Post #2350332

In this capitalist hellscape, I think most of us grow us having the equating of rest with laziness, moral failure, and half a dozen other negative things hammered into our heads until it's etched nearly permanently in the deepest recesses of our subconscious, affecting nearly every action we take in like, even affecting the way we yalk to ourselves :cat_frown: One of the things I had to learn when I became physically disabled was that rest isn't a luxury. I do still have a choice to simply keep going, ignoring the subtle (or unambiguously obvious) signs my body gives me :bear_shrug: I did for nearly two years, hastening my body's decline to its current state: bedridden, able to have maybe an hour or two of sitting in the computer chair per week before I go back to bed, resting and decreasing the stress on my body. It took a little over a full year of education by medical staff and experienced friends and quite a bit of practice to finally get to a point where I can listen to my body and try to get the rest I need without further degrading my body's abilities. I don't tell you this because I want you to feel sorry for me. I tell you this because we are at a point where we need everyone. Not everyone all the time, though. Everyone has to find the right timing and methods to rest so that they can contribute their full capabilities to the resistance. We are a choir, working together in this great collaborative effort. If nobody takes a breath, we last all of 10 or 20 seconds before we run out and the song dies. We also can't all take breaks at the same time unless there is truly a moment where we need a moment of silence. What we need is for each and every person to discern how much capacity they have to contribute, take a sufficient breath at a good time, and get back to singing to cover for others' breaths, resulting in a sustained song. Nobody in a choir feels guilty for taking a breath. Everyone knows it's necessary. Everyone has different breath needs, and we all need to cover for each other when we need them. We don't demand people sing themselves blue, beyond their capacity to meaningfully contribute. We don't demand sopranos sing the bass part. We find how and how much people can contribute, encourage them to do the best they can at their specialty, and cover for each other when we need breaths so that the group can sustain its collective voice :eevee_joy: It'll take practice, both in terms of knowing when and how to rest as well as finding out how to unlearn a lifetime of capitalist propaganda. The best time to start learning it was when you were growing up. If you can't make that happen, now is a great time to start learning and also a great time to help others with it as well :hug_love: Now more than ever, take care of yourselves, ok? :catgirl_lurk: