress our relationship with the planet by understanding what it’s made of. It is focused on building and bridging kinships between ourselves, materials, the immaterial and virtual. It aims to reorient mindsets, behaviours and mechanisms towards futures that are caring and respectful, while providing ecological and nuanced strategies that are antifragile, elastic and response-able. Upcoming projects include collaborations with Polestar and Civic Square in Birmingham: @ma_tt_er; @seetalsolanki

Photography credits: © Sebastian Petrovski; © Seetal Solanki