Practicing Rest, Recovery, Resistance: An Interactive Dreaming Journal

We wrote a love letter for climate activists, community organizers and engaged citizens.

Our book entitled, “Practicing Rest, Recovery, Resistance: An Interactive Dreaming Journal” was written and self-published with great intention and care by the experienced intersectional climate justice organizers at Shake Up The Establishment. This interactive journal provides a guided experience for readers to explore and play with our Rest, Recovery and Resistance (3RS) framework, a spin on sustainability’s well-known slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”. By making time for rest, promoting recovery from burnout, and celebrating sustained acts of resistance, this book helps to facilitate radical dreaming and imagination beyond current systems.

This hand-illustrated book is 244 pages long, rich with activities and educational resources that guide readers on how to incorporate intersectionality, systems-thinking and anti-colonial practices within their climate solutions work.

Features:

40+ interactive activities and prompts centring rest, recovery and resistance as well as collective dreaming

Evidence-informed readings and reflective activities on specific topics (i.e. Just Transition)

Creative written work centring intersectional lived experiences

Resource compilations that further critical understandings of justice, decolonization, mental health awareness, intersectionality and systems-thinking

Invitations to find ways to prioritize slow, intentional and relational community care

40+ interactive activities and prompts centring rest, recovery and resistance as well as collective dreaming

Evidence-informed readings and reflective activities on specific topics (i.e. Just Transition)

Creative written work centring intersectional lived experiences

Resource compilations that further critical understandings of justice, decolonization, mental health awareness, intersectionality and systems-thinking

Invitations to find ways to prioritize slow, intentional and relational community care

Why We Made This Book

This book was designed to create opportunities for joy, reflection, and learning as we try to combat the mass occurrence of eco-grief across the climate movement. We want to remind young organizers that taking time for themselves to rest and recover is not only a necessity, but part of the resistive effort against the unhealthy working standards set by the capitalistic, colonial society we presently exist in. Many young activists are told that their hopes for a better future are naive or unrealistic, but through this journal, we want to remind them that radical thinking is what we need right now. Dreaming and hoping for a better future is a key part of challenging the very systems keeping us from it.

Young people must take time to rest, recover and reimagine as we fight for a future in which we not only get to survive, but thrive.

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3Rs Framework

Rooted in the identified need to shift away from structures that promote burnout and re-create capitalism within our community organizing and social movement spaces, the new proactive “3Rs rule” puts a new spin on the well-known 3Rs “reduce, reuse, recycle” used to minimize waste. Instead, the 3Rs we want activists, organizers and engaged citizens to focus on ensures that we are investing into the long term sustainability of the entire environmental justice movement.

Under this framework, we promote the tried and true methods of reconnecting to nature, nestling and finding strength in community, and engaging in intentional learning and knowledge gathering (as a form of slower-paced activism). Alongside this, we use storytelling as a creative and healing tool through which we can help articulate and process emotions, and collectively conceptualize and ‘dream’ of the futures we wish to see for our communities.

3Rs is an anti-colonial healing practice that is integrated into the fabric of our everyday organizing. It is a cyclical framework that continually repeats, and invokes us to strategize means to sustain our long-term engagement in organizing as a critical part of our movement-building work.

Inspired by our past in-person 3Rs programming for BIPOC activists, this framework, book and 3Rs pedagogy was created. Our team at SUTE has extensive experience facilitating workshops, providing engaging presentations, hosting seminars and/or webinars, reach out to us at [email protected] if you’re interested in having us speak more about the 3Rs Framework.

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Teaching Guide

Are you an educator looking to incorporate the 3Rs framework into your teachings?

Developed by youth, for youth; peer-to-peer education is highly effective in promoting a deeper understanding and this book uniquely offers ways for youth to apply teachings in the real world. The 3Rs Pedagogy uses interactive prompts that foster the re-imagining (& questioning) of dominant narratives, alongside supporting processes to build new ones and develop knowledge translation skills through educational storytelling and by encouraging conversations with diverse audiences. Download our 3Rs Teaching Guide for a summary, core themes and discussion questions from each chapter of the book: Rest, Recovery and Resistance to generate individual and group reflection that students can engage with. It is a highly flexible format for your education context with expansive lists of added recommended educational resources linked via QR codes.

