The Rest Guide Experience
Black Women Resting
Trishna Monplaisir, Charlotte Crabbe, and Dominique Dawson
I can sleep whenever I want, wherever I want. I’m good at it. It’s a statement I’ve made many times. But a conversation I had at The Rest Guide Experience event by Cultivate Vibrance got me thinking. Sleep is not rest…
They are friends and can hang out together but they are not the same. I often find myself wearing many hats and I am grateful when it is time to take them off and go to sleep. But, like many Black women today, I find myself at times overwhelmed and tired. Being present for all things and all people will eventually lead to burn out. Something has to give and we often sacrifice ourselves to care for others. So when the opportunity to attend the event I jumped at it.
The Rest Guide Experience celebrated the release of The Rest Guide, a book written by Dominique Dawson, Trishna Monplaisir, and Charlotte Crabbe. It was a ladies’ night with light bites, conversation, games and creative activities. The room was cozy and the vibe relaxed. The night started with a card game with music based questions. This ice-breaker helped us relax and get to know each other, bonding over song choices and memories. We heard from the authors and broke for a creative exercise with conversation. The Cultivate Vibrance website says that they create “soul nourishing experiences that restore and refresh leaders” and I couldn't agree more. I love when I encounter an organization and experience their mission statement and this event did not disappoint.
Trishna Monplaisir, Dominique Dawson, and Charlotte Crabbe discuss their writing process
The Rest Guide offers devotionals, journaling and other resources for women looking for a meaningful reset and rest. I appreciated hearing from each author about how their individual situations and challenges informed their contributions to the work. Hearing stories of grief, burnout, and identity tied to one’s own rest and relationship with God hit home. How often do we confront feelings of distance with God? How real are we with ourselves and others about the toll of loss and disappointment while holding to the concept of a good God? Sometimes, lamentation is necessary and facing grief can clear the path to rest. The discussion and The Rest Guide reminded us that it’s ok to confront these feelings and it ok to do so with God.
The Rest Guide workbook
After listening to the authors, we sat at beautifully set tables to mingle. I met someone new and we talked about our work and our pursuits of rest. I genuinely felt joy learning about her work and what she found useful in her own journey. She shared about her need to get a full night of sleep and I thought about my own practice of sleep. I realized that for me, it was a thing I did as needed but not as rest. And eight hours of sleep, delicious as it might be, did not equal rest in my day. It was a sobering realization. Not earth shattering, maybe not even new. But I needed to acknowledge it because it revealed to me a way in which I was not fully caring for myself. We talked while coloring illustrations on bookmarks provided for the event. I acknowledged that had I not come out that night, I would have been busy working on something and trying to get it done in time to get some good sleep. Instead, I was engaging with other Black women, laughing, coloring, and exchanging stories.
This event took me away from my daily routine and gave me a glimpse of another option. It provided me with a new environment, new people and a much needed reset as I pursue soul rest. It reminded me of the intentionality of rest in God’s design for my life and the sacredness of being made in the image of God. I felt refreshed leaving the event watching the smiles and hearing the happy chatter of the other women as we wrapped the evening up. I thought about the impact of refreshing this particular group of women and wondered what it would look like when each of us returned to our own circles, rested and touched with the joy of the evening.
I welcome spaces of rest for Black women. We need them. And we need fellowship with each other. This Rest Guide Experience was just that and I look forward to future events with Cultivate Vibrance.
