Ep 93: Lessons in Loosening: Juneteenth, Summer, and Shmita

As we celebrate Juneteenth, enter the summer and welcome the concluding months of the Shmita year, we think about all the lessons we can learn from this season. There are internal and external insights to be gained from the confluence of these holidays and this season. We can work to balance the desire to control different aspects of our lives with the benefits and need for loosening in our lives, as we work to expand and feel into joy and liberation this summer. 

Find April and Tracie's full bios and submit topic suggestions for the show at www.JewsTalkRacialJustice.com

Learn more about Joyous Justice where April is the founding and fabulous (!) director, and Tracie is a senior partner.: https://joyousjustice.com/

Support the work our Jewish Black & Cherokee woman-led vision for collective liberation here: https://joyousjustice.com/support-our-work

Listen to our 2021 Juneteenth episode, “Juneteenth and the Importance of Rest”: https://jewstalkracialjustice.buzzsprout.com/1146023/8744570-ep-42-juneteenth-and-the-importance-of-rest

Listen to our conversation about the shmita year, “The Shmita Year, the Year of Release”: https://jewstalkracialjustice.buzzsprout.com/1146023/10674801-ep-90-the-shmita-year-the-year-of-release-mvp

See Tracie’s Gratidoodles at her Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/tracieguydecker/

Listen to “Loosen Loosen” by Aly Halpert:
https://soundcloud.com/aly-halpert/loosen-loosen

Transcript

Tracie: 0:01

This week, we're thinking about Juneteenth, the summer solstice and the Shmita year which is still underway and looking for ways we can all make the most of the lessons we glean from those holidays. And from the summer season in general.

April Baskin: 0:16

This is Jews talk racial justice with April and Tracie,

Tracie: 0:19

a weekly show hosted by April Baskin and Tracie Guy-Decker.

April Baskin: 0:23

in a complex world change takes courage. wholehearted relationships

Tracie: 0:27

can keep us accountable.

April Baskin: 0:30

Drums please. I can't quite do it. But that's my that's my version of Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff's summertime song opening to it. Oh, yeah. The spring this that spring spring is drawing to a close and or has drawn to a close depending upon when you listen to this episode and summer the summer Equinox is upon us. When is it again? Precisely Tracie the 21st or June?

Tracie: 1:01

I think yes. The 21st. Yeah.

April Baskin: 1:04

Okay. So that is something that is sacred and significant. And this is the last ish season. Does, I think the holidays happen toward the end of summer ish? Well, it depends on the each year or whether it's the fall or this it's a little bit of both. It's like around that time. But there's a couple different themes here that we want to we we've done some prep I, you know, brainstorm different ideas. We've decided just to weave together what organically emerges and our exchange, which seems fun. I also want to name that Juneteenth is is also proximate to when this episode is going live. So happy Juneteenth to the United States and to people who celebrate and to those who are still trying to figure out what it looks like to celebrate and honored Juneteenth in their practice. I think we've talked about this holiday at least once, if not twice, on the episode. So I don't know if we want to explicitly dive deep on that. And I think we want to go more general here in terms of broader themes of acknowledging that it's summertime, and what does that mean in different ways and also honoring, I think more of the broader some of the broader messages to me that arise from Juneteenth around acknowledging the fact that it was just last year, it's still pretty new that this is something that is federally that this national experience of actually not all but most black folks getting word of being free. That is something that collectively is a national holiday around. For the most part, as we've also discussed in terms of the vise expos, a about actually is in some cases in the deep south enslavement conditions running through the 60s, in this country and 1960s in certain parts of the country. But I'm interested about this juxtaposition, or this balancing of holding the start of this vibrant, energetic, nourishing season. That and for a number of folks, although not always is professionally or another certain ways a slower pace for certain parents, depending upon where their kids aren't maybe a slower pace or a more intense pace, if their kids are home versus at camp. And with regard to Juneteenth, I'm not sure they fully finished that thought, and racial justice with the ways that that invites us to think about how are black folks in this country and there are a lot of ways still in Mitzrayim still aren't free, so they'll have access to equity and justice? And also relatedly, what are the ways that our country collectively doesn't fully have access to justice and consistent safety? And as you know, Tracie, I believe that these things are deeply intertwined that the legacy of racism and enslavement and gerrymandering and violence being condoned in a number of ways is, is our the grandparents are the roots of, of our issues with lack of gun legislation and control and the epidemic of of gun violence that's hurting so many facets of our society. And so I want to hold this juxtaposition of it vibrance and fruit and the potential to take a break and what does it look like to care for ourselves and also holding and potentially engaging, perhaps in a similar way or a different way, still being in conversation about this need for justice and the work that we need to collectively do? I think around the time that this episode will go live, I think there, it looks like there's going to be a march on Washington about--I'm blanking on the name, so I don't know what if you want to help me here the I don't know about addressing the issue of

Tracie: 5:41

of always hit another march for our lives?

