• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Heart - Head - Hands logo

  • About
  • Blog
    • Contemplative Practices
    • Emotional Literacies
    • Everyday Feminism
    • Higher Education
    • Racial Justice
    • Recipes
    • Why Vegan?
  • E-courses
  • Work with Me
  • Publications
  • Contact
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

A Few of My Favorite Things

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism, Recipes By Beth Godbee December 13, 2017 Leave a Comment

December. It’s a hard time for folks walking on wires to please others. It’s a hard time for folks finishing semesters when running on fumes. It’s a hard time for folks grieving family hurts or losses. It’s a hard time for processing what comes up in contemplative moments and social interactions alike.

This December is especially hard because it punctuates a year of great injustice, dehumanization, and the increasing visibility of wrongdoings. Now, as so many of us personally and collectively are doing (and being asked to do) “shadow work,” there’s a heightened need for self-care/self-work that embraces both/and.

How do we both honor the ways we’re falling apart and go about surviving? How do we both recognize the possibility of human extinction and invest in living more authentically, courageously, and lovingly? How do we both unlearn oppression (including internalized inferiority and superiority) and build new, more equitable relations? How do we both stay centered in gratitude and committed to justice? How do we experience both the depth of grief and the height of joy? How do we get by in the midst of inherent contradiction, paradox, incongruity, and change?

One answer (for me, this December) is that I’m getting by with a few of my favorite things. Specifically, I’m making “play dates” to hike with friends, to eat nourishing foods, and to read books and blogs that fill me up like adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy and Chani Nicholas’s weekly horoscopes. (I even happily found this recorded conversation between adrienne maree brown and Chani Nicholas!)

My most frequent, almost-daily “play date” has involved listening to a new podcast while sipping peppermint cocoa and soaking in an Epsom salt bath. Here’s what this looks like:

1. How to Survive the End of the World Podcast

Over the past three weeks, I’ve been falling in love with the podcast How to Survive the End of the World from the Brown sisters: Autumn Brown and adrienne maree brown. And I mean falling in love as in feeling my stomach sink when I’ve listened to all the episodes and getting super excited when a new episode is released.

These recordings are directly about living within both/and, as episodes focus on “learning from the apocalypse with grace, rigor and curiosity.” Truly, episodes give deep insights, rich storytelling, and committed calls to action—modeling ways forward and asking how we show up for ourselves and others to be in “right relationship.” If you’re not already listening, check out the trailer here:

Screen Shot 2017-12-12 at 9.57.24 PM

It’s not by chance that this podcast is offered by two women of color at a time when the hashtags #TrustBlackWomen and #FollowBlackWomen are trending on social media. May listening to feminists and womanists of color do more to counter epistemic injustice and to honor the lived stories, experiences, and knowledges that need to be trusted and followed.

2. Peppermint Cocoa

Chocolate, I’ve found, makes falling in love even sweeter. Because I’ve also got a complicated relationship with sugar, I mix raw cacao and stevia so that I can enjoy chocolate daily, especially when luxuriating in a warm bath with my favorite podcast. Here’s the recipe for this month’s peppermint hot cocoa.

Combine and stir the following ingredients:

  • ¾ cup of boiling water
  • 1 cup of heated almond or other plant-based milk
  • 1 tablespoon of cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon of stevia or another sweetener

2017-12-10 09.31.57

 3. Epsom Salt Baths

Truth be told, I’ve always enjoyed baths, but I didn’t give myself permission to take them daily until struggling for several years with chronic back pain. It’s amazing how often pain has been a motivator for doing what I desire, what gives me pleasure and joy. Now, whenever my body or soul hurts, as they do when facing systemic racism and other institutional violence, I immerse myself in salty water. This is a privilege I am grateful for everyday.

I add several cups of Epsom salt to a warm bath, and soak while listening to awesome podcasts and enjoying hot cocoa. The combination, I’ve found, grounds me, while also lifting my spirit.

When we talk about building resilience, I wonder if we should talk more about Epsom salt and warm water for grounding and clearing energies. As a white woman, when I think about building fortitude to counter white fragility, I definitely think about Epsom salt baths for crying, releasing, recommitting, and re-emerging ready to work again.

