Rest. Reset. Resist. Liberation Lessons (6th in the Arc)
Over the last five weeks, you’ve received Rest. Reset. Resist. Liberation Lessons (here is the 6th), a sacred arc that’s guided us from pause to clarity to refusal.
I’ve just come back from a month away, and let me tell you: it wasn’t just a vacation, it was also survival. It was birthdays and rites of passage, grief and eulogies, delays and divine timing, oceans and roller coasters, laughter and tears. It was transition, which is its own kind of holy work.
That time away wasn’t solely a luxury; it was a necessity. It was travel delays and trusting divine timing. It was sunshine, oceans, and sacred space with my sister and children. It was coming home and realizing that the transition itself requires gentleness, that reset isn’t instant. And it was recommitting myself to resisting the very systems that refuse to see our humanity.
This wasn’t about escape. It was about becoming deeply intentional. It was about entering the cycle of Rest. Reset. Resist, a rhythm for sustaining our humanity in the face of systems that strip it away.
Rest Is a Sacred Right, Not a Luxury
Rest is not idleness; it’s interruption. Every time you rest, you declare: I am more than my output. You reclaim your nervous system, your breath, your belonging. Supremacy culture demands constant production. Rest says no.
For me, rest looked like laughter on roller coasters at Coney Island, salt water cleansing on Daytona Beach, and long mornings with nothing on the schedule. It looked like saying my children deserve my presence as much as my community does.
Rest dismantles the pillar of urgency by reminding us that time is not something to be raced, it is something to be lived.
Reset Is the Holy Pivot
Resetting isn’t about going back to “normal.” Normal was never ours. Resetting is about recalibration, about listening to rhythms that actually belong to us, nature’s rhythms, our bodies’ rhythms, our families’ rhythms.
Coming home, we didn’t just unpack suitcases. We reset. Grocery shopping weekly instead of monthly. Letting my teenager sleep into the afternoon because their body demands it. Creating new systems in our household that honored what we learned in rest. Reset is choosing agreements that sustain us rather than drain us.
Reset dismantles the pillar of perfectionism by releasing us from the illusion that there is one “right” way and instead honoring adaptive, living rhythms.
Resist Is Refusal + Rebuilding
Resistance is not just a loud protest. It’s also a quiet no. It’s refusing harm while simultaneously building what we need. Resistance is parallel systems: after-school programs for neurodiverse kids, mutual aid, micro-schools like Erin’s Place, the things we create while we dismantle the old scaffolding.
Resistance is systemic and collective, but it is also daily and personal. It can be as small as setting a boundary or creating a “not today” list. To resist is to refuse harm and say yes to liberation.
Resistance dismantles the pillar of individualism by rooting our refusals in community care, solidarity, and collective imagination.
Parallel Systems Are Already Here
We cannot reform what was designed to harm. You can’t reform policing, capitalism, or a Board of Education rooted in extraction. These systems are working exactly as they were meant to. So while some are fighting to dismantle them, others of us must be building in tandem.
That’s what parallel systems look like:
* Mind: A learning space that honors neurodivergent processing instead of punishing it.
* Body: A community garden where food, science, and culture are taught through feeding each other.
* Soul: Gatherings where storytelling, ritual, and culture are practices of resistance.
They are refuge and rehearsal for the world we want. They don’t wait for permission. They practice liberation in real time.
The Rhythm of Liberation
What I learned in these weeks is this: liberation isn’t linear. It’s not a checklist. It’s a cycle. And that cycle always brings us back to Rest. Reset. Resist. Again and again. Not static, but dynamic, like nature. Like us.
So here’s what I leave you with:
* Rest is a sacred right, not a luxury.
* Reset is the holy pivot.
* Resist is refusal and rebuilding.
This is the cycle. This is the work. This is how we practice our praxis, together, in body, mind, and soul.
So this week, pause and ask:
* Where will I rest?
* Where will I reset?
* Where must I resist?
Because every choice is a brick in the foundation of liberation.
Rest. Reset. Resist: A Cycle of Liberation
In the work of liberation, we’ve been taught to keep pushing.
Push against injustice.Push past exhaustion.Push forward, no matter the cost.
But what if liberation isn’t only about pushing forward? What if it’s about cycling moving intentionally between rest, renewal, and resistance, so that our minds, bodies, and souls can sustain the work for the long haul?
That’s where the Rest–Reset–Resist cycle comes in: a rhythm of revolutionary aftercare that keeps us rooted in humanity while dismantling the systems that deny it.
Using the LIBERATE Framework™ to Move Through the Cycle
The Rest–Reset–Resist rhythm becomes more than survival when we ground it in the LIBERATE Framework™:
* Learn: Rest by studying what drains you.
* Integrate: Reset by weaving lessons into daily rhythms.
* Build: Resist by constructing parallel systems.
* Empower: Rest as fuel for conviction.
* Reclaim: Reset your time, energy, and focus.
* Act: Resist through concrete steps toward liberation.
* Transform: Let the cycle shift you.
* Envision: Hold the vision of the world you’re building.
From Pillars to Practice: Practicing Your Praxis
We’ve named the 15 Pillars of Supremacy Culture for decades, but knowing them is only the beginning. The Rest–Reset–Resist cycle is one way to dismantle them in real time.
Here’s how to move from theory to action:
SELFIdentify one personal habit rooted in urgency, perfectionism, or individualism.Use the Rest stage to intentionally disrupt it, schedule unstructured time, ask for help, or slow your pace.
HOMECreate family/community agreements for rest, like tech-free evenings, shared meal prep, or monthly “pause” days.Use Reset to renegotiate household rhythms when stress levels rise.
WORKIntroduce parallel systems at work: shared leadership, resource libraries, flexible timelines.Use Resist to push back against harmful workplace norms and build policies rooted in care.
Closing
Rest is not retreat, it’s resistance.Reset is not quitting, it’s recalibrating.Resist is not burnout, it’s building.
Together, they are the rhythm of liberation. Thank you Linda Moore, Tiffany Donnelly, Ashley, Jeny Nussey, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
In rest, reflection, and resistance,Desireé B. Stephens, CPS-PWriter of Liberation EducationWhere Reflection Meets TransformationFounder of Make Shi(f)t Happen
