Grind culture.
Be productive. Generative. Hustling. Busy. Available.
This idea that we must be “on” and offering our abilities, our time, and ourselves has been aptly named grind culture. Thankfully, some voices are calling out the temptation to do more and more.
How can we respond to grind culture when it seeps into our practice of ministry? What can practices of self care and sabbath say to us?
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This week, Eileen Campbell-Reed is enjoying some time away to rest and rejuvenate. Many thanks to Erin Robinson Hall for todayโs post. So, let us take a look at what self care and sabbath can look like.
Sabbath
Sabbath is countercultural. “To practice Sabbath with any consistency one needs a community of practice or a sense of calling to keep growing in the practice.” It may be most helpful when both calling and community are available to support the spiritual practice of weekly Sabbath keeping.
The Nap Ministry
The Nap Ministry was founded in 2016 by Tricia Hersey and is an organization that examines the liberating power of naps. ย With creative performance art and experiences, this ministry claims โREST IS RESISTANCE.โ
The practice of rest is a framework for this ministry. ย “We facilitate immersive workshops and curate performance art that examines rest as a radical tool for community healing.ย We believe rest is a form of resistance and name sleep deprivation as a racial and social justice issue.”
Founder Tricia Hersey reminds us,
โDisrupt and push back against a system that views you as a machine. You are not a machine.”
Self Care in Community
Dr. Stephanie Crumpton offered some tremendous wisdom for self care in Three Minute Ministry Mentor Season 2ย
If we are going to do the work of advocating for change, we cannot lose sight of our need for self care. And if we are going to maintain energy for everything from protests to pastoral care, then we need to stay connected with our communities. Thus, we need mutual support and encouragement toward self care for the long-term. As Dr. Crumpton points out, self care is not merely a solitary practice. It is something we need to learn and do in community.
Permission Granted
These days can be hard. We are still in the midst of a pandemic, and still learning best practices for these days.
Sometimes you need a little boost. Permission to do the thing we need most to make it through the day. Rest. Breathe. Nap. Say No. Pray. Dream.
What if you had a permission slip to remind you that you CAN do exactly what you need to do? The #pandemicpermissionproject is just that.
Your permission slip is here. Give yourself all the permission you need to do the thing. We are offering this set of cards to you – A free download when you subscribe to our 3MMM email.
Grab your set of permission slips, and stick them on your desk, your car, your mirror as a reminder ย . . . Permission granted – to thrive!
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How will you reject the idea of exhaustion and hustle, and create spaces for self care and sabbath?
