A Reflection by asha mizan

I am so proud of myself that I can finally accept the goodness and beauty of rest and joy. I’ve been learning more and more that we as people, and the activities we choose to do, do not have to be ‘productive’ to be valuable. While the systems and world around us may tell us the opposite, it is such a beautiful thing to find ease and rest in our everyday lives. Because I hold this in my heart, I take time to savor the countless instances of ease and intentionally create moments of rest in a world that would deny me of them. Most recently, I think of cooking with my mother over the break as a source of genuine ease. As we made gumbo for the New Year, we chopped okra and stirred the roux singing and remembering the songs she used to drive me to school with. Here, we were peaceful. There was nothing to overcome, no hurdles to handle, or struggles to be fought. I choose to acknowledge and appreciate the power of this moment and strive to create more just like it. Additionally, I believe that joy, Black joy and Queer joy in particular, is revolutionary. The moments I spend in sunshine, singing and dancing with my sisters is an act of love and resistance. With each smile, we affirm that we too deserve to be happy, that we too are complex people capable of all emotions and a fullness of life many refuse to see. Because of this, I know to reject the rhetoric that calls my pursuit of joy selfish. Instead, I believe that it is my duty to seek out the many things, within and outside of myself that fulfill me and support my relatives as they do the same.

Below are a few pictures that capture some of my favorite moments of rest and joy. They remind me of good times and good people and how blessed I am to be living the life that I am.

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While I don't consider myself a poet or creative writer necessarily, I do love reflect. The things that I write are firstly for myself. They guide me through my feelings and changes.

- Asha