MLK Day Mindful Meditation in Calderwood Hall

MLK Day is so often framed as a day of action, service, and labor, and yes, we honor the work.

But over the years, I have intentionally reframed this day in my own heart.

Because so many of us, especially people of color, activists, creatives, caregivers, educators, and the ones whose work inspires and uplifts others, already live in a constant cycle of being “in service.”

We show up. We hold it down. We pour out.

We organize. We create. We make beauty out of pressure.

We carry communities forward, often at the expense of our own nervous systems.

And I do not believe Dr. King’s legacy requires our exhaustion.

I believe it asks us to protect our humanity.

This gathering is a gentle refusal of the expectation that we must prove devotion through depletion. It’s an invitation to honor MLK Day by returning to ourselves, and practicing restoration as a communal practice.

It’s also a remembering: activists and visionaries were human beings too. They needed breath, softness, laughter, and quiet. They needed moments where their shoulders could drop and their hearts could come back online.

Join me in Calderwood Hall as we rest, reflect, and return through mindful meditation.

Rest is not a reward. It is a birthright.

And it is part of what sustains community, care, and liberation.

I am excited to be returning to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for the fourth time as a facilitator.

Event Details

Honoring Rest as a Birthright

Location: Calderwood Hall, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Date: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Open Rest + Meditation Windows: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Guided Meditations Begin At:

11:20 AM | 12:00 PM | 2:20 PM | 3:00 PM

What to Expect

    •    A soft, grounding space to pause and settle your nervous system

    •    Guided mindful meditations offered at set times throughout the day

    •    An invitation to rest in community, without needing to perform, explain, or prove anything

    •    A simple return to breath, ease, and presence

You do not need meditation experience to join. Come as you are.