2017-12-10 09.46.51

Together, (1) the How to Survive the End of the World podcast, (2) peppermint cocoa, and (3) Epsom salt baths are a few of my favorite things. As favorites, they help with refueling and with readying for ongoing resistance.

I talked recently with my six-year-old nephew about his “favorites,” and I realized that I don’t often have this conversation with adults. How often do we, as adults, name our favorites? How often do we take time in the day to enjoy something simply because it’s a favorite? Recognizing and honoring favorites feels important for navigating the both/and of life, especially at this time and especially in December.

May these or other favorites bolster you in personal and collective shadow work. May these or other favorites help with surviving when falling apart. May these or other favorites help with feeling what’s hard and also with feeling what’s incredibly beautiful, amazing, and possible too.

—
This post is written by Beth Godbee for Heart-Head-Hands.com. For more posts like this one, you might try “Sieving Life: Keeping What Nourishes and Releasing the Rest” or “Breaking Commitments and Recommitting through Mindful Reflection.” Please also consider following the blog via email. Thanks!

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Pocket

Tagged with: #52essays2017, commitments, embodiment, emotional literacies, epistemic injustice, feminism, gluten-free, gratitude, healing, learning, mantras, mindful eating, pain, play, racial justice, refined sugar-free, resilience, self-care, shadow, social justice, soy-free, vegan, white fragility

Support the Work

subscribe to posts:

Previous Post: « Breaking Commitments and Recommitting through Mindful Reflection
Next Post: Expect Miracles »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

About This Site

Embodied knowledge matters. So do commitments. And especially acting on commitments as part of everyday life, BIG and small. This website—a mix of blog posts and research writing, along with e-courses and offerings—shares ongoing efforts toward everyday living (feeling, thinking, and doing) for justice.

E-Courses

This e-course announcement shows a red-brown trail winding through green ferns and hardwood forest. It shares the following information: “self-paced e-course, 40 QUESTIONS FOR 40 WALKS: Toward Everyday Living for Justice."This e-course announcement shows a yellow sunflower and blue sky. It includes a textbox with the following information: “E-COURSE AVAILABLE NOW! Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments. Self-paced study, exercises, coaching, and more ...”
Along with showing 4 emoticons representing different emotions, this flyer reads, “40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility. Nov. 22 – Dec. 31.”

Subscribe to Newsletter

Categories

  • Contemplative Practices (37)
  • Emotional Literacies (53)
  • Everyday Feminism (50)
  • Higher Education (27)
  • Interviews (2)
  • Racial Justice (38)
  • Recipes (16)
  • Why Vegan? (8)

Support the Work

Icon with the words "support the work" surrounded by a circular spiral.

Featured Posts

What Is Justice?
The question "What emotional work is waiting to be done?" appears in white cursive font against a background of blues and greens. The background image appears to be an aerial view of the ocean with deeper water appearing as dark blue and shallow water as lighter blue and teal/green, touching land masses represented by brown-tan-yellow.
Against the Tyranny of Positivity
This hyperlinked screenshot shows the article (black text against a white background) as it appears in Inside Higher Ed.
Deciding to Leave Higher Ed: Strategies for Career Discernment
My breakfast of banana, chocolate, and peanut butter mash.
Banana, Chocolate, and Peanut-Butter Mash: Changing My Relationship with Sugar and Rethinking Self-Care
Photo from a crowded protest with a poster in the center reading: "Human Rights are Women's Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights are Native Rights are Black Rights are Latinx Rights are Immigrant Rights are Refugee Rights are Muslim Rights are All Religion Rights are Homeless Rights are Disability Rights are Survivor Rights are Veteran Rights are Elder Rights are Child Rights are Student Rights are American Rights." The poster includes blue and red letters against a white background. Photo credit to Lauren Fitzgerald.
Countering Resistance Fatigue with a Both/And Approach
Skeins of yarn laid in a row: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, plum, purple.
Crocheting Granny Squares, Connecting to Grandmothers, and Crafting a More Just Future
Revealing the Cultural Patterns of Rape Culture

