Joy and Liberation
Can Garfield the cat be connected to collective liberation? Strange question, you’re thinking, but the answer is yes.
As I’ve been navigating another chronic health flare up, experiencing fatigue, nausea, and brain fog, and tuning into information about the genocide in Gaza, I’ve been feeling sad, angry, and overwhelmed. There’s not a lot of joy right now, and even presence has felt inaccessible.
And then I heard there’s a new Garfield the cat movie out. Growing up, I owned every Garfield cartoon book and a huge assortment of Garfield paraphernalia: posters, bed sheets, two alarm clocks, stuffed animals, and t-shirts (slightly obsessive over here). So when I heard the excitement of my inner child voice saying I needed to see the movie in 3D and 4D (that’s where the seats move like you’re on a ride) while wearing a Garfield t-shirt (see inset photo), I thought, “Ok, I guess we’re doing this.” For 90 minutes, I felt relaxed and delighted, even though all of the challenging feelings returned afterwards. I really needed that respite.
Practicing embodied joy, meaning more aliveness, feeling, and vitality, is important for my individual solace and healing through chronic illness, but it is also necessary for collective liberation.
Systemic oppression and colonization make us more numb, armored, and disconnected from ourselves and all living beings, so the capacity to feel more alive is an antidote. The restorative effect of joy also means having more to offer social justice movements for the long term work of collective change.
Where are you finding joy right now? And what does that making possible for your life? For some profound teachings on joy, check out Anjuli Sherin’s book Joyous Resilience.
If you'd like to work together on tapping into more joy in your life, I currently have openings in my coaching practice and here are my upcoming groups:
Somatic Transformation Group for People Experiencing Chronic Illness and/or Pain
Thursdays, Jul 17 - Sept 18, 5-6:30pm PT
Weekly 10 session group covers topics including our relationship with the body, moving from isolation to connection, finding aliveness in midst of illness, grief and despair, resilience, and compassion.
Nervous System Regulation for Healing: A Somatic Practice Group
Wednesdays, Sept 11 - Dec 4, 5:30-7pm PT
Weekly 10 session group covers topics including building awareness of Fight/Flight/Freeze/Appease/Dissociate states, practices for regulating your nervous system, building safety and connection in the body, co-regulation, resilience, etc
To sign up or get more information about my groups or coaching, book a free consult with me today.
