Science is beginning to catch up to what our ancestors knew in their blood: the deep connection between art, joy, and societal health. Prioritizing joy makes us healthier. Finding pleasure in healthy practices makes life more joyful. The more we nurture this cycle, the more resilient we become as a society.
The problem is that we live in a deeply dehumanizing timeline. We’ve been reduced to numbers, human capital, and productivity metrics, while our communities are fractured and the government wages escalating wars on people—especially minoritized residents. We’re exhausted, and it’s hard to find anything to be joyful about. This is the best time to recognize joy as a practice and as a sustainable fuel rather than a fleeting emotion.
Joy as reparative rehumanization is the process of reclaiming our humanity through communal practices, like sharing joy, singing, dancing, and creating together, while personally rehumanizing the parts of ourselves that have been oppressed and neglected. By nurturing what restores our humanity, we disrupt the forces that diminish us and reclaim our wholeness.