Care
Care

Care

Co-existing in a flawed system, in rest, in care: Reflections from the #ShiftThePower Global Summit.

As I edit this draft that was originally started in December shortly after the summit (which I decided to shelve to go for my annual break) I remember the power of rest that resounded throughout the summit. I remember the curiosity on the faces of over 700 people. I remember the tranquility room where I once napped, and I was joined by a participant who was having her prayers. I remember how we both co-existed in that space, her in her prayers, me in my half sleep/siesta and there was a powerful message within that moment that has stayed with me ever since. That we can co-exist, in rest and in care. 

Reflections on rooting collective care in systems change

I ended 2022 with a health scare and I have spent the majority of 2023 so far preoccupied with the notion of collective care and solidarity in movement building. As part of my exploration, I have been reading Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey where she argues that rest should be a form of radical political resistance and that “To uplift rest from a community care ethic is to interrupt the dominant culture while giving power back to the people where it belongs.”