Do you need some time off from the extractive systems that are working overtime right now?
Join me (virtually) this weekend for some time away from the noise and bad news that feels so hard to escape from
I grew up with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, complete with popcorn and Pilgrims. Throughout my 20s and 30s, I loved the whole myth from friendly Indigenous people kindly helping new settlers survive the winter to the Martha Stewart-inspired dinner table staple, “let’s go around the table and share what we’re grateful for.”
All of which erases the violence of settler colonialism, obscures what white Americans actually did to Native Americans, and neglects how these systems continue to harm all of us today,
Then there’s the barrage of commercials that declare “Black Friday is here.”
So, yeah. I’m feeling grumpy and petty, and it looks like I’m not the only one.
Have you heard of “Mass Blackout?” It’s a coordinated effort by dozens of progressive organizations to encourage regular folks like you and me to opt out of buying things over the coming week—and especially this coming Friday-Saturday-Sunday.
Mass Blackout is convenient for me to join because our budget is being stretched more than ever to cover the same essentials at higher costs, so I don’t really feel like buying things. And, I’m pretty maxed out on capacity between school, internship, and family responsibilities. What I really need is not more stuff but rest and open space.
And so I thought: Instead of feeling petty, what if I invited YOU to join me in resting for the coming three-day weekend?
What if I invited you to join me in my tried-and-true ways of caring for my body and emotions?
What if we did something different together?
Those of you who have been around this newsletter space for previous retreat events will recognize the format. One of my book club members, and a long-time subscriber, recently told me that these events feel like “a week of holding.”
If you don’t know what a holding space is like, it’s a psychological, or social work, term that means someone else creates a mental space for you to simply be.
It’s a really, really useful thing.
I’ve been on the receiving end during therapy or with a particularly supportive friend, and I’m learning how to be, professionally, on the giving end.
I can say with confidence that it’s a kind of mental permission slip to let your guard down. You might want to let your feelings flow through you and not worry about what you look like or sound like. You might want to just soak in some reassurance that whatever is going on for you is okay. You might want to really let yourself feel that there is someone sitting in the darkness with you.
This is a holding space.
It’s not therapy, and I won’t be able to respond immediately to any comments you leave. If you will need more acute mental health care or find yourself in crisis right now or during the event, please reach out to your own mental health provider, your doctor, or 911 if you feel unsafe.
This said, my graduate-level social work instruction informs the space I am offering. Think of it as being with a social worker-in-training.
A space separate from extractive systems where you can nourish yourself
This offering is for (what Substack calls) paid subscribers for the three days spanning Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 28-30.
Here’s what you get:
One free yoga class with my amazing yoga teacher, Emily, who has created All Bodies Welcome online yoga studio. (Classes are normally $15 each but your class—you choose either Friday at 9:00a Pacific / 12:00p Eastern or Saturday at 6:00a Pacific / 9:00a Eastern—is on me and Emily!)
One recorded-just-for-you 7-minute guided meditation created for you by a social worker student colleague.
One recorded-just-for-you calming video by yours truly.
Mini-essays by me, delivered to your in-box ~5:00a Pacific Time, telling you why this particular activity is helpful and inviting you to think about deepening your own self-care practice to create a counter-balance to capitalism and supremacy culture.
If this sounds like just the right thing to support you over the coming weekend when extractive systems are at their loudest, please join me! Here’s how:
If you are Black or Indigenous, if you’re out of work or at threat of being out of work, if you are a student, if you experience food insecurity or another type of scarcity, enter your name to receive a community-supported, 1-month membership. (This month of membership is free to you.)
If you want to join the event but absolutely do not need another subscription to manage, buy this listing and I’ll add you to the “paid list” for one month only.
Will opting out of the system make a difference in stopping extractive systems? Probably not.
Will taking a weekend to soothe your nervous system and to be in community with like-minded folks help? Yep. I can confidently say, from my social work training, yes. Yes, it will feel supportive.
If you are already a paid subscriber (or once you become a paid subscriber), keep reading to choose your yoga class, or come back and visit this post on Substack.
You’ll need to reserve your class at least 30 minutes before it starts, but reserving it earlier is better, because you’ll be more likely to show up for yourself if you decide now that you’re going to do it.