I was thinking of you today.

I want to give you something beautiful.

I don’t know what that is.

I don’t know what it looks like or tastes like.

I thought about sharing a spoken-word piece I wrote when I was doing my dissertation at Stanford.

I thought about including a monologue from my solo performance piece that went up off-Broadway.

I want to give you something.
Something beautiful.

As powerful Black Women who have walked through life’s fire, we spend our time feeding others—yet very seldom do we have the experience of being fed.

I want to feed you.

I want you to know what it feels like to be nurtured and supported for no reason.

I want you to feel the texture and caress of being loved—just as you are and just as you are not.

Have I told you lately that I love you, Black Woman?

I love your swag, your genius. Your quick wit.

I respect your walk.

I honor your heart.

Today I want to give you something beautiful.

I want to give YOU to YOU… through my eyes.

YOU are beautiful.

You are magnificent.

You are perfect.

You are divine.

You are God wrapped in flesh.

You may not know this, but you are the answer to our prayers.

You are the reason the ancestors bowed their heads.

You are the inspiration that kept our men alive.

You are