Powering Resistance with Tea

I'm returning to a simple ritual to help me stay grounded and hopeful

Photo by 360floralflaves on Unsplash

I almost didn’t write this post. Even now as I begin, I wonder whether I will finish. I am tired. These days tiredness seems less a temporary state and more a permanent trait, a combination of job stress, fibromyalgia, and…what do you call it when a federal agency is kidnapping babies and killing people in the street?

I finished teaching my January intensive course, “Self-Care for Ministry and the Helping Professions,” on Wednesday. Every year I tell students that this is the most important class I will teach them. I also tell them that I’m teaching the course mainly for myself. We met 9 times over a 2-1/2 week period. Our books included Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell and Jason Byassee’s Faithful and Fractured, Walter Brueggemann’s Sabbath as Resistance, Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance, and my book, Sacred Self-Care.

We didn’t just talk about self-care; we practiced it. We were scheduled to meet 12 days, but allotted 3 days for reading, writing, and practicing self-care. I started each class with a centering practice. We made ourselves stop and take breaks even the conversation was rich. The day we discussed Rest Is Resistance, we took an extra long rest break. On Friday, students turned in their self-care rule of life as their final assignment.

Still, no matter how great the class (and it was phenomenal), nine days of three-hour sessions on Zoom is exhausting, at least it is for me. For the past two weeks, I’ve had just enough energy each day to meditate, exercise, prep and teach class, and cook dinner. Everything else was on hold. Next week’s to-do list is frighteningly long. And I haven’t even added “do something to resist this fascist administration” to the list yet.

Honestly, I’m struggling to keep my head above water. I’m overwhelmed by the news coming out of Minnesota and the rumors of the immigration raids happening in my own city. As an African American who was reared in a racially conscious family, none of this is new to me. It’s always been open season on Black people in this country. The violence isn’t new, but the targets are (at least since the 1960s). If the government can assassinate White people in the street and face no consequences, the situation is dire for Black people, who have always been Amerikkka’s permissible victims. It is overwhelming. It makes me feel powerless.

Resting and caring for myself renews my energy so that I remember that I am not powerless. So while the to-do list is long, I am resisting the temptation to get started on it. Yesterday I rested all day. Today I am hanging out with my family by the fireplace. I am starting a new Lego kit and probably doing some yin yoga. But first, tea.

Tea Time

I drink tea almost daily. My tea used to be more ritualized: choosing the blend for the day, selecting the mug, sitting somewhere quiet in the morning to drink. Lately it’s become more regimented. I default to the same green rooibos tea that I drink solely for the antioxidants. The homemade blends that I really enjoy are languishing.

I have been making my own tea blends for about six years now. I got into it when my oncology naturopath suggested what she called “brain-boosting tea” as a remedy to chemo brain fog. The original recipe was a blend of peppermint, spearmint, and rosemary. I have tweaked it over the years. It’s a great mental energy boost and I used to drink it every morning. But I ran out at the end of the semester and then forgot all about it. This morning I pulled out my tea-making supplies.

Every time I post something about my tea blends on social media, people ask for the recipes so I thought I’d share them. I buy most of my supplies from Mountain Rose Herbs. In the past I’ve used iHerb and Amazon. The upfront cost of buying your own leaves is higher, but the savings over time is big. I rarely buy premade teas anymore.

Here are the two blends I made today. These work really well together, so I’ve got a combination of both in my favorite tea mug as I write this (yes, I have different mugs for coffee and for tea).

I don’t sell tea but I sometimes package them and offer them as gifts.

Brain-Boosting Tea Blend

I usually start my work mornings with this one. I use half an ounce of each of the following because that fits perfectly into my container, but you can use equal parts of any of these:

• Peppermint leaves

• Spearmint leaves

• Dried rosemary

• Gotu kola

• Moringa leaves

• Oatstraw

To use, steep 1 tablespoon of the blend in 8 ounces of water for at least 10 minutes; then strain and drink warm. This is a mild-flavored tea that can also be mixed with other tea blends. It’s great with honey if you want to drink it on its own.

Joint Together

This anti-inflammatory blend uses Mountain Rose Herbs Turmeric-Ginger tea along with hibiscus and lemongrass. You can also just use dried ginger, turmeric, and black pepper in places of the turmeric-ginger blend. And if you prefer rooibos, it works well in places of the hibiscus. I’ve given this one as gifts and people love the flavor.

Ingredients:

• 3oz dried turmeric-ginger tea

• 2oz hibiscus tea

• .5oz lemongrass tea

I use one teaspoon in 8 ounces of water for this one. Steep for 3-4 minutes.

No ICE in My Tea

Today it’s tea. Tomorrow I’m calling my senators to ask them to defund ICE. Last week the House passed a stand-alone appropriations bill that will maintain ICE’s current funding for 2026. Congress holds the power of the purse. Let them know that we don’t want our money being used to terrorize law-abiding citizens and immigrants. The 5 Calls app is a great way to stay informed about actions you can take. It will tell you who to call and even provide a script of what to say. Fascism thrives on silence. Make your voice heard.

What are you doing to care for yourself this week? How are you shoring yourself up to resist? Leave a comment and let us know.

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