Founding father of the Nap Ministry Tricia Hersey has created a startling, beneficiant new work in Relaxation Is Resistance. Grounding her debut e-book in Black liberation theology, abolitionist traditions and Afrofuturism, Hersey gives a blueprint for rejecting the calls for of recent capitalism in favor of our collective well being and social progress.
Hersey delineates American society as one in disaster. By analysis and private anecdotes, she demonstrates how our tradition has systematically prioritized the technology of wealth above our well being, happiness and stability—and subsequently romanticized this dysfunction as “grind tradition” or “hustle tradition.” For Hersey, embracing relaxation is an inherent rebuke of a violent system constructed on coerced labor and white supremacy. It’s an intentional opt-out of an ideology that calls for the labor of Black girls whereas deriding us as lazy. She can also be fast to denounce the trendy wellness trade that has commodified and individualized self-care as one thing that may be packaged and offered (candles, shakes, crystals, and many others.).
As a part of this rejection of “shallow wellness work,” Hersey does extra than simply clarify the issues of recent capitalism; she additionally gives sensible strategies of resistance by quite a lot of resting practices. Hersey argues that prayer, daydreams, sleep and intense laughter should not simply gratifying however sacred balms. However on the forefront of this work is the understanding that these non secular practices transcend the person. In keeping with Hersey, cultivating relaxation honors the labor of our ancestors and guarantees a greater world for our descendants.
Hersey’s prose is exquisitely stunning, dripping with lyrical grace and knowledge that make her background as a poet and scholar apparent. Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler and bell hooks are named inspirations for her craft, and their work echoes all through Hersey’s considering. “I don’t desire a seat on the desk of the oppressor,” Hersey writes as she desires of a greater future for us all. “I desire a blanket and pillow down by the ocean.” Relaxation Is Resistance is a e-book to learn and reread with a pen in hand and pad beside you; one which you’ll discover your self wanting to present to buddies, co-workers and strangers.
