Happy Friday supporters and survivors alike! I am currently writing on the road right now as I embark in another production of fashion week in LA & now Palm Springs, CA. And Cristal is busy working away in fashion, enjoying her NEW growing family as they are expecting another bundle of Joy!!!😆👶🏽👧🏾💙💗 sooooo at the very least we can both account that the last leg of 2016 has been very demanding on us! As long as these days are I know there was something I struggled with from time to time...asking for help. Activism and standing up for anything can be taxing on anyone. Questions like: "is this all making a difference, do they care, what more can I be doing..." sometimes naturally pop in our minds in supporting a cause bigger than ourselves. And just being honest here....We can be SO passionate about our cause(s) it become easy to neglect ourselves in process of helping others. And okay, maybe you do consider yourself an "activist". But perhaps your a working single-parent. Maybe your a student, a volunteer, a entrepreneur on the rise, or an already established business woman or man? I was raised to be the CEO of my own life, it's been instilled in me since I was a child. Being a woman of color, and a minority...my father always said "you'd have to work 2x as hard as anybody else." I took this ideology and ran with it. But sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Never in this ideology did I gather the lesson that even CEOs, incredible mothers, amazing scholars, activists, artistic enthusiasts, professionals and amateurs alllllll need help in some capacity. I think this is why we at HERSTORY promote the importance of SELF-love so much...love itself is a powerful reminder and measurement to our internal happiness and a necessity to survival. Like shelter, love is a means in which we find safety, and without...we are left feeling vacant, abandoned, and alone. So in terms of advocating for individuals like ourselves, survivors of sexual violence and abuse, it's critical we self-assess. Amidst the hustle and bustle of life, while managing healing yourself, and helping others...We are always asking "am I okay?" YOUR healing isn't in other people, please know that. Whether it's involving your Time and energy in a relationship, business, etc. a good mentor of mine once said to me, " Devin, if your out to heal the world you can stop now, you can't fix anything from broken pieces...make sure YOU'RE Good in order to implement the GOOD in others." There is no use trying to play the hero in life and your internal enemies are fighting a battle no body ever sees nor helps you fight. We've spoken weeks prior on "accountability". We mentor young women from different areas in the world and speaking from my own experience...I am incredible grateful for Moments when my mentees ask "are you okay sis? Is there anything I can pray for you about?" That type of self-less question is self-reflective for me and I can be honest, I can share with someone the truth that life is hard sometimes, I am allowed to be human. And in acknowledging that simple truth, I am able to move forward intentionally, not doing things half-heartedly... There will be days when I just don't feel like interacting as much on social media, on speaking of ANOTHER sexual assault survivor's story because it hurts to know it's still happening, or to console another person's emotional wounds when I'm battling my own. But GOD calls us to be like the good Shepard and stop and consider the other less-fortunate in wealth, in emotional and physical stability...to clothe someone else in LOVE. So like that good Shepard, we at Herstory, have made a pact...no matter how we feel, or where we are in life Cristal and myself have one another and the foundation of Jesus Christ to anchor us in our weaker moments. To be able to be used by God, to support whoever needs a platform to speak or a simple open hear. Our form of accountability has helped me in countless ways I'm left with overwhelming gratitude. When either of us is having a crazy week or longer days...the other acts as a reminder in saying "it's okay...do what YOU need to do to get YOU in order! If that means going through a self-care routine, spending time with loved-ones, doing something for you...so be it" we are no stronger than the weakest link in our team... And with that, we encourage the working moms, the passionate activists, the artists, the creatives, the entrepreneurs...take care of YOU. In a world that needs you more than ever....allow yourself to love yourself as much as you love to love others... With love and solidarity, HERSTORY 💗💗
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2020
Categories |