After receiving a positive response from my recent blog post about Activist Burnout – including some lovely personal messages of support and encouragement – I found great solitude and peace in my yoga and mediation practice. Sometimes, you just need to switch off, recharge and reenergise yourself; ready to continue pursuing your passions and good intentions. 

Here, the lovely Holly Ashby, from Will Williams Mediation, shares her thoughts on how meditation can be an invaluable tool for taking care of an activists mind: 

Activism, Meditation and Staying Optimistic.

Taking a stand and caring about something can sometimes be really, tiringly difficult. It’s hard to live in ways that differ from prevailing social norms, and the majority of people choose to ignore information rather than accept the responsibility of acknowledging it. This is not to make a moral judgement, rather to point out that the people who can’t ignore it, and attempt in their own way to change the world for the better, face challenges that other people can avoid.

This isn’t to say that as soon as you start trying to alter your lifestyle or campaign in order to help a cause that you hand your happiness over to a mysterious crone and spend the rest of your life in nun-like self-sacrifice. I’m sure even Mother Theresa let her hair down sometimes, and activism can bring with it community, a sense of purpose, fun and satisfaction that can be hard to find in other aspects of life.  You just have to remember to look after yourself, and to counter balance what you give out with some kindness directed back your way.

Meditation can be one method, along with other self care routines, to keep yourself in the best frame of mind for living life happily without compromising your principles. Here’s a few ways in which meditation can help in the life of an activist. Continue reading Guest Blog: Activism, Meditation and Staying Optimistic. →