29

Or, Y’all Won

Reader,

A bit melodramatic, I know but I tried this thing ‘Rest’ while I was on leave and I’m a believer.

Some background: I slept away Madaraka Day (most of it, anyway, there was a newsletter entry!) and almost slept away my leave but I had fields and commitments. I went with my friend Maureen to the launch of the second iteration of the Dada Podcast on Thursday and had a great time reconnecting with people and meeting some fun new folks. Seeing as I was out already, I went to Comedy Night at The Mayura and my loud “Happy Pride!” saw me gently roasted by a comedian who said he’d talk to me now that I wanted to talk during his set (Happy Pride, for real, to all who observe it). That much activity on one day wiped me out and so I tried this thing called Rest.

Maina let me tell you…

I’ve been running low on spoons lately (this was my chief reason for taking leave, if I’m being honest) but anyone who read last week’s entry may remember I still lined up a bunch of activities. Instead, I stayed in and napped, lounged, fell asleep on the couch as I listened to an audiobook (Between Two Fires: Truth, Ambition, and Compromise in Putin's Russia by Joshua Yaffa; read by Fred Sanders) and I had a good time.

I, surprisingly, finished four books during this time - Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad by Michela Wrong (read by the author), Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh, Between Two Fires and Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung (translated by Anton Hur) - and even had a book chat with MJ. Which is to say, I got more reading done over 4 or so days than I have in a while.

This time now has me wondering what incorporating rest in my life would look like outside of leave (dialling The Nap Ministry) while being part of society especially since my decreasing spoons have seen my interactions with the homies decrease in tandem. Part of me wants to try another comedy night (see: Sanaipei Tande’s roast tomorrow) but one might just stay in; we’ll see. Please let me know what practising rest looks like for you and/ or what books have informed your practice :)

Shortest entry yet (I’m always threatening) but no big thoughts, just vibes, as is sometimes the case. My thanks to Don, Maureen and Raul for their support and encouragement as I experimented with Rest. And this poem, which always does the trick.

I hope you have a great week and a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!