Body Liberation

I am fat. This adjective is not an insult, nor does it come with any moral judgment attached to it. It is simply a description of my body. Doctors are routinely amazed when tests they run show that my heart, liver, and blood sugar are all healthy. And yet, at this time of year especially, I am bombarded with messages meant to shame my body. This year, I will try to push back with love for my physical being in all of its abundance. -Rev. Dr. Michael Tino (CLF)

What is something you love about your body?

 

Freedom and Liberation

(Photo of Rev. Dr. Emilie Townes from Vanderbilt University Divinity School)

“An important distinction must be made: liberation and freedom are not the same. Liberation is a process. Freedom is a temporary state of being. Liberation is dynamic. It never ends.” -Rev. Dr. Emilie Townes (Womanist theologian and social ethicist – read more about Dr. Townes here: https://www.theworkofthepeople.com/person/emilie-townes )

How do you experience the difference between freedom and liberation?

 

A New Year of Possibility

At the beginning of this new year, we imagine possibility. Our theme for the month, liberation, will ask us to imagine a world in which all people are free. Today, let us begin with the possibilities for ourselves and our being. Imagine new things are possible for you.

What do you hope is possible for you in 2023?

Kuumba

The sixth day of Kwanzaa celebrates Kuumba, the principle of creativity. People are instructed to reflect on what they can do to leave their communities more beautiful and whole.

What are the ways you can add beauty to the world (and to your community) in 2023?

Rewriting Messages

What are the messages you internalized growing up about rest? Did anyone around you take the time to nap? Was there a stigma around rest and the idea that we need to constantly produce? You are invited to reexamine notions of rest and the stigma that may or may not surround it. Humans are not meant to produce all the time, whether we are talking about production of goods, services or even ideas. We are biologically, emotionally and spiritually wired for rest.
-Aisha Hauser (CLF)

Take the time to rest your body, soul and spirit.