Footer

Instagram

  • In this *new* Q&A blog post, we learn from @saysooth about the importance and possibilities of @generative.somatics — a deeply embodied practice and theory for creating transformative change.
.
I met Mel several years ago through a mutual friend in Madison, Wisconsin, and I’ve since been learning from Mel about the work of fundraising for organizations that we deeply care about and want to support. generative somatics is one of those organizations, which is why we’re highlighting it here.
.
At this time of year, there are LOTS of fundraising requests, but I hope spend you'll spend a few minutes learning about and, if you can, supporting generative somatics (gs).
. 
Read more about why from Mel: 
link in bio.
.
.
Photo shows three generative somatics students in jo practice. Used with permission of gs.
.
.
#BlogPost #Blog #Interview #Q&A #SocialJusticeEducation #SocialJustice #RacialJustice #EnvironmentalJustice #EverydayStriving #everydaylivingforjustice #CommittedToJustice 
#GenerativeSomatics #Embodied #Embodiment #Practice #Healing #Transforming #ChangeMaking #WhyDonate #GivingTuesday #Fundraising #somaticexperiencing #somatics #somaticmovement #somatichealing #somaticpractice
  • Last week I missed the 2-year anniversary of my first piece in @insidehighered : link in bio ... This first piece grew into series of posts about decision-making and career change.
.
I’m still trying to act (more of the time, in everyday life) on the wisdom that “the absence of a strong yes is actually a no.” And I’m now re-learning this lesson with and from folks who choose to work with me on career discernment.
.
Today, with gratitude, I say THANKS for this learning-full journey, which allows me to be an academic in unexpected, creative, and still-emerging ways. <3 .
.
This screenshot (social media sharing from @insidehighered) shows a sky at sunset, fading from orange to blue, and reads: “The importance of following your own positive intuitions about career. How can we better tap into our intuitive selves and factor our internal and intangible knowing into career decision making? Beth Godbee … insidehighered.com”
.
.
#academia #highereducation #highered #higheredlife #careerchange #careerdevelopment #careeradvice #careerdiscernment #withaphd #tenured #tenure #altac #postac @beyondtheprof #publiceducation #ongoingeducation #lifelonglearner #lifelonglearning #highereducationmatters #academic #academiclife
  • If you (like me) are cooking for family this week, you can find some vegan options via my website (link in bio). My favorite is this vegan + gluten-free savory pie (pictured here as part of a holiday spread).
.
.
.
#vegan #veganrecipes #veganfood #veganglutenfree #veganglutenfreerecipes #glutenfree #glutenfreevegan #whatveganseat #whatveganscook #veganinspiration #yummy #foodasmedicine #kale #vegancheese #savorypie #savorybaking #foodshare #veganmeals #vegetarian #pie #nourish #nourishment
  • Here's a video to honor the start of the 40-day practice. Registration is open through Saturday, Nov. 23rd. See link in bio.
.
ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO, which shows Beth (a white cis woman) in front of a bookshelf:
.
Hi everyone! It's Beth on a Friday afternoon, at the start of the 40-day practice: "Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility." I've been going a LOT getting ready for this practice -- high momentum -- so I thought I would just sit in one place and just talk for a minute to say:
.
First, thank you to those who have registered and who will be with me for the 40 days. I know it's hard work. It takes an investment and a commitment to stick day-after-day with the practice of noticing when white supremacy, racial microaggressions, white fragility, harm is showing up in our everyday lives. And noticing our emotions associated with those and to feel and process what comes up -- to really learn how to intervene and interrupt our typical emotional patterns. So, I really appreciate and value and want to say thank-you for joining the practice.
.
And I also want to invite those of you who've had a pull toward the 40-day practice, or you've thought about it, or you've wondered, "what is this all about?, or you've thought "I think it'd be really good work, but I don't have the time": I want to invite you again to come into the practice. We're a small group this time around ... And these 40 days are during the holidays, which can be a really rough time. It's a time when I know for me I need to be more intentional than ever about slowing down, noticing, being mindful about how I respond, building community with others, and recommitting -- reminding myself what my commitments are in all my interactions.
.
CONTINUED (video too long for Instagram) ...
.
.
#Emotions #Emotional #EmotionalLiteracies #EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalIntelligence #40DayPractice #ContemplativePractice #WhiteFragility #WhiteSupremacy #Antiraciam #Antioppression #RacialJustice #Today #endwhitesupremacy #HolidaySeason #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #OngoingEducation #SocialJusticeEducation #November #Holidays #FriYay #Community #communitycare
  • Today's the day! 🎉
.
I’d love for you to join. Link in bio.
.
.
[Image description: Along with showing 4 emoticons representing different emotions, this flyer reads, “40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility. Nov. 22 – Dec. 31.”]
.
.
#Emotions #Emotional #EmotionalLiteracies #EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalIntelligence #40DayPractice #ContemplativePractice #WhiteFragility #WhiteSupremacy #Antiraciam #Antioppression #RacialJustice #Today #EBook #ECourse #endwhitesupremacy #HolidaySeason #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #OngoingEducation #SocialJusticeEducation #November #Holidays #FriYay #Community #CommunityOfPractice #Commitments
  • I’ve been stress baking while on the countdown to the 40-day practice. These pumpkin chocolate chip muffins look a mess, but they are vegan + gluten-free yumminess. And they’re powering me through the emotional labor and long hours going into the work.
.
I wrote today about how my history of back pain—embodied knowledge that led me to vegan + gluten-free cooking—is wound up with trying to make sense of and navigate the world in the midst of oppression. Racialized trauma lives in the body, and the body is the home of the spiritual, emotional, and political work of “Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility.”
.
We’re up to the wire: the 40-day practice begins tomorrow, and the FB group is now open! It’s not too late to join the practice and to make healing define your holiday season: link in bio.
.
[Image shows two trays with pumpkin chocolate chip muffins spilling over the top.]
.
.
And I'm especially influenced by @ResmaaMenakem's My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies and other work on embodiment, somatics, Reiki, feminism, and emotional literacies.
.
.
#Emotions #Emotional #EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalIntelligence #Contemplation #SocialJusticeEducation #Learning #Unlearning #OngoingEducation #Commitment #Committed #EmotionalPatterns #WhiteFragility #Whiteness #InternalizedWhiteness #EndWhiteSupremacy #WhyThisWork #EverydayWork #EverydayPractice #Antiracism #AntiracismEducation #Striving #Holidays #40DayPractice
#Vegan #VeganGlutenFree #VeganBaking #VeganComfortFood #Healing
  • With the holidays approaching, you may want support with navigating tricky family interactions, prioritizing reflection, and articulating actionable commitments instead of loose resolutions. .
The 40-day practice provides this support through a learning and unlearning process that increases readiness for showing up for racial justice.
.
Specifically, I invite you into this practice to —
1. Shift habits by practicing—again and again and again.
2. Invest in the critique for racial justice.
3. Do emotionally messy work toward unlearning whiteness and white fragility.
.
The practice starts tomorrow (Nov. 22).
Learn more, and register through link in bio.
.
.
This image shares the blog post's title: "3 Reasons to Participate in the 40-Day Practice on Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility."
.
.
#Emotions #Emotional #EmotionalLiteracy #EmotionalIntelligence #Contemplation #Meditation #SocialJusticeEducation #Learning #Unlearning #OngoingEducation #Educator #Learner #Commitment #Committed #EmotionalPatterns #Emo #WhiteFragility #Whiteness #InternalizedWhiteness #EndWhiteSupremacy #WhyThisWork #EverydayWork #EverydayPractice #Antiracism #AntiracismEducation #Striving #Imprefectly #Holidays #40DayPractice

About Beth Godbee

I’m an educator living in Washington, D.C. with connections to many places, including Wisconsin, Georgia, and Tennessee. I write from my identities as a white, feminist teacher and researcher; reiki and yoga practitioner; hiker and vegan. My deepest commitments are to equity and justice. These commitments lead me to write about intersectional identities, embodiment, power, and rights, among other matters. In this blog, I document my ongoing efforts, struggles, and attitude of “try-try again” to align with these commitments. Read more ...

Flyer with a stack of books and light yellow background reads: "e-courses and coaching now available."

Copyright © 2019