Rest as Resistance and Leadership
June 1, 2023 – By Kate Birnbryer White
Four fabulous women with ties to Michigan State University (MSU) recently discussed wellness and rest at the Michigan American Council on Education’s (MI-ACE) Annual Women of Color Collaborative Virtual “Luncheon”. Keynote speaker MSU Board of Trustee Chair Dr. Rema Vassar, PhD, of Wayne State University shared powerful insights on leadership by women, particularly working in social justice, inclusion and change making spaces. “As a whole woman you can’t neglect your body. You can’t neglect your spirit. You can’t neglect your feelings. You can’t neglect these things and lead because this work is hard work. I’m not saying that women can’t do hard work because we’re the hardest workers. You have to be geared up and always pouring into yourself in order to do the work,” declares Vassar.
The legacy of work
Dr. Marita Gilbert, Associate Dean of Diversity & Campus Inclusion, MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and her colleagues are descendants of strong women. They shared the example of hardworking women. Gilbert shared part of her mother’s journey from work into semi-retirement. “I watched my mother work, and I mean work. She transformed economic development in the global South. I watched her do that, and I watched the struggle for her to do that in philanthropy when there weren’t very many people that looked like us. Right as she was nearing retirement, we heard from people all over the world that talked about how transformative my mom’s work had been. Then I watched her try to make that transition into, as she calls it, semi-retirement. I noticed that after all of the hard work she didn’t really know how to rest. It was my mother’s time to rest, and she didn’t know how to rest,” recalls Gilbert.
“I prioritize and really push for things that will help to provide flexibility for all MSU faculty and staff,” says Dr. Melissa Woo. Promoting work-life balance and time for rest is part of the flexibility Woo advocates for in addition to university-wide remote-friendly work policies and programs that support caregiving needs. “I hope this will allow more flexibility for employees who all have lives outside of the workplace. We’re also working diligently to add additional holidays or personal observance days to our [MSU] calendar for employees to celebrate holidays or observances they hold true to themselves, or to simply take a wellness break,” shared Woo an advocate for making space for intentional rest in MSU standard practices.
Why we need rest
“There is a young woman who is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin named Unifier Dyer. She’s brilliant. I remember her saying, ‘You know, without rest you can’t dream. If you can’t dream you can’t evolve to your higher self.’ I say if you don’t rest you can’t imagine you and you can’t imagine yourself for yourself. You can’t imagine the more and the better for others. I’m trying to model it, and to make room for those with whom I work to be able to just pause and legitimately have moments of rest,” said Gilbert. Rest is needed for creativity and leadership.
"As a whole woman you can't neglect your body. You can't neglect your spirit. You can't neglect your feelings. You can't neglect these things and lead because this work is hard work. I'm not saying that women can't do hard work because we're the hardest workers. You have to be geared up and always pouring into yourself in order to do the work."
Rest as resistance
“I want to talk to us about rest and the power of rest. There is a book by Tricia Hershey, called Rest as Resistance. Now some have heard of Henry’s Nap ministry and how revolutionary it is for women and people of color to say ‘I just need some time for a rest’ even if it’s not a long rest. Just to close our eyes and re-center. That’s a radical and revolutionary thing. I just got back from a conference in South Africa and actually deployed that for myself for the first time,” admits Gilbert.
Hershey’s work through the Napping Ministry coined the phrase “rest is a right, not a privilege.”
Another speaker, Dr. Danielle Flores Lopez, Interim Assistant Dean of Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Director of Academic Advising and Student Success Initiatives, College of Natural Science shared that part of her ability to reach her professional goals includes rest. “I’ve always been really good about taking care of myself, and when I became a mother that became even more important. It’s so important to talk about motherhood in the professional setting. We have to give ourselves grace. We have to know that it’s ok to step away to take care of a child or our family or ourselves,” said Flores Lopez.
Woo echoed the need to care for others and to give grace to others. “All these things I said about caregiving and giving grace and having empathy is what I think is currently important among all leadership,” said Woo. “These are characteristics of women. I’ve been to many seminars where it’s been said that women’s leadership is characterized by empathy, communication, and collaboration. This is what we need going forward. All of you are leaders, whether you know it or not, because you have these traits. We’re women. This is what we do. I’m hoping that you carry this forward, as you think about shaping leadership.”
“Reimagine your wellness. Respect your body when she’s asking for a break. Respect your mind when she’s seeking rest. Honor yourself when you need a moment,” cautioned Vassar.
The Michigan American Council on Education (MI-ACE) is the professional network for Michigan women in higher education. Michigan State University is currently one of 50 member institutions within the MI-ACE Network. Learn more about Michigan ACE.
