Last Friday, the focus of our Metta Mentors workshop was inner nonviolence.  Oren Sofer of the East Bay Healing Collective facilitated a workshop about self-care for the activist.

The activist’s life is not easy.  There are many injustices in the world, and we feel the need to work on them all: racism, poverty, human trafficking, domestic abuse, health care access, bullying … the list goes on.  We want to be in all places at all times, working to preserve the dignity of all human beings across the globe.  Here is a narrative of what the activist’s life can be like:

 
It can be overwhelming.

We feel ourselves pulled in many directions.  Our calendars become full with community meetings, volunteer placements, and favours for friends, not to mention going to work to earn enough to pay the bills.  We have no time for our own lives.  We become too busy to see or even call a friend.  Our hobbies disappear.  And we can’t even remember the last time we had an evening out.

We can’t do everything.

Slowly, our lives unravel.  We arrive at our community meetings disgruntled that we sacrificed a dinner invite for it.  We show up at our volunteer placements fatigued.  We begrudge doin favours for our friends.  And the less said about work, the better.  We don’t laugh with our co-workers as we used to.  We have neglected to return our friends’ calls so often they don’t bother trying to reach us any more.  And as for our relationships … what relationships?  We are part of a global justice movement with hundreds of thousands of members, but we feel isolated.

But no wo/man is an island.

This narrative depicts an extreme.  But it is a story that I think any activist can relate to.  We care deeply for the world and for others and we get this idea in our heads that any time we spend caring for ourselves is selfish.  But it’s not.  Let me say that again: SELF-CARE IS NOT SELFISH.  Taking time to pray, meditate, journal, hike, and even eat is fundamental if we want to lead healthy, nourishing lives and avoid burning out. 

So if you’re still reading, I implore you to take a minute to think about what nourishes you: what makes you happy.  Be aware of your needs and remember that nonviolence starts with the self.  When we neglect our own needs we commit an injustice to our cause, our work, and ourselves.  We constantly strive to be nonviolent to other people, but before we can do that, we must first learn to be nonviolent to ourselves.