Rest As Resistance
Last week, I was chatting with a friend about how drained she felt after a week of saying “yes” too many times. She was working, volunteering, parenting, running errands, and trying to fit in her elusive “self-care.” She was keeping up, but her energy was failing. On her son’s first week of school, she felt like there was nothing left. When I asked her how her week was so far, her eyes glazed over. “Everyone took everything they wanted from me this summer,” she said, “and no one put anything back.”
Ever felt like that? I have.
Our culture doesn’t only ignore rest; it actively discourages it. When we’re tired, we’re told to keep moving. If our energy is low, there’s always a product to cover that up. (I stumbled across eye makeup the other day called “fake awake.” Ugh.) We’re bombarded with ads for energy drinks, quick fixes, and jam-packed vacations. But instead of renewal, most of those “solutions” leave us even more depleted.
So please hear this:
Burnout isn’t a personal weakness. It’s what happens when a system profits from our exhaustion.
Which is why I’m convinced that rest itself is a form of cultural resistance.
Making space for rest is our way of saying: I will not be consumed by a culture that takes and takes. I can care for myself without your “self-care” sales pitch. I know this exhaustion is telling me I need to stop and recharge. It’s saying “no” when everyone assumes you have endless energy. It’s giving yourself what you truly need instead of what the system wants to sell you.
And this isn’t only my opinion—it’s science. Study after study shows that adequate rest:
Far from wasted time, rest is proven to be the foundation for healthier lives, and braver, more meaningful work. In fact, it’s the foundation that makes meaningful work possible.
This is what I love about being an artist. I make it all slowly, by hand. I carve each line into linoleum, stamp each letter of a benediction into clay. There are no shortcuts, no way to rush through it. Every piece is infused with quiet attention. That slowness is intentional. It’s what I want my work to pass on to you, a reminder that:
Slowing down is how we move forward.
This is the heartbeat of the collection I’ll be sharing in November. I’m creating artwork for you to carry words of rest and resistance into your daily life. It’s for women who are already giving so much, women who long for space to breathe, women who know they can’t keep pouring from an empty cup.
As we move into a season that is often anything but restful:
May you find quiet strength in rest.
May you protect your time courageously.
And may it fill you up so you might do the work that matters most to you.
With love,
Sarah K
PS - If you’d like to see the new work growing out of this season of intentional rest, be sure you’re on my email list. I’m so excited to share it with you.