April Baskin: 5:45

the time that this episode will go live. So holding that and finally, this is my last bit of framing. And Tracie want to turn it over to you, please, is also acknowledging that it's summertime, and this is the last season, the last few months, before we approach the High Holidays and approach the conclusion of this sacred Shmita year. And so we just wanted to have a moment with you to share a number of reflections at the start of summer to inspire you to make the most of this season in terms of nourishment and joy, and celebrating the successes, the survival, first of all, and success that a number of us and thriving in the areas where we have it in our lives. And how we want to tend to ourselves and rest and also noticing that progress toward justice is still very much an in in process. Process. And so how do we continue to hold, hold that and leverage the inspiration and nourishment that summer time can bring us in a variety of ways, directly or indirectly to be in service of our broader justice work. I'm really eager to hear from you, Tracie.

Tracie: 7:23

There's so many things I'm thinking from the very, very specific to much broader, like in a very specific just, just last night actually. And we're recording this a couple of weeks before it goes live. But already it is feeling like summer and my daughter told me at bedtime last night, she was like the sun is tricking me because it doesn't look like bedtime, but it feels like better.

April Baskin: 7:51

So I had a similar thought last night actually.

Tracie: 7:56

I said yeah, the sun is tricky sometimes. But But the bigger thing that that's pointing to that, that is in all of the things that you just named, that we're currently holding. And in the Shmita year and in the you know, sort of the nourishment, there's, there's sometimes that that I don't want to call it a disconnect, because that's the wrong word. But but it's certainly a distinction between sort of our individual lives and what we need and what we do and the meaning we make of it. And then what's happening out there, you know, with the equinox and with other things and, and and how something that could be. And one of the things that I was really thinking about when we're thinking about Juneteenth and those freed but didn't know it folks in in Galveston when they finally got the news. And also I'm thinking about watch tonight on New Year's Eve, when the Emancipation Proclamation was meant to take effect and it became it became a ritual to stay up on New Year's Eve to taste the first the first taste the first smells, the first senses of freedom, when that piece of that, you know, that executive order, whatever that term is for the proclamation. Right. And, and I was thinking about that and so on those those, that community and Galveston on Juneteenth all those years ago and around the country on watch night. And the fact that as huge as that was in terms of meaning for those people, there were others for whom it was just a Tuesday or whatever day, I don't know actually know what day of the week, June 19th was in 1860, whatever. But um, sort of the distinction in the meaning and the bigger picture and even though even today, as you pointed out This is only the second year that we will have had Juneteenth as a federal holiday. And what meaning are we making of it as a as a whole society? Like, are we making meaning of it? Are we just treating it as a day off or another excuse for sales like Memorial Day or Veterans Day, or Labor Day or like all the sales holidays. Um, so those are some of the things that are that are swirling for me in as I listened to you sort of lay out the framing of where everything is and, and in terms of Shmita and summertime and abundance and when we've when we first talked about shmitah, which we we replayed recently just heads up as an MVP. I don't know if you notice that. But the our shmitah here, episode was just a couple of weeks ago, it was one of our MVP episodes. But one of the things that we talked about was sort of imagining what fallow looks like in our much less agrarian world. And I'm, I'm coming back to that as well and thinking about fallow and reminding myself as I did then that fallow and barren are not the same. fallow does not mean, barren, it just means less tended, or less. I almost think of it as a preciousness that's the way I've been thinking of it lately. is specifically April, I told you I might talk about this I've adopted within the past like six weeks, eight weeks maybe. So I have adopted a practice that I'm that I call gratidoodles. So it's a I had a gratitude practice in a journaling. I wasn't super strict about it, but I would you know, often on write down things I was grateful for and then things that I caught it acknowledging accomplishment. And then I recently took an asynchronous course about illustrated life journaling and decided to apply that to my gratitude practice. And so now I draw what I'm grateful for. Most nights on overnights I usually skip Friday and then Shabbat and then do a Sunday wrap up for the weekend. And I have been making art my entire life. And in fact tried to make a living at it for a little while very brief little while. And I can get very precious with the work like like overworking it and like just like if you could see if you're listening, I'm squinting myself up really small right now to get into the finest details and and it doesn't make the art better, necessarily, you know that that sort of preciousness, and this gratitude will grant I might

April Baskin: 13:10

push back. I think it might energetically but go ahead. It doesn't always it's like putting love into cooking. It's like It's like it's reminding me of what what is taught and Ayurveda about how love transforms. Like, the intention anyway.

