We’re halfway through this Gregorian year, and I want to speak plainly:
July is too damn much.
Not just for me (though my body, heart, and inbox would all agree), but for many of us. It’s birthdays and bills, grief and deadlines, backpacks and broken systems all crashing together in one month. And still, somehow, capitalism expects us to sprint through it like we’ve got a machine heart.
This is your reminder: You are not a machine. You are a whole human being.
And this month?
We are choosing to Rest. Reset. Resist.
1. Capacity is Not a Character Flaw
Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught that saying no meant we were lazy, unreliable, or not serious enough about the work.
But here’s the truth: Capacity is seasonal.
It shifts with the month, the moment, the body, the breath.
I had to check myself when I realized I’d been sitting with my laptop open for hours, trying to upload resources, send emails, edit replays, all while ignoring my hunger, my grief, and my own teachings.
It hit me:
I’m out here telling folks to rest and reset while running myself like a robot. That’s not liberation. That’s internalized colonization.
So, I chose to stop.
To reset.
To make space for the nothing.
This month, I want you to revisit some lessons such as this one 👇🏽
Season of Self: The Sweetness of Doing Nothing
Yesterday, I couldn’t show up to full capacity for the 100 Days of Community—I just didn’t have it in me. My body was asking for rest. And if this had been years ago, I would have fought it. I would have pushed through, told myself to show up anyway,
2. Grief Lives in the Summer Too
We don’t often talk about how grief sneaks into July like sweat in the creases.
This month carries my cousin’s death, my grandmother in loves passing anniversary, the birthday of my firsstborn (and the estrangement from her as well), the birthday of my eldest from this set of kids, It’s the last month of summer break hre in the southeast… so that measn have alllll the fun, whilst preparing for school to start again. There is just SO much, and that’s a lot for one nervous system to hold.
And I know I’m not alone.
Summer has a reputation for joy, but it can also bring up all the places where joy feels just out of reach. Add in back-to-school pressure, financial anxiety, or just the emotional whiplash of living under a collapsing empire, and you’ve got a perfect storm.
So I offer this reframe:
Consistency doesn’t have to mean hustle. It can mean care.
Let your commitment this month be to your own nervous system.
3. Reset is a Resistance Strategy
This isn’t about opting out, it’s about opting in to a different rhythm.
Revolution is not sustainable if it’s only powered by burnout.
So yes, we pass the baton.
We revisit the 100 Days of Community archive.
We support others who have the energy right now like
We donate, bring water to a protest, Venmo a youth leader, or send a text just to say, “I see you.”
We also:
Read books that bring us joy (not just justice).
Go to the beach.
Plant something.
Sit with coffee and silence.
Nap without apology.
Dance. Frolic. Giggle. Lay down.
Because rest is how we remember who we are when the systems forget us.
Because doing nothing with intention is doing something radical.
Your Invitation
Let this be the month of “not right now.”
Of choosing softness over shoulds.
Of letting what’s heavy be named, and letting what’s possible be enough.
If you're looking for where to place your energy:
🔸 Revisit the 100 Days of Community Archive.
🔸 Upgrade to a paid subscription if you’re able.
🔸 Sponsor someone else's seat.
🔸 Follow The Nap Ministry and practice rest as liberation.
🔸 Send a little love to someone on the frontlines.
And most of all:
✨ Make space for the nothing.
Not the “lazy nothing,”
but the sacred pause that makes movement possible again.
Three Reflection Questions for Your Mid-Year Pause:
What is my body trying to tell me that my calendar won’t admit?
What joy am I reclaiming when I refuse to override my needs?
What if slowing down wasn’t abandonment, but alignment?
Practice Your Praxis: Rest as Radical Action
This month’s resistance isn’t just in the streets; it’s in the slowing down.
So here’s how to practice what we preach when the call is to rest, reset, and resist:
