Joyful Activism: Sustaining the Long Fight Through Celebration

BY NICOLE LAU

Joy is Not a Break from the Work—Joy IS the Work

"How do I keep fighting when I'm so exhausted?"

This is the question every long-term activist faces.

Because social change takes decades.

Climate justice. Racial justice. Economic justice. Gender justice.

These are generational struggles.

And you cannot sustain decades of resistance on anger alone.

You need joy.

Not as escape from the work.

Not as reward after the work.

But as part of the work.

This article explores:

• How joy prevents activist burnout
• Celebration as fuel for sustained resistance
• Community care and collective joy
• Case studies: Standing Rock, Extinction Rebellion
• Building sustainable activism through the Light Path

Because the revolution must be joyful or it will fail.

Not someday. Now.

I. The Burnout Crisis in Activism

A. Why Activists Burn Out

Traditional activism culture:

• Martyrdom: "Suffering = commitment"
• Urgency addiction: "Everything is urgent, no time to rest"
• Guilt: "How can I rest when people are suffering?"
• Comparison: "Others are doing more, I should too"
• No celebration: "We can celebrate after we win" (but we never fully win)

Result:

• Exhaustion
• Despair
• Health problems
• Relationship breakdown
• Dropout from movement

The irony: We burn out the very people we need most.

B. The Cost of Burnout

Individual cost:

• Physical: Chronic stress, illness, adrenal fatigue
• Mental: Depression, anxiety, PTSD
• Emotional: Numbness, cynicism, hopelessness
• Spiritual: Loss of meaning, disconnection

Movement cost:

• Loss of experienced organizers
• Institutional knowledge lost
• Infighting (burned out people lash out)
• Movement collapse

We cannot afford to keep burning out our people.

C. The Alternative: Joyful Activism

What if:

• Joy is not a break from activism, but part of it?
• Celebration is not after the work, but woven throughout?
• Rest is not weakness, but strategic?
• Community care is as important as direct action?
• We build the world we want to see NOW, not later?

This is joyful activism.

II. Joy as Fuel for Resistance

A. Why Joy Sustains

From Article 33 (Politics of Joy), we learned:

• Joy is energizing (creates energy, doesn't deplete)
• Joy builds community (bonding through celebration)
• Joy maintains hope (reminds us what we're fighting for)
• Joy creates resilience (bounce back faster)
• Joy attracts people (movements grow)

Anger gets you started. Joy keeps you going.

B. The Neuroscience

From Part IV, we know:

• Joy releases dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins
• These neurochemicals create energy and bonding
• Joy activates ventral vagal (safe and social state)
• Chronic stress depletes these systems
• Joy replenishes them

Biologically, you need joy to sustain activism.

C. Joy as Strategy

Joy is not frivolous. Joy is strategic:

• Prevents burnout: Sustainable activism
• Builds movement: People want to join joyful movements
• Maintains morale: Hope in dark times
• Creates resilience: Bounce back from setbacks
• Prefigurative: Embody the world we want now

Smart organizers build joy into their strategy.

III. Community Care and Collective Joy

A. What is Community Care?

Community care: Collective practices of caring for each other's wellbeing.

Not just self-care (individual responsibility):

• "Take a bath, do yoga" (helpful but insufficient)
• Puts burden on individual
• Ignores systemic causes of stress

But community care (collective responsibility):

• We care for each other
• Share resources
• Create sustainable culture
• Address systemic issues together

B. Joyful Community Care Practices

1. Celebration rituals:

• Start meetings with wins (what went well?)
• End actions with dance parties
• Mark milestones (1 year of organizing, 100th action)
• Celebrate people, not just outcomes

2. Shared meals:

• Eat together regularly
• Food as love, as community
• Nourishment for body and soul

3. Music and dance:

• Sing together (builds unity)
• Dance at actions (energizes)
• Create movement anthems

4. Rest as resistance:

• Scheduled rest days
• No meetings on certain days
• Rest is productive (prevents burnout)
• Model sustainable pace

5. Check-ins:

• How are you really?
• What do you need?
• Emotional support, not just task updates

6. Mutual aid:

• Share resources (money, food, housing)
• Help with childcare, eldercare
• Support each other practically

C. Creating Culture of Joy

Shift from:

• "Work until you drop" → "Sustainable pace"
• "Suffering = commitment" → "Joy = sustainability"
• "No time for celebration" → "Celebration IS the work"
• "Individual self-care" → "Collective community care"

This requires intentional culture-building.

IV. Case Study: Standing Rock

A. Context

2016-2017:

• Dakota Access Pipeline threatening sacred land and water
• Indigenous-led resistance
• Thousands gathered at camps
• Months-long occupation
• Facing militarized police, harsh winter

B. Joy as Resistance

Despite hardship, camps were joyful:

• Prayer and ceremony: Daily spiritual practice
• Music: Drumming, singing, traditional songs
• Dance: Round dances, celebration
• Community: Shared meals, storytelling
• Children: School, play, laughter
• Art: Banners, paintings, creative expression

LaDonna Brave Bull Allard (historian, Standing Rock):

"We are not just fighting against something. We are fighting FOR something—for our water, our land, our future. And we celebrate that. We pray, we sing, we dance. This is how we stay strong."

