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In doing this work of liberation against the seemingly never-ending brutality of supremacy systems, I’ve struggled with depression, anxiety, loss of morale and even suicidal urges.
For me, self-care is spiritual warfare to reclaim our hearts, minds, souls, bodies, revolutionary imaginations, relationships, communities and society from the devastating whispers and feelings fostered by supremacy systems, and internalized in many of us, that tell us we are worthless, wrong, insignificant, and that everything we are doing for justice will fundamentally fail.
Self-care in my life, includes prayer, playing with my kids, loving my partner and my community, it’s reading, going for a walk or the gym, or watching superhero movies, but most importantly, it is a spiritual practice that affirms my worth, the tenderness of my heart, the gorgeousness of our messy movement, the recognition of our people’s victories throughout history, and a daily refusal, “supremacy systems, you cannot have me or my people and you will be defeated”, said just as Storm of the X-Men would.
I encourage you to think about activities that nourish you, make you smile, connect you to the people you love, activities that help you feel alive. I encourage you to prioritize what you have known in your heart that you need, but have felt like you never have the time for — therapy, spiritual community, removing the barriers that keep you from the love and life you want, and replacing them with the habits that bring you back to the beauty and possibilities of your life.
When you take stock of how much of our lives is spent in fear, self-loathing self-talk, projecting our pain on to others, and how all of this impacts our relationships and our liberation efforts, we can see that it isn’t about not having the time, it’s about taking time away from the feelings of inadequacy and the dynamics they create, all fostered and encouraged by supremacy systems, and devoting that time and energy into restoring the wholeness of our humanity and vulnerable intimacy with ourselves and others.
I encourage you to place the struggle to care for yourself, in the larger struggle to get free from supremacy systems that devalue our lives in the pursuit of profit and ruling power. I encourage you to see acts of caring for yourself as part of being an activist for revolutionary change, rather then an escape from it, an escape to feel guilty about.
Self-care, when placed in this context, in about the revolutionary overthrow of the death culture of supremacy systems in our lives, united with the work of revolutionary transformation of our society from white supremacist capitalist patriarchy to collective liberation.
Let’s get free, individually and collectively.
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Original article appeared at Medium. Republished with permission.
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Photo credit: Getty Images