the revolution of rest
We are in a changing world. Every day we are invaded by an apocalyptic reality: COVID-19 cases are on the rise, Black folks and People of Color are still systemically targeted and oppressed, we do not know if our children can safely return to school, and the economy continues to decline.
After reading that list, take a pause. What happened in your body? Where did your thoughts go? Are you holding any tension in your body? Are your palms sweating? Did your anxiety rise? Are your thoughts racing?
If you are like me, when I get hooked and start to process our changing, broken world, I have a trauma-like response: my anxiety kicks me in the gut, my heart races, and I am flooded with questions: What’s next? What can I do to help? How can I gain some control?
Amid a global pandemic and racial reckoning, we are in a constant state of grief. With every transition comes loss. We are grieving the loss of security, predictability, and stability.
We exist in a world that encourages productivity and punishes rest. We are repeatedly asked to do more, say yes, and to get involved. But we are not humans doing; we are human beings.
The very act of taking rest is a revolutionary act. Queer Black Poet Audre Lorde states, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
There is great risk in not taking necessary rest. Chronic stress can spike cortisol levels and put us at risk of anxiety, depression, a lowered immune system, cognitive issues, heart problems, and gut issues (National Institute of Mental Health). Rest and connection regulate cortisol levels and reduce anxiety. Rather than being self-indulgent, rest and connection serve to heal the body by regulating cortisol levels and reducing anxiety.
Yet rest does not mean we stop learning or stop being uncomfortable. For white and privileged folks, it is imperative to lean into the work of uncovering racial biases, dialogue with our friends and family about white privilege, and continue to learn about the historical trauma and violence Black bodies have endured through systemic racism and oppression. Rest enables action.
In a world that does not give us permission to take breaks, how then can we set a boundary for rest? Here are a few practices that I use daily to slow down, breathe, and make intentional space to heal.
Ask yourself what do you really need, not just what do you think you need. For example, I may think my body needs to move and that if I have a twenty-minute break, I should maximize it with a high intensity workout. Instead I pause, reflect, and check in on what I’m available for. Will a walk around the block restore me more than an intense workout?
Mindfulness is a great resource for managing stress and anxiety. It helps move you from doing into being. I practice a simple breathing exercise. I count my breath, one on the inhale, and two on the exhale, until I am more focused and centered.
Sleep! Take naps! Give yourself permission that rest, literal rest, is okay. Is necessary. Is right.
Additional resources for doing the work and for radically resting:
The Nap Ministry: This theme was inspired by the work of The Nap Ministry. The Nap Ministry was founded in 2016 by Black activist Tricia Hersey and it examines the liberating power of naps through performance art, installations, and community organizing.
