Hola Reader,

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Thank you for the grace in adapting to this new rhythm. As we prepare for a new year after a grueling 2020, it feels all the more important to be honest with ourselves and others about what we need. Fittingly, the theme of today's letter is Rest.

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Reflection

Read on the Web

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What if there was a simple, free way to step out of your status quo, challenge broken socio- economic constructs, and take care of yourself at the same time? There is, and it’s napping.

Now, you may be asking yourself: “how is taking a nap going to undermine social inequity?” Hear me out….first let’s understand the constructs that napping is up against.

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The Grind & Self Care

First comes a major element of our dominant cultural narrative: the grind. This is the Capitalist/Patriarchal Status Quo that tells us that we are what we produce. It is embodied in the Protestant Work Ethic, the story of the American Dream, and by cadres of “inspirational speakers”.

The second construct is “Self Care”, which in its modern definition, is largely necessitated by grind culture. Our fore-bearers probably didn’t need CBD to be able to sleep because they were tired from working the land. They didn’t need long bubble baths because they weren’t being told by their coffee cups to “Hustle All Damn Day”. And I can almost guarantee you that they were waking up at 4:30 am to feed their animals, not to complete a 17-step “magic morning” routine that promised to make them a millionaire.

Self care ostensibly seems like it would be at odds with the hustle and grind narrative. After all, it’s touted as the antidote to burnout. Here’s the thing though, a huge part of the Wellness industry and community subscribes 100% to the sanctity of the grind. Think supplement companies that try to sell you powders and potions to “boost performance” or meditation programs designed to make you more focused at work. The end motivation of all of this is always just to produce more. To be a bigger, more powerful cog in the machine.

Self care has been having a moment, well a year, in 2020. Given the nature of this year, It has been less focused on performance enhancement and more on the kind of Hygge self care that looks oh so cozy on Instagram.

COVID forced most of the world to stay and home and to try to cope with uncertainty, anxiety and being homebound. Thankfully, an open conversation about mental health and self care made its way into the dominant discourse. While the increased visibility of these issues, and the explicitness of the needs for companies to care for their employees wellbeing, are certainly long overdue, there is also the commercialized nature of even restorative Self Care.

Instagram is perhaps the native habitat of commercialized self care. Every influencer wants you to buy their favorite smoothie powder, or jade roller, or $45 bag of bath salts….all in the name of self care. As a $4.2 Trillion a year industry, wellness is just that: an industry. That wants to sell you stuff. Taking care of yourself is completely valid. Being told you need to spend a bunch of money to do so? Not so much.

Now, I dwell in an interesting nexus of the Wellness, Productivity, and Entrepreneurial worlds. Both my day job and my consulting revolve around various elements of these industries. I wouldn’t work in these realms if I didn’t see the upsides, the hidden gems and the meaning that lies therein. However, since I know them intimately I am also deeply aware of the seas of bullshit, martyrdom, and coercive marketing that make up large parts of their territory.

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Rest as Resistance

Which is why I resonate with the idea of Rest as Resistance. Napping is not only an act of self love and renewal, but also a bit revolutionary. Here’s why:

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1. Napping, just napping - not power napping with the goal of increased productivity - has no material outcome other than feeling rested.
2. The industrial revolution promised more leisure time, but capitalism demands we fill that time either with more work or with consumption. Napping is neither.
3. Napping doesn’t require you to buy shit. Ok, maybe you want a soft eye mask to block out some ambient light in the afternoon. But you could also just pull your hoodie over your eyes and be good.

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Napping is true self care that nourishes our nervous system and feels luxurious. Rest is an integral part of our holistic wellbeing. Just as productivity is. Humans are meaning making machines. Producing something of value - whether it’s an object, a meal, art, or a business - is an ingredient in the nuanced recipe of fulfillment.

So let’s honor both sides of this coin. Producing things of value is valid and important - and need not be in service to an exploitative consumer economy. Rest is valid and important - and need not be in service to being more productive. Both are parts of the human experience and should be embraced and explored with an even handed approach. That alone is an act of resistance.

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Audio-Visual Landscape

Equally good for chilling or a writing session, UTAH is a collaboration of producers Zane Callister and Jared Logan. They weave together diverse influences from jazz, hip-hop and alternative rock to create melodic soundscapes. It's the kind of up-beat but relaxed production that reminds me of floaty powder days snowboarding in Colorado....not a bad memory to stir up.

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Dot Connecting

On the liberating power of rest, one of the best sources is The Nap Ministry. The movement is best explained in their own words:

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Personal Eco-System

This might be obvious.....but, yea....it's naps. Now in my third trimester of pregnancy, I'm getting serious about my nap game again. You don't have to be pregnant to benefit from a nap, though. There is good evidence that naps can improve cognition, learning, memory consolidation and emotional regulation. Especially since most people are working from home right now, and may have some flexibility on work schedules, it's a good idea to try to work in at least a cat nap in the afternoon. The sweet spot appears to be around 20 minutes for a quick refresher. On days you need more rest, aim to max out at 90 minutes. Any more than that can impact your nighttime sleep or make you overly groggy for the rest of the day.

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Please send me feedback, or just say hi, by hitting reply. As always, I would be most grateful if you would share this letter with a friend and invite them to Subscribe HERE.

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In Service,

Kate

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