Heart - Head - Hands logo

Emotional Literacies

What emotional literacies—embodied awarenesses, knowledges, intelligences, and response-abilities—are needed when striving toward justice? These posts offer emotional insights through storytelling, contemplative practices, and investigation into daily life.

Do It Scared

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By 5 Comments

“Do it scared.” I have Dr. E (Dr. Elaine Richardson) to thank for this mantra that I keep close at hand. A couple of years ago, Dr. E talked with my “Writing for Social Justice” class about her book PHD to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life, and students asked Dr. E to share advice for writers. Similar to the advice Luvvie Ajayi shares in the TED talk “Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable,” Dr. E talked about pushing through fear and showing up for the work anyway. ... Read more ...

Against the Tyranny of Positivity

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Higher Education By Leave a Comment

On this day of the lunar eclipse in Aquarius, may we allow ourselves to feel. To feel whatever comes up. To feel deeply, expansively, expressively. To feel a fuller range of emotions than we’re typically taught is appropriate or agreeable or allowable to feel. To grieve for Nia Wilson, for Markeis McGlockton, and for many people whose lives are deemed expendable. To rage against white supremacy, patriarchy, colonization, and oppression. To push past easy, ready, ... Read more ...

The Pain and Pleasure of Moving

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies By 7 Comments

My cross-country move from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Washington, D.C. has stretched over weeks turned into months. From traveling to find an apartment to now unpacking boxes, I’ve upturned almost every aspect of life. In the past weeks, I’ve sold my furniture, driven hundreds of miles, lost and found items shipped through Amtrak, lived out of suitcases in a temporary residence, and now moved into the apartment-to-be-home (hopefully for some time to come). This moving ... Read more ...

Naming Trauma as Trauma

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Higher Education, Racial Justice By 9 Comments

As part of my research on epistemic injustice, I’ve been thinking about the power of naming: the power of having the linguistic resources to identify, describe, and call out varied experiences, especially experiences of injustice. Systemic oppression works in a way that denies the ability to name experiences of wrongdoing. When experiences are named, they can be acknowledged and addressed. To me, this is part of the power of the word microaggressions: the word allows ... Read more ...

When Everything Is Horrible, Try Slowing Down and Noticing

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies By 8 Comments

On a recent hike, I found myself complaining about the heat and mosquitoes. I was walking quickly, speeding up to get off the trail, and failing to notice my surroundings. It wasn’t until I took a break on the ground—literally sitting in the middle of the trail—that I noticed blooming mayapples underneath large leaves. All around me but out of sight when walking were flowers promising spring and the summer to come. The more I slowed down and took breaks on the ... Read more ...

Countering Resistance Fatigue with a Both/And Approach

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice By 12 Comments

In the past few days, I’ve seen countless posts detailing “the horrors of this administration,” the latest of which include separating families and imprisoning immigrants. I’ve seen friends describing their embodied physical and emotional pain, including pain from complicity and always too-small actions. I’ve seen friends accounting their own family stories of separation, as the history of state-sponsored violence against Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) is ... Read more ...

Turning 39 and Thinking about Age(ism)

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By 4 Comments

A few weeks ago, I turned 39. I get excited about birthdays, believing that age is cumulative, as “we’re all the ages we’ve ever been.” I think of new ages as adding experiences and insights while keeping all the previous ones: I’m still my toddler and teenage selves, and now I’m adding multiple adult selves into the mix. I joke that “I’m greedy and want all the ages” as a way to affirm and reclaim the joy of aging. And I do see joy in aging—in experiencing more of ... Read more ...

Revisiting Fear Through Walker’s Essay “Everything Is a Human Being”

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Recipes and Why Vegan? By 11 Comments

This spring I’m reading Alice Walker’s Living by the Word slowly, mindfully, as part of my “Contemplative Writing” course. I appreciate this book of essays for many reasons, including its title, which makes an argument that we live by the words we put into the world. As a writer committed to everyday living for justice, I am taken with this idea of “living by the word.” I am taken, too, with Walker’s reflections on her many relations, including with her father and ... Read more ...

5 TED Talks for Developing Emotional Literacies for Racial Justice

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Racial Justice By Leave a Comment

Today marks the final day of the 40-day practice I’ve been leading for a local, predominantly-white church on developing emotional literacies. We’ve been focused on building and strengthening emotional awarenesses, knowledges, intelligences, and response-abilities for racial justice. As part of this practice, I’ve been sharing resources, including TED talks that provide language for understanding emotional literacies. In this post, I share five of these talks that are ... Read more ...

“We’re All the Ages We’ve Ever Been”

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies By Leave a Comment

As much as I value self-care, there are times when it flies out the window. I’m no longer the adult caring for my inner child, but I'm the toddler or teen full of emotion and pursuit of immediate pleasure. This week, I’ve been really in touch with my 2-year-old self, who’s been demanding attention. When it’s running the show, I’m inclined to emotional meltdowns, sugar binges, irregular sleep, over-tired crying, and resistance to naps. I readily settle in front of the ... Read more ...