Rest Is Resistance - Tricia Hersey
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey is a powerful manifesto that guides readers to first understand and accept, and then slowly overcome, their capitalist conditioning.
Hersey argues that capitalism has brainwashed us into believing that to be of value, we must always be productive. She writes of how capitalism conditions us to work at machine-like paces, and how when we internalise this conditioning, we believe that our worth is tied to our productivity. Hersey’s argument sparked a lightbulb moment of realisation in me; for a while now I have been attempting to unlearn this very message, that my value and worth is tied to my output or how many external goals I achieve. I have been for a while now attempting to carve out space to rest, recognising this as an important thing to do, but perhaps not for the right reasons. “Rest is part of the productivity cycle!”, I often say to people. But I’ve been missing something fundamental, something that I’ve been reminded of in Rest is Resistance. Namely, that the goal of rest is not to become ever more productive. It is rest for rest’s sake.
Hersey asserts throughout the work that rest is not something to be earned or deserved. It is our right as human beings. I am deeply grateful for this oft-repeated reminder from the manifesto, as it has helped me to continue to free myself from grind culture.
So - we’ve accepted that we have been conditioned into constant productivity by capitalism. Now what? Hersey’s delightful remedy is imagination.
The author explains that she frequently has people saying to her that, while they like her work in theory, but they simply cannot rest. They don’t have the time! They have to work!
Hersey pushes back against this mindset. She writes that if we wait for our current systems - our jobs, or capitalism in general - to grant us permission to rest, we will be waiting all our lives. We need to imagine new ways of being, now. Use your creative mind to envision a more restful life, a more rested you. It might be difficult, but what resistance isn’t?
The author suggests incorporating naps, daydreaming and social media detoxes into our routines as much as we can (and if you can’t do much to start, remember that’s okay. Take an hour break from your phone. Lie down for 20 minutes. The world will keep turning, I promise).
The work is largely self-help, but it is so much more than that. It is wrong to review Rest is Resistance without mentioning that the work has deep roots in Black history (Hersey makes connections between modern capitalism and slavery), Black theology (Hersey’s father was a preacher and pastor) and afrofuturism. The work is at times deeply philosophical, but this is counterbalanced by Hersey’s trickster humour.
While white readers are not necessarily the target audience, I do believe that we all have much to gain by supporting Hersey’s work and reading this book. Let’s slow down. We can imagine new, different and healthier ways to be.
As Tricia Hersey says: We will rest!
Header credit: Wanderlust
