Each August, the workers of Beloved Community Incubator take an annual sabbatical. This month-long break allows us to practice intentional rest and slow down before we return in the fall to collectively plan our next year of work.
Capitalism is built on the idea that people must work as hard as they can, with as little rest as possible, in order to create the maximum amount of profit for bosses and owners. Even those of us who have more control over our workplaces can get caught up in this push to endlessly produce without taking time to slow down and rest. Our sabbatical is a political practice – we know that a practice of annual rest interrupts these pressures of capitalism.
During the month of August, BCI staff pause our emails and calendars, and as an organization we step back from both internal and external work. We’ve used the August break to take time to do everything from visiting family and friends, taking social media breaks, finishing long-awaited house projects, to taking trips, learning a new language, and other practices that help us rest and recharge for our return.
We are living beings with needs, and even when our work is powerful, we need time to tend more deeply to the relationships, tasks, and parts of our lives beyond our day-to-day work.