Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 11: Intentionally Infusing Joy into Justice Work
QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW
April and Tracie continue their conversation about bringing more joy into everyday life and into the work for justice. From dance and music (and a little bit of singing!) to relationship to celebration, the two friends share strategies and examples of intentional, mindful, joyful practices.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
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Click here to access the audio version and transcript on Buzzsprout.
April and Tracie introduce the idea of “cultivating joy”. What does this phase mean to you?
The first tip is to incorporate more movement and dance. What are your favorite songs to dance and move to?
Tracie and April look to examples of how dance and movement have shown up in social justice movement spaces and recall recent “Protect the Vote” rallies in Philly that included dance. If you can, find those videos and watch. What did you observe in this meeting of dance and justice?
The next tip is to sing! What are your favorite songs to sing? What are song you may have created in your childhood that you can recall?
April and Tracie find joy in displays of solidarity. When have you as well? Why do you think we can find joy in these moments?
April wants us to celebrate the progress we make to achieve our goals and not delay that celebration moment. What is a goal you have currently and what has been some progress you have made, no matter how incremental, that you can celebrate? How do you want to celebrate these small and important victories?
Both Tracie and April talk about being mindful to the present moment and finding joy in these shehecheyanu moments, such as Tracie’s LA raised friend seeing snow for the first time. What are the new moments every day that invite you to pause and find joy in their newness?
Tracie and April close out the episode with a final tip: instead of focusing on critique, celebrate what went well and how it can be improved upon. Can you think of a recent time you were critical of a situation and instead think about what went well and how it can be improved upon (but doing so in a way that feels nourishing)?
INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE
“It is decidedly Jewish to dance, right?”
“In our society and in common (oppressive) culture, celebration is commonly accepted around key lifecycle moments and rites of passage, around graduations. But there can be so much more celebration around progress around hitting key milestones. There can be celebration - even just the shehecheyanu - of blessing a new moment or reaching a certain point, like any time we do something for the first time, or even make a courageous choice. ”
“Huge, exponential progress and growth comes from consistent micro implementation, and the more we can honor each of those bricks we’re laying to form this big structure, how much more love and intentionality and appreciation can go into something that’s worth celebrating?”
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
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