Making Time for Rest

"Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance, and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun."

Kent Nerburn

Noon - Rest from Work (after Millet), 1890 by Vincent Van Gogh

Advocating for Rest in the Workforce

Funding Black Joy and Self Care


Seattle Foundation’s Black-led Joy & Wellness Fund grants $540,000 to 29 King County Organizations. Audre Lorde once said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” I can’t help but reflect on what this civil rights activist and American writer meant by these words, that rest is not a luxury, but instead, is crucial for sustainability in the fight for liberation.


Seattle Foundation has been on a long journey to support those on the frontlines of injustices and inequities – redirecting resources to communities and leaders of Black-led and serving organizations. In doing so, we have also examined the role that philanthropy, including our historic underinvestment among these groups, has played in their fight for liberation. We are all called to do philanthropy differently.

Read more on this here!

How Supporting the Public Health Workforce is Public Health Innovation


Public health works in the background to keep all of us safe through evidence-based innovations such as vaccination, environmental protections, disease surveillance, and safer vehicles, housing and workplaces. Only when things don’t go according to plan or new threats emerge do we “see” public health working.


For years, policymakers have mistaken silent success stories for wasted public spending, cutting public sector funding for public health. This invisibility comes at a cost to our current and future wellbeing, contributing to an estimated budget shortfall of $20–24 billion in funding.




Photo by Sid Leigh on Unsplash

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If there is a way to heal from trauma, where does one start?

Rest as Reparations

Feminist authors like Audre Lorde and bell hooks have written about self-care as an instrument in the constant battle against oppression. "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare," wrote Ms. Lorde, living of cancer and the need to resist overextending herself. Many black people may still be trying to survive but that might look different now. Healers and facilitators who focus on meditation, yoga, breath work and rest, among other measures -- all of which, they say, can release trauma in the body -- are gaining momentum. 


Rest as Resistance



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Rest is Resistance, a Manifesto

by: Tricia Hersey


“Essential…Rest is a necessary step in reclaiming our power to resist systemic oppression.”

— Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped from the Beginning


Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy. In this book, Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice.


What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace –– feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit.


In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us.

Check it out here!

Going on vacation?

Safety Predictability and Control in Times of Crisis


In a time of crisis, like when dealing with the coronavirus, the tenants of safety, predictability, and control can help significantly in managing anxiety and stress

Podcast

Artwork by Laurent Hrybyk


Inner Health Studio Guided Meditation


Meditating often has a number of health benefits, such as better pain tolerance. IN addition, meditation will help you improve your memo ry, cope with stress more effectively (physical, mental, and emotional), sleep better, and have an improved immune system. 


Inner Health Studio offers free guided meditation audios for anyone to use.

Listen here!

Join the Conversation

PUBLIC WEBINAR

Voting & Health: Actions for Every Sector 

August 31, 2022 | 3:00-4:30 EDT 

A webinar on voting as a social determinant of health, levers available to support voting, and seizing the moment and providing resources


SUMMIT

2022 HEALTHCARE ADVOCATE SUMMIT

September 7-9 , 2022 | 5:00 PM EDT 

The Healthcare Advocate Summit recognizes that the Advocates working directly with the patients and medical staff can provide critical insights on improving the patient journey.


LIVESTREAM

Managing Stress in Challenging Times: A professional development and peer support program for health care workers

September 8 , 2022 | 1:00 - 4:00 PM EDT 

LISTEN HERE! 


WORKSHOP 

Exploring the Power of Youth Leadership in Creating Conditions for Health and Equity

September 19, 2022 | 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM PDT

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