By: W*SS
Based on the number of people with whom we regularly interact who are expressing feeling exhausted ... or sick ... or who are anxious and stressed, we thought we'd discuss "self-care" in today's TOD column.
We put "self-care" in quotations intentionally to stress that we're talking about a different type of movement than what has been co-opted as a wellness industry cliché. We're not talking about deep breathing, sea salts, or yoga retreats (although these practices could be part of one's personal solution).
Instead, we're talking about building a larger societal infrastructure that supports community care and mental health. We envision a system that contains inherent permission for pauses, processing, and reflection. In such a society/system, one taking time for oneself wouldn't be an individual issue, it would be a structural imperative, elemental to our community's survival.
You may be familiar with the Audre Lorde quote, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." Lorde wrote these words after being diagnosed with cancer for the second time. This sentiment by Lorde, from her book "A Burst of Light" inspired many in queer, feminist, and activist circles to return to the tools that serve to preserve their bodies that are literally in a constant state of fight or flight. Lorde was speaking about self-care as an act of preservation in a world that is hostile to our very identities.
What do you think? How is self-care a radical political act for your community? How can we begin to build the type of societal structures that support care?
Interested in sharing your own "Thought Of The Day" or TOTD? Email us at wss@msu.edu.
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