Nails for Justice

I want to be clear that this blog is not about having all the answers, or about me taking myself too seriously. So I thought I would kick it off by acknowledging that while I hope this blog will inspire people to ask deep questions, I also hope that it will lead you to have tons of fun, to not take yourself too seriously, to embrace your creativity - and maybe even to honor your inner diva.

One of the things I love about hip hop is that "keepin it real" is one of the core mantras of the culture. I have to be real that the culture doesn't always live up to that, but I appreciate the fact that we espouse to really be ourselves and not to try to be like everyone else. So as I commit to writing this blog and sharing my thoughts around movement, I wanted to start with a really light subject.

One of the biggest challenges for those of us who consider ourselves part of the social justice movement is that we struggle to find balance in our lives. In some cases we literally work ourselves to death. While we are advocating for universal health care we are often the most unhealthy bunch of people. We talk about how the people we work with can't come to meetings because they have so many family responsibilities and often we can't find any time for our families because we are at so many meetings.

In the fall of this year I found myself in a deeply unhealthy place. I gained 15 pounds, was barely sleeping and started to find myself getting sick every couple of week but "not having the time to slow down." Even as I write this, I am working on my computer with a box of tissues next to me.

So we all need to find some ways to have more fun and get more rest. This blog celebrates one of my attempts to do that. Sometime last year I started to get into getting my nails done. I think I got hooked because it was one of the few things in my life where I didn't have to do anything. I would just sit in the chair and sometimes I would get so relaxed that I would fall asleep. I have grown close with my nail technician and now I like to check in with her every couple of weeks.

There are a lot of issues with nail salons. There are problems in terms of the chemicals in the products and the way workers are paid and sometimes I use my time at the salon to raise some of these issues. I have also tried to get those folks who are eligible to register to vote, but mostly it has become a place in my life where I can just hang out and "keep it real."

But my social justice ideas have to flow into everything that I do, so starting in February, I came up with a new way to even use my nails as a way of raising social justice issues. Every few weeks I am having a design on my nail that illustrates a social justice issue or cause that I am committed to. In February I got two of my nails painted in red, black and green for the Black flag. This month is Women's Herstory Month and you can see my design to the left.

It has opened up opportunities for me to share with both the women who work at the salon, as well as other patrons and even people who see me and wonder what the design on my finger is. The smallest things can be opportunities to raise awareness, demonstrate resistance to oppressive values and create ways for alternative ways of thinking. I don't mean to suggest that my nails are changing the world, but they are helping me do a little self-care and creatively express who I am. How are you taking care of you? What are the little ways that you are expressing your desire for a different world?