C. Lessons

What Standing Rock taught:

• Joy sustains long-term resistance
• Ceremony and celebration are resistance
• Community care prevents burnout
• Children and elders belong in movements (not just young warriors)
• We build the world we want in our camps/communities NOW

Even in defeat (pipeline was built), the movement succeeded in:

• Inspiring global solidarity
• Training new generation of water protectors
• Demonstrating joyful resistance
• Creating lasting community

V. Case Study: Extinction Rebellion

A. Context

2018-present:

• Climate justice movement
• Nonviolent civil disobedience
• Global actions
• Facing climate despair

B. Joy as Strategy

XR explicitly builds joy into strategy:

• Colorful actions: Art, music, performance
• "Rebellion is joyful": Core principle
• Dance parties: At blockades, in streets
• Community care: Wellbeing team, regenerative culture
• Celebration: After actions, mark wins

Regenerative Culture working group:

• Dedicated to preventing burnout
• Facilitates rest, play, connection
• Trains in trauma-informed practices
• Creates rituals and ceremonies

C. Why It Works

XR has sustained for years because:

• Joy attracts people (especially youth)
• Community care prevents dropout
• Celebration maintains hope despite climate crisis
• Joyful actions get media attention
• Sustainable culture allows long-term commitment

Gail Bradbrook (XR co-founder):

"If we're going to face the climate crisis, we need to be able to hold both the grief and the joy. We need communities that can sustain us for the long haul. That means building joy and care into everything we do."

VI. Practical Applications

A. For Organizers

1. Build joy into meetings:

• Start with wins or gratitude
• Include music or movement
• End with celebration
• Keep meetings energizing, not draining

2. Plan celebration into actions:

• Music at protests
• Dance parties after
• Creative, joyful tactics
• Make resistance attractive

3. Create rest culture:

• No meetings certain days
• Encourage time off
• Model rest yourself
• Rest is productive

4. Prioritize community care:

• Check in on people
• Share resources
• Support each other
• Care is as important as action

5. Celebrate milestones:

• Mark anniversaries
• Honor people's contributions
• Acknowledge progress
• Don't wait for final victory

B. For Individual Activists

1. Set sustainable pace:

• You're in this for decades, not months
• Marathon, not sprint
• Rest is strategic

2. Find your joy practices:

• What replenishes you?
• Dance, music, nature, community?
• Do these regularly

3. Build community:

• Don't organize alone
• Find your people
• Care for each other

4. Celebrate wins:

• Small and large
• Acknowledge progress
• Feel the joy of victories

5. Know your limits:

• Say no sometimes
• Take breaks
• It's okay to step back

C. For Movements

1. Create regenerative culture:

• Dedicated wellbeing team
• Community care practices
• Trauma-informed approach

2. Build in celebration:

• Regular gatherings
• Music, dance, art
• Mark milestones
• Create joyful culture

3. Support long-term activists:

• Honor elders in movement
• Learn from their sustainability
• Create pathways for lifelong engagement

4. Prefigurative politics:

• Build the world you want NOW
• Model joy, care, justice in your organizing
• Don't wait for after the revolution

VII. Addressing Objections

A. "People Are Suffering, How Can I Celebrate?"

Response:

• Your burnout doesn't help anyone
• Your joy doesn't take from others
• Sustainable you = more effective activism
• Joy is resistance (Article 33)

B. "We Don't Have Time for Joy"

Response:

• You don't have time NOT to
• Burnout wastes more time than celebration
• Joy creates energy for more work
• 5 minutes of dance = hours of renewed energy

C. "Joy Feels Frivolous"

Response:

• Joy is strategic, not frivolous
• Movements need joy to survive
• This is backed by neuroscience and history
• Joyful movements win

D. "My Comrades Will Judge Me"

Response:

• Model it anyway
• Others are hungry for this too
• Culture change starts with individuals
• Be the change

VIII. The Long View

A. Generational Struggle

Social change takes:

• Decades
• Generations
• Lifetimes

Examples:

• Abolition: Centuries
• Women's suffrage: Decades
• Civil Rights: Ongoing
• LGBTQ+ rights: Ongoing
• Climate justice: Generational

You need sustainability for the long haul.

B. Elders in Movement

Learn from long-term activists:

• How have they sustained for decades?
• What keeps them going?
• Often: Community, joy, meaning, rest

Grace Lee Boggs (activist for 70+ years):

"Transform yourself to transform the world... We have to reimagine revolution not as a day of victory but as a way of life."

A way of life includes joy.

C. Passing the Torch

Sustainable activism means:

• You can keep going
• You can mentor next generation
• You model sustainable practice
• Movement continues

Burned out activists can't pass the torch. Joyful activists can.

Conclusion: The Revolution Will Be Joyful or It Will Fail

The revolution will not be grim.

The revolution will not be martyrdom.

The revolution will not be suffering.

Or it will fail.

Because we cannot sustain decades of resistance on anger and despair.

We need joy.

We need celebration.

We need community care.

We need to build the world we want NOW.

Not after we win.

But in how we fight.

So dance at your protests.

Sing at your meetings.

Celebrate your wins.

Rest without guilt.

Care for your comrades.

Build joyful, sustainable movements.

Because the fight is long.

And we need you for all of it.

Not just until you burn out.

But for decades.

For your whole life.

This is joyful activism.

This is sustaining the long fight.

This is how we win.

Next in this series: "Joyful Recovery: Addiction and Celebration" — the final article in Part V, exploring recovery through joy and replacing substance with celebration.