Gonna Live in Peace
“The practice of meditation for me gives me resilience.”
—Ericka Huggins
Dear Readers,
I am writing to share with you a meditation/refection & resource project that aims to offer a little peace, comfort, and hope during this moment that is filled with oh-so-much injustice and suffering. Our hearts are full as we witness folks all over the world demanding justice. I hope that these meditations will offer you, your loved ones, and your community network an opportunity to recharge and reflect during the intensity and passion of this moment.
Black women movement workers such as Ericka Huggins, Angela Davis, and Rosa Parks have championed meditation and wellness practices as survival strategies for both their individual lives and the freedom movement. I've only recently come around to embracing these practices. Throughout the quarantine, I started making meditations strictly for myself as a way to get into yoga/mindfulness. Because a friend of mine really enjoyed them, I then shared them with a few more friends. Now, anyone who wishes to engage can have access to Relax, Relate, Release: Meditations for the Mind, Soul, Spirit, and Revolution. I and anyone who enjoys these meditations have to thank my dear friend, Savannah, for encouraging me to share them during a very uneasy time for us all.
I was inspired to pursue this larger project after creating a meditation on prison abolition — another thing I did not intend to do. I only jokingly entertained the idea of making one for a few of my radical friends. I didn’t think anyone (myself included) would want to listen. Even though I champion the prison abolition struggle, I didn’t imagine it could be a meditative subject matter. But with each passing day, particularly as of late, it gets harder to tolerate living in a world with prisons; with so much injustice.
This moment that we are witnessing is painfully familiar, yet like no other. We have been struggling for freedom and to make the world more inhabitable for centuries. As much as we are fueled by our ancestors and empowered by their spirit of resistance, perhaps we also collected their grief and fatigue. Not only are we dealing with a global pandemic, but we are also in the midst of an uprising—and as empowering as it is to partake in various forms of protests, it is heartbreaking to continuously witness Black people experiencing the utmost, unimaginable forms of violence. This project is meant to serve as a tool to cope with this grief, heal from the pain, and continue to fight for liberation.
This project also includes a community-curated reflection and resource guide to accompany each meditation. Featured are questions and prompts to ponder after listening as well as guides such as reading lists, protest tips, and much more to support your journey as we struggle for freedom, justice, and healing.
Moreover, it is important to learn from the generations that came before us, and I hope this guide is a way to have intergenerational conversations. In the meditations, we hear primarily from elders, while this document was compiled by young people who have reflected on their words. A group of brilliant, beautiful beings offered their time and talents to this project on such short notice and I will be forever thankful!
I hope the meditations as well as this companion guide helps to ease your mind, fuel your imagination, and warm your heart!
Onward, with love, in struggle,
Jana Smith (she/her) visit her website for more meditations: www.jnsmeditations.com