Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto

by Tricia Hersey

I don’t want a seat at the table of the oppressor. I want a blanket and pillow down by the ocean. I want to rest. I dream of a well-rested world outside of the toxic systems in place now.

It’s time to go deep into the cracks of who we are as humans to be able to make sense of our world. Capitalism is new and our bodies are ancient. Grind culture has created a bunch of exhausted, disconnected, and traumatized people moving through life, unable to tap into their true power. We need rest to connect back to ourselves and dream.

To resist means to soften into the powerful proposal of thriving right now. Of not waiting for permission from a toxic culture that blocks justice and moves from a spiritually deficient place.

Any system that degrades and ignores our divine right to have care, rest, leisure, and space must be examined and illuminated. The time is up for any shallow wellness work that doesn’t speak about dismantling the systems that are making us unwell. We must blame and interrogate the systems. They are the problem.

What would happen if we could collectively imagine that we have everything we need?