Tracie: 13:26

I don't know. That's, that's not what I mean by the preciousness though. I mean, like a perfectionism, that perfectionism that wears out its usefulness

April Baskin: 13:40

payment, like I heard preciousness, which I understand now as like, love.

Tracie: 13:45

Like, no, like, that's not what I mean, at all. Got it? I mean, that sort of like, over a very pretty Yes, exactly. Precision, but not in a not in a beneficial way, precision, more like an perfectionism kind of way. And with these gratidoodles, the whole point is to be loose, you know, the whole point is to just quickly capture something. And so like if I, there's words with the images, and so if I write something not and realize, Oh, that's not what I meant, I just cross it out and keep going. Because the looseness is part of the point. And it's, for me, that is a form of follow, right? Because there's less of that like precise tending, even though there is still effort. And that's that I'm thinking about that. In based on your framing April and thinking about the abundance of summertime the abundance of vegetation, but also of sunlight and daylight and free time sometimes depending on what you do. And I'm just sort of thinking about how we, as humans move through the owes the seasonal changes and how we can straddle. You know, a straddle, if I use my art as a metaphor against rental technique and energy or love to bring what what you heard versus sort of the what can get almost clinical in technique? Like how do you kind of work in balance that in the metaphorical sense. That's where I am.

April Baskin: 15:32

I love that, that inspired so many different things. And since I was at my coherent retreat, and I'm endeavoring to live into more of who I'm becoming, I was closing my eyes for much of what you were saying to, to feel how what you were saying resonated in different parts of my body. And I wanted to reflect a few things back here, before we start to draw this episode to a close, so I wanted to lift up some of the things you said around there were a lot of really juicy, wonderful bits. But the way I want to kind of try to start to tie things and weave things together here is to say, is to highlight and lift up what you said about loosening. And this is a really good bit of Torah here, I think. And what I want to invite folks to do you know, the name of our organization, and my broader vision for the work I want to bring into this world is Joyous Justice. And we spent a good amount of time talking about joy. And there's a continuum or a pathway that it takes to access joy. And I think one of the key steps along that way, is loosening. And I just there's just a lot of Torah and meaning for me. And in you having said this, obviously, we have to shout out, give a shout out to Ali Halpert. For Ali's awesome song, Loosen, Loosen. But I like this idea of loose and how things are loose. In the summer, time that bees are buzzing, and this is more of a spring but also in the summer and pollen is loosely flowing and flowers are blooming and expanding. And so a nuance here that I want to offer to folks is as hopefully, as you have time you are taking breaks, whether it's woven into your day, or you're taking a meaningful vacation is to fully allow yourself to loosen, and notice what surfaces and ideally if you can to access what loosening or save or relaxation looks like for you. And I want you to notice and remember this, that I think expansion is very important. I think it's sacred and holy and divine. And in our society in the context of capitalism. Most people think of expansion as this forward aggressive, kind of toxic masculine creator creating something out of nothing energy. And when I want to point out that part of expansion is actually loosening. We expand when we loosen and, and that to me that expansion, so the contraction versus expansion when we open up our bodies. And often I naturally do that more easily. In summertime when I'm on the beach, and receiving sun or outside that I notice. I once learned from a former colleague, I noticed she always walked really erect with her head held high. And at first it struck me as a little weird. And then I started doing it. And I noticed how it really shifted my mindset when I had proper form. And when I looked upward, I felt more of the sun I saw more of the sky. And this is something that is more available. And I noticed when I was living on the East Coast, in the wintertime that this was near impossible to shield ourselves to shield myself from the wind and the cold and to make sure my neck that my scarf was covering as much of my neck and you know, upper neck and chin and lower face as I could and that it was hard for me to have that. And so I want us to leverage the seasonal time to be in a process of letting go and loosening and expanding. And as you're savoring different summer experiences, whether it's around contraction or exhilaration. I want you to remember the racial justice guiding principle of Simcha. And notice that this is that that is either somehow or it's on a continuum or a pathway toward that and notice how it feels in your body when you're not thinking about racial justice.

Tracie: 19:59

Just very quickly simcha means joy.

April Baskin: 20:02

Thank you. Yeah. So so as you're loosening and having time or breaks, which hopefully God willing, you will have, because we've been in two years of the pandemic, and we've started to come out and the pandemic is still still out there. It's still out there. I was gonna say raging raging is a little strong, because it's been tampered. It's still very,

Tracie: 20:23

maybe not, though. Yeah, people are still cases are on

April Baskin: 20:27

right, and there's not as much fatality but the rise again. So still...

Tracie: 20:30

Thank God.

