The Dignity of Joy, Rest & Nourishment for Black & Brown People

By: Stuart McCalla, Evolution Managing Partner & Solunis Nicole Bay, Evolution Community Member/ Founder of beautifullyperfectyou.com

Joy is the cultivation of a well-lived, well-examined life - or - as the poet, Toi Derricotte said “joy is an act of resistance.” Yet, for Black and Brown folks, in particular, joy has been considered elusive. Satiated? maybe. Happy? sure. But deep down soul-filling, body-changing inarticulate joy is something not associated with Black and Brown Bodies. Yet it exists within us, even if we haven’t been taught how to recognize and nourish it.

Last year and this have been one of the most trying in many people's lives. A pandemic that seemed targeted for Black and Brown bodies and tectonic social and societal upheaval has shaken the complacency in many people’s minds. How fitting that an important aspect of addressing societal inequity is joy. There are many ways to experience and feel joy. We’ve been thinking about how we can give ourselves permission to have joy, rest, and nourishment. Joy and celebration have been deliberately and callously muted in our daily lives, and still, there is an opportunity to find it.

Our opinion is that nourishment of joy (also known as resilience acts) is required, and retreats are a part of the formula for a fulfilling and healthy life. And we must say yes to that time and those spaces.

We find that during retreats, we give ourselves permission to have those things. We also allow ourselves time to relax, ponder, transform, and renew. We have the opportunity to rethink, become more present, and restore ourselves. It is the opportunity to connect with others and find the space to rebalance. This is essential for our communities, lives, and bodies… our very wholeness. We would argue that this is extremely important for Black and Brown bodies as the social conditions could lead to stress and burnout at the minimum and compound trauma at the most.

Practicing joy and joining spaces that differ from our day-to-day lives is a way to create conditions ripe for our ability to thrive, know more of ourselves, and meet the demands of life with new energy, creativity, innovation, and a resilient mind and body. They also support our ability to live our lives in abundance, ease, and pleasure while being present for our families, communities, and teams. This is essential for Black and Brown communities now, and in the future, if we are to be present to the swift changes of our social, communal, and professional lives.

If nothing else, reclaiming joy is a revolutionary act that allows us to live richer, deeper lives as we access other feelings that come as we go inward. So let’s feel the sadness and rage, and breathe into joy. Let’s feel the despair and bleakness and find out the portal to joy. Let’s not seek joy for its own sake and become addicted but to recognize and appreciate when we mark the events in our lives that show us the way to joy. 

One of the quotes that we’re inspired by is  “Laughter is Carbonated Holiness”- Anne Lamott. We believe that is true and so joy is holiness offering repair and healing.

Let’s care more for ourselves and teach our next generation what success, health, and joy can look like.