Lately, I’ve been thinking about rest, and how we can intentional build rest into our systems of care. What does a network of care look like when we care for our rest? What does a network of care look like if we build around the idea of supporting those most impacted & exhausted by oppression? ⁣

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Exploring the intersections of rest, creativity, and liberation can move us towards imagining futures where our rest & care are honored. Doing so can move us towards sustainable networks that operate outside of burnout and exhaustion.⁣

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After I graduated, I didn’t write for about a year. During a lot of that time, I was angry with myself for what felt like an inability to create, and terrified that I would forget that my creativity would abandon me. ⁣

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It took some time to work through, but I’ve come to see rest as an essential part of my creative practice. I need time to just be, to sit still, to quiet. Sometimes creativity needs time to rest, to quiet, to do nothing at all. ⁣

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Creatives put so much pressure on themselves to produce. What does your creative practice when it abandons outside expectations, projections, or needs for validation? ⁣

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Every few weeks I go through periods where my mind needs to chill, play, rewatch Avatar, color, let my imagination go free without the need to produce. ⁣

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Capitalism creates ideas that our value is linked to our productive capacity, that we are unworthy of care, love, or kindness if we don’t produce. Unlearning these ideas of productivity and leaning into rest as a practice is a way in which we can explore and build creative ecosystems, both for ourselves and for our communities. ⁣

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Wishing yall much sweetness today. Take a nap, draw a flower, write yourself a love letter. Your creativity is always a source within you.