Meditation Retreats

Rashida Jones on Attending Meditation Retreats As A Child

Rashida Jones, the star of the iconic TV show Parks and Recreation, the US version of The Office, the Netflix sitcom BlackAF and Grammy winner for her Netflix documentary Quincy – about her songwriting father Quincy Jones – knows a thing or two Things nobody cease to be. And just when her résumé couldn’t be more varied, she added “designer” to her list of skills by creating a collection for the coveted luggage brand Away, which has redefined travel.

The brand introduces new personal items, including a few, in the collection, which celebrates “the natural beauty of the place where she is at home” with vegan leather materials and earth tones symbolizing the California landscape where Rashida lives that will be very sought after. especially the belt pouch.

While “juggling multiple plates at the same time” is obviously one of Rashida’s key skills, she is currently taking time out, as she told me on the phone another Monday morning in LA’s lockdown. “We’re a generation that works compulsively,” says Rashida, reflecting on the past year. “We have notes on notes and we had to streamline the process, even when we socialize we do this all the time and sometimes it’s nice just not to!”

For someone known for her larger-than-life, side-splintering, comedic timing, it is a touch of surprise to find out what Rashida has learned about himself from the experience of being locked up: “I think I’m secretly introverted because I felt myself I feel relieved not to have to leave the house, ”she laughs. It’s funny because I think it’s true for all of us!

Rashida’s away collection also seems to aptly reflect this newfound person. “Actually traveling and taking a plane is a very soldierly, thoughtful experience in which you leave something behind. Travel is an existential experience, ”says Rashida.

“Every time I travel, I learn a little more about myself,” she continues and asks what was the most defining journey of her life. “As a child I went to India, it was so different from my life and it became so defining how I looked at the world. It was a stark contrast between a private school in LA and a tiny village in India. It forged my path in life because it was the common ground between the people there and me. I shared a smile with a kid, we had something in common and it really struck me that we have more in common than differences. “

“When I think about globalization, I get sad because I think about how connected we could be, and now it feels like it has torn us apart. Hopefully the pandemic shows us that we need to take care of each other as a global community, ”she adds.

Regardless of whether your trip is an individual or a group tour, the act of traveling is a reflective, personal experience for the multi-syllable separator. “I was out and about so much,” she says, “the things I bought from me were so important and I wanted the collection to be a reflection of me, something beautiful that reminded me of my home and a companion is on the way. As I’ve gotten older, I also want things to feel more practical. “The amazingly practical travel bag is a prime example of this.

While we may not be able to fly around the way we wish, Rashida brings her escape closer to her California home by “going to the beach, touching a tree, and trying to connect with something that is feels bigger than me It’s so easy to forget what it’s about, we’re stuck on a treadmill with all of these things that we should prioritize with very little time to think about, “she admits.

Rashida is as familiar with reflection and self-care as she is with comedy, she reveals. “I grew up meditating – I went to a meditation center. While other children were camping, I went to meditation retreats. Self-care feels essential now, it is felt at other times in my life that it wasn’t a choice. I have to meditate and practice self-care, ”says Rashida.

What did meditation teach you, I ask? “I’m a pretty cerebral person. We think our mind defines us, but it is something that you should discipline. You are in control of it. Most of the time we think that our mind is taking over us, and we cannot control a thought, emotion, or action, but we control it. It’s a big part of my success. Meditation allows you to use your mind to control what is happening, not the other way around. “Has anyone reconfigured their own mindset after hearing this? Because I definitely am!

Right before Rashida rushes off to deal with one of her many résumé exploits, I ask her if she could fly away anywhere in the world now, where would she go? “We have a fantasy, my four best friends from high school and I, to go on a road trip through Italy,” she replies without hesitation. In any case, I would register for this road trip right away. BRB goes out to pack my Away x Rashida Jones bag for a Rashida-style reflection point.

Away by Rashida Jones is now available here.

Related Articles