Admitting you made a mistake, let your mind wander, or actively started multi-tasking during a meeting used to be a big no-no in leadership. It was seen as unprofessional, irresponsible, or disrespectful. But aren’t we all guilty of doing that in meetings? After all, we are just people trying to survive in this increasingly fast-paced society. The news changes minute to minute, everyone is perpetually connected, and urgency underlines so many of our decisions. It’s hard not to be doing more than one thing at all times just to stay on top of workload, current events, and basic life necessities. As much as we would all like to be able to only focus on one thing at a time, that is not the way our world is going. So why are we still acting as if this is such a shameful and unprofessional thing?

Rest is not a luxury, a reward, or a productivity hack. It is a refusal to accept systems that demand constant output at the expense of our bodies, our communities, and our humanity. Rooted in Black liberation, rest as resistance asks us to slow down, ask harder questions, and reclaim our right to be human in a world that was never built for our softness or our survival.