Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto

by Tricia Hersey

I trust myself more than capitalism.

I am in awe at what our bodies can hold. We must lighten our loads. Survival is not the end goal for liberation. We must thrive. We must rest.

Imagine a world without oppression. Take more time here. Visualize softness. Breathe deep. Envision a world centered in justice. Stay here.

We will no longer be a martyr for grind culture. Grind culture is a collaboration between white supremacy and capitalism. It views our divine bodies as machines. Our worth is not connected to how much we produce.

TENETS OF THE NAP MINISTRY Rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy. Our bodies are a site of liberation. Naps provide a portal to imagine, invent, and heal. Our DreamSpace has been stolen and we want it back. We will reclaim it via rest.

Hold silence with me now. Take a deep, full breath. Hold for four seconds. Release the shame you feel when resting. It does not belong to you.

He would repeat, “You are a child of God divinely appointed and chosen to be on Earth.”

Sleep deprivation is a public health issue and a racial justice issue. There is a large body of research that points to the sleep gap that exists between Black Americans and white Americans.

To rest is to creatively respond to grind culture’s call to do more.

Rest isn’t a luxury, but an absolute necessity if we’re going to survive and thrive. Rest isn’t an afterthought, but a basic part of being human. Rest is a divine right. Rest is a human right. We come into the world prepared to love, care, and rest. The systems kill us slowly via capitalism and white supremacy. Rest must interrupt. Like hope, rest is disruptive, it allows space for us to envision new possibilities. We must reimagine rest within a capitalist system.

Our drive and obsession to always be in a state of “productivity” leads us to the path of exhaustion, guilt, and shame. We falsely believe we are not doing enough and that we must always be guiding our lives toward more labor. The distinction that must be repeated as many times as necessary is this: We are not resting to be productive. We are resting simply because it is our divine right to do so. That is it!

We will be healing from our brainwashing from grind culture forever. We must be vigilant about the ways in which we will flow in and out of the grips of grind culture. There will be days when you will be pulled back into the system and will find yourself spinning, dizzy with the effects of hyperproductivity. The work is to first gain deep awareness that the pace at which this culture is functioning is not normal or sustainable. This understanding offers an invitation for the collective pilgrimage we are on as we attempt to disrupt and push back against a system that has no pause button. Stay here for a while. Stay in the space of knowing that you are not a failure, inadequate or unworthy because you are tired and want to rest.

True liberation to me is to not be constantly attempting to prove our worth and ticking off to-do lists. To just be. I love the idea and concept of simply existing and just being for Black folks.

You can begin to create a “Not-To-Do List” as you gain the energy to maintain healthy boundaries.

Detox from social media weekly, monthly, or more.

Start a daily practice in daydreaming.

You are not resting to gain energy to be more productive and to do more.

Rest must be practiced daily until it becomes our foundation.

Rest simplified my life. It made things possible that felt impossible before.

There is massive knowledge and wisdom lying dormant in our exhausted and weary bodies and hearts.

For many, rest is not a familiar proposition. It can be unsettling to experience the unknown ways rest can save you. We must continue to learn, trust, and experiment. If we lose hope, we must take to our beds and dream ways to find motivation again.

shape with my exhausted body reading the book Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies

They are exposed to the lie that their worth is determined by how much they can accomplish constantly and it’s reaffirmed and rewarded when they push their bodies to the limit to do well in classes. Many also begin to pour themselves into the life of perfectionism, which is a function of white supremacy.

You don’t have to grind, hustle, accept burnout as normal, and be in a constant state of exhaustion and sleep deprivation. You don’t have to kill yourself spiritually or physically to live a fruitful life. This connection work is about restoring, remembering, reimagining, reclaiming, reparations, and redemption. Learning to make a way out of no way and seeing to the other side of trauma. It is believing you are worthy of rest because you are alive.

What is your soul saying? Is your soul already resisting the terror of grind culture quietly and unconsciously? Is the idea of rest as a form of resistance appealing to you because it touches you in a way that is beyond comprehension?

for this Ministry, I would easily say it’s the book Slavery’s Exiles: The Story of the American Maroons by Sylviane A. Diouf.

Do not let your lack of money and possessions make you feel negative about your worth as a human being. Do not let your credit score, man-made poverty, and/or racism define your extreme power. Your body is a site of liberation. Rest in your true power. Your birth was not a coincidence. Your coming to Earth is a divine occurrence. They will tell you differently. It will be your life’s lesson to fight for your life to not listen to them.

Our bodies are a site of liberation; therefore, wherever our bodies are, we can embody rest.

a mantra and a meditation. Productivity should not look like exhaustion. The concept of laziness is a tool of the oppressor.

Resting is not a state of inactivity or a waste of time. Rest is a generative space. When you are resting your body, it is in its most connected state. Your organs are regenerating. Your brain is processing new information. You are connecting with a spiritual practice. You are honoring your body. You are being present.

I include a detox from social media as a part of my Sabbath because social media is labor and, as an extension of capitalism, it wants to keep you always drooling for more. We are never full as we scroll for hours, get into debates about things we know to be true, fight off internet trolls and those stealing our intellectual scholarship. The entitlement we feel to the inner workings of people’s lives is satisfied by our repetitive interactions online.

A truth that is uncomfortable for many to hear and swallow is this: Once we have internalized capitalism and are deep into the cycle of brainwashing, we don’t want to rest, we don’t know how to rest, and we don’t make space for others to rest.

In her essay for Essence magazine in 2000, “A Few Rules for Predicting the Future,” Octavia Butler shares a powerful truth related to imagination: “The very act of trying to look ahead to discern possibilities is an act of hope.”

The father of Afrofuturism is Sun Ra

The idea of justice being unrealistic is deeply embedded in our psyche.

As Dr. King said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed.”

Take to your beds. Accept all you have ignored and then rest more. What does your body want? What does your soul need?