The Revolutionary Act of Rest: Reimagining Care in Youth-Centered Organizations
Recently, I found myself in a moment of profound disconnect as I observed conversations unfolding across our organization. Staff members and external partners repeatedly characterized our paid two-week rest period as "generous" – a benevolent gift bestowed by leadership. This framing troubled me deeply, as it reflected the internalized capitalism that continues to shape our understanding of rest, even within spaces dedicated to liberation work.
The commodification of rest – transforming it from a fundamental human necessity into a privilege to be earned or granted – represents one of the most insidious ways that capitalist logic has colonized our relationship with our own bodies and spirits. This commodification becomes particularly dangerous in non-profit spaces, where the urgent nature of community needs often creates a martyrdom culture that glorifies burnout as a symbol of commitment.
But here's the truth we must speak: When we work with young people – holding space for their dreams, witnessing their trauma, and nurturing their infinite potential – we engage in profound spiritual and emotional labor. Each conversation, each workshop, each moment of crisis intervention demands our full presence. We cannot guide young people toward self-love and liberation if we ourselves are operating from a place of depletion. The mathematics of care is unforgiving: empty vessels cannot pour.
Non-profit organizations, particularly those centered on youth work and community transformation, have a unique responsibility to model different ways of being. Our organizational practices must reflect the world we are trying to build. When we treat rest as a luxury rather than a birthright, we reproduce the same systems of exploitation we claim to resist. We tell our young people that their worth is tied to their productivity, even as we preach self-love and radical acceptance.
Paid rest periods represent more than just time away from work – they are an acknowledgment that economic justice and healing justice are inextricably linked. The anxiety of unpaid time off disproportionately impacts those who have been historically marginalized, forcing many to choose between financial stability and genuine restoration. This choice is no choice at all; it is a manifestation of the same systemic inequities we work to dismantle.
As we reimagine what truly transformative youth work looks like, we must center radical rest as a cornerstone of our organizational culture. This means moving beyond superficial wellness initiatives to embrace deep, structural changes in how we value and support our staff. It means recognizing that community care requires sustainable practices that allow our people to show up whole, regenerated, and capable of holding space for the sacred work of youth development.
The revolution we seek will not be built on borrowed energy and borrowed time. It will be cultivated in the quiet moments of restoration, in the joy of unrushed connection, in the wisdom that comes when we allow ourselves to be still. When we honor rest as resistance, we teach our young people that their humanity is not measured by their output but by their inherent dignity and worth.
This is the model of liberation we owe to our youth and to ourselves – one that recognizes that sustainable transformation requires sustainable practices. Let us move forward with the courage to reject the false dichotomy between impact and wellbeing, knowing that our most powerful work emerges when we honor the wholeness of our humanity.