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A gift to every human rising to meet the moment. Our ancestors and future generations rejoice over our commitment to rest, recovery and resistance practices and teachings found in this journal. This collective work will build new worlds, filled with joy and ease.

 

Janelle Lapointe, Climate Justice & Indigenous Rights Organizer and Co-lead Mobilization & Engagement, David Suzuki Foundation

Wow – as a Indigenous young woman in the climate justice space, this resource speaks to my heart. I have watched so many mentors of mine put themselves on the frontline to protect our lands and waters, but now are facing major impacts on their mind, body, and soul. The conversations in the Practicing Rest, Recovery, Resistance: An Interactive Dreaming Journal are essential and vital as society shifts to focus on climate justice and solutions. We need healing justice in tandem with climate justice. I do not want to be ill when I am older because of the work I am doing. I do this work because I want my community to be healthy. That means we as organizers and advocates also need to be healthy, and prioritize our healing and well-being while we work towards a just climate future. I will be sending this to all my comrades and colleagues – it is a must read for all looking to find healing within our climate justice endeavours.

 

Serena Mendizabal, Just Transition Lead, Sacred Earth Solar

This book is the perfect guide for any activist, organizer, or just any young person looking to make a difference. It beautifully outlines strategies for rest and recovery while connecting personal resilience to the broader necessary struggle for justice amidst intersecting crises in the world today.

 

Abhay Singh Sachal, Founder and Executive Director, Break The Divide Foundation

This book is a wonderful resource for new activists and people who are trying to find their place within the fight against the climate crisis. I think this book helps passionate people figure out where to best employ their energies in a productive and healing way.

Karishma Porwal, Climate creator, educator and freelance storyteller (freelance)

The climate movement has a retention problem, not a recruitment problem. This journal throws a wrench in our ironically unsustainable, burnout culture and models a transformative, care-based alternative. I want to hand-deliver this brilliant book to every newcomer struggling to find their place and all the jaded organizers who’ve left, bruised by hard lessons and sharp edges. This journal is a delicious read and a sage reminder to lean into what makes us feel most alive.

Emily Lowan, Fossil Fuel Supply Campaigns Lead, Climate Action Network Canada

A beautifully curated experience that will surely be profound for anyone who sets their pen to paper in meditation with the prompts, writings and dream work of this journal. This book is teeming with wisdom and offers the gift of taking the weight of the world off your shoulders.

Jacqueline Lee-Tam, Director, The Climate Justice Organizing HUB

The themes, questions, reflections and lessons of this creation ripple across the mind, body and spirit like sunlight, spring rain, electricity and lapping waves leaving one feeling grounded, full, cared for and ready to look outward with renewed perspectives, intentions and awareness for moving through the world. This book is an intergenerational gift everyone should experience. But a particularly power and care-centred offering to IBPOC youth, frontline communities and grassroots organizers.

Meghan Wise, Climate Hub Coordinator

As an organizer, I’ve struggled to sit with ‘self help’ or ‘mindfulness’ journals, which can often feel shallow and disconnected from community. SUTE’s Dreaming Journal pulls together the best parts of traditional mindfulness journals by combining thoughtful prompts with insightful articles from real people working in Canada’s progressive movement.

Payton Mitchell, External Relations, Iron & Earth

As someone who has been burnt out from organizing, I wish I had this when I started. It would have helped me recognize how to sustainably channel my feelings of urgency to act into feelings of urgency to rest and recover too.

Naisha Khan, Co-founder, Climate Recentered

Bulk Order

A small volunteer-run team at SUTE is coordinating shipments for all orders, so we are asking that anyone wishing to order in bulk (i.e., over ten (10) copies), as well as those seeking international delivery, to please submit this form below so our team can get in touch to coordinate, given your unique shipping needs.

Once you submit this form, our team will provide you with a quote, and once you approve and pay the amount invoiced, we will confirm your order is placed and process your order. Following that, we will provide shipping information. Depending on the nature of your order, this process can vary in time, so please submit requests promptly so we can get this process started as soon as possible.

Bulk orders can offer discount prices; i.e. if you order 40 copies or more, the price per book is $35/book with free ground shipping within Canada.

Our initial response time is usually within 1-2 days of submission. If you want to follow up with any additional information after you submit this form, you can email [email protected]. We thank you again for your interest in supporting our work!