April Baskin: 20:31

Yes, so but so but still, but we're, it seems to me energetically and what I've learned from different, well, what I've learned from some of my mistakes, you know, that we're on a descent. But anyway, we've survived these things. And it's summertime. And so there's more opportunities for us to do things that bring us joy, whether we formally have time for a big vacation, or if it's just spending 10 minute or 20 minute breaks outside in the sun, reading a book or listening to music or doing whatever, or

Tracie: 21:01

podcasts,

April Baskin: 21:03

thank you, or just with your buddies, April, and Tracie as well as a range of other brilliant, magnificent, folks. Good point, nice touch there. So there's a little bit more here. And so I also had a theme, so the expansion, loosening and feel into that, and remember how that feels. Because I find a number of folks, especially white folks, but also other folks in general, as we're navigating trauma and or guilt and or a number of which guilt is not really helpful. So I want, you know, maybe we can do another episode about that at some point, because I want folks to be able to move through that, because that serves no one, it's a helpful moment on the journey, and we need to move through it. But I find in the context of racial justice work, people have a hard time accessing What joy might look like. And so I just want you to one make the most of this joy and actually us bringing our attention to the savoring the sweet mango, the walking on the beach, the friend who's able to use it.

Tracie: 22:03

Juneteenth feels like a really good reminder for that given, you know, all that we're saying like thinking about that, that moment of if we are going to give meaning. We've if we're going to give meaning to the to not just another sale, like let's actually take a page from Jewish tradition and think about ourselves as if, as if we were getting that news, what would that feel like? Think about that joy? Right? What was that joy for those

April Baskin: 22:31

team. And I'm gonna go further and say for me, in terms of someone who wants much more of June, right, like, notice how this is actually really for those. And this may or may not resonate, but notice how it feels this summer, as you're savoring. I want to shift this dynamic and contradict the message that we don't get to thrive when they're suffering and shift it to, I hold both of these things. And sometimes I put one or the other on the shelf when I'm focusing. And in the meantime, these things is all pointed towards justice, are integrative and informative of the other. And that I want us to enjoy as much as each of us can in the ways that we can summer with abandon and notice in our minds, and maybe even think the thought it might not look quite like this. But I am feeling part of what liberation feels like right now. And I'm going to remember this, so that as I continue my work, I'm going to be looking for goals and targets and ways of working, where I'm getting where I'm either accessing this feeling or moving in this direction, because where we're headed is where we are thriving and healthy and doing well and interconnected. And a number of things that summer models for us in ways that aren't educational, that aren't a workshop that are organic, and raw and fresh, and sweet and messy in the best of ways. And our justice work can look like that. So in the spirit, to leave off of what Tracie said and take it farther because I think that key is important to remember that moment of freedom is also and to feel into the ease and joy we will feel having done the work that we need to do increasingly effectively. And also, I would like to add while I mostly like to be in the space of both appreciative inquiry and like pointing out where are the places where we can strengthen and evolve. Also, this summer as we're savoring these things for the purposes of remembering in our bodies and in our hearts. What loosening and freedom feels like what it feels like, is also hopefully, in ways that are true and this will get a little tricky in ways that are true. Noticing the great work we've done over the Shmita year spiritually professionally. And it obviously the law of unfinished business is very much In effect, we likely didn't finish various things. There's more work to be done. But as we're savoring these things I want us to remember to one as humans we as emanations of the Divine, we just are worthy of savoring no matter what. And I want us instead of feeling guilty when we savor, to say this is in service of my justice work in general, and this is a reward for that specific moment, I was brave, for taking this risk. I, we made this mistake, and we took a risk, and we also further different things. And I want to celebrate that and so. And in doing that meaningfully, and I think what we will find out hopefully also what you will find in this is that it actually might inspire you at times when you feel this good to take some constructive action, because you're in your power and you're in your joy, and be able to leverage these last few months of the Shmita year and the lead up to Rosh Hashana to connect with different folks to do things that are brave to experiment, and give ourselves everything we need so that we are nourished and proud and full as we enter a time of reflection. So happy summer happy June teeth, the United States, and may you be surrounded by metaphorical and literal flowers and juiciness and color as you allow yourself in the ways that you feel safe and comfortable to do so. To loosen, and dream and savor.

Tracie: 26:38

Amen.

April Baskin: 26:40

Ken y'hi ratzon. Thanks for tuning in. Our show's theme music was composed by Elliot Hammer. You can find this track and other beats on Instagram at Elliott Hammer. If this episode resonated with you, please share it and subscribe. To join the conversation visit us jewstalkracialjustice.com where you can send us a question or suggestion, access our show notes and learn more about our team. Take care until next time and stay humble and keep going.