Rest in a Restless Age

It's true that we need to organize, but maybe we need to rest first

Tomorrow is the inauguration. It seems like the universe is sticking its middle finger up at us by timing it on the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. Between progressive activists’ calls to get ready for the fight ahead and media reminders that the holiday is not a day off but rather a day of service, there’s a strong sense that we should all do something tomorrow. But for many of us, it may be that the thing we need to do is rest.

I am on sabbatical for the spring semester. Academic sabbaticals are periods of rest from teaching, advising, committee, and administrative obligations, but they are not periods of rest from work. A sabbatical is supposed to yield fruit in the form of research, writing, or other scholarly endeavors. Many faculty enter sabbatical ready to get to work on their next project, only to find themselves exhausted and unable to do anything at all for the first four to six weeks.

With that in mind, I put myself on mandatory rest for the first month. Initially, I scheduled only one event: the Harmonize Your Life retreat in Costa Rica, the premier self-care retreat for Black women (I’m claiming that vision with you, Dr. Toni!). I spoke at the retreat, but that’s not why I chose to go. I decided to go because I needed it. I can’t imagine a better way to kick off my sabbatical than with three full days in a remote part of Costa Rica, surrounded by 120 supportive and nurturing Black women, and learning from sisters like Dr. Antoinette Alvarado, Cheryl Polote Williamson, Dr. Jeanne Porter King, Dr. Valerie Bridgeman, and others. It was exactly what I needed. Here’s a video that I recorded on the final day.

My time in Costa Rica helped me to settle into a feeling of deep restfulness. Creativity and innovation require restfulness and I’d been lacking up. Dreams - some forgotten, some new - started bubbling up to the surface. I felt clarity about who I want to be, what I want to do, and what I need to do that. I was ready to make some changes that support my wellness and creativity.

Those changes included canceling my planned trip to DC next week for a gathering of Christian leaders. After the election, I was infected by the “we need to get organized” energy and I decided to go to the gathering despite my exhaustion. It’s true that we will need organized resistance to this administration. A lot of us are at risk under US oligarchy: Black people and other people of color, immigrants, LGBTQIA persons, women and girls, poor and working class people…essentially anybody who is not aligned with the interests of wealthy White cishet people.

That, however, won’t happen this month. We have four years under this administration, even longer under this Supreme Court, and who knows how long under oligarchy. We need long-term strategies. We also need creativity and innovation because we’ve been in reactive mode for too long. And that requires rest.

Black women especially need to rest. We’ve been carrying the weight of trying to heal this country for too long. And our bodies tell the story of our exhaustion.

So over the next few months, you can find me here on Substack. And I may meet some of you in the hush harbors organized by us and for us. Other than that, I’ll be spending lots of time with myself, my family, and Black women who inspire and sustain me.

Four years ago, I gave a sermon at the Princeton University chapel service called “Rest in a Restless Age.” This morning I had to review it to remind myself of what I already know.

What does your soul need in the way of rest? What permission do you need to give yourself in order to experience restfulness? Leave a comment and let us know.