Your body is not a lemon.

As academics in North America get ready to head into the Fall semester, I hear many of them saying “I’m just not ready” and “I just don’t want to do this.” I hear grad students saying “I don’t even feel like I got a break.” Even people who love their jobs are struggling to find enthusiasm three years since the start of the pandemic. So many of us are just Completely. Tired. Out.

Ina May Gaskin, a famous midwife and birth educator once said:

“Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic.”

This has always been a powerful quote for me. Being an academic and a helping professional is not the same as childbirth! But while our work often happens in our brains, it takes a physical toll on our bodies as well. Too often, we see ourselves as machines who can take on infinite amounts of work. We are surprised when we experience fatigue because “we just work at a computer all day.” We feel like our bodies are lemons when we “can’t keep up.”

We all work hard. It’s okay to be tired. It’s normal.

As you begin to plan for the Fall semester, I invite you to consider how you will allocate your energy in addition to your time.

Sure, you have to teach – but how much energy should you expend on it?

Same for research, service, classes, clients, and whatever else you have coming up.

What physical needs do you have this year, and how can you honour them?

Remember, self-care is anything YOU want it to be. It’s whatever you do to replenish your personal and/or professional self.

You are not a machine. You are human, and humans need rest.

In self-care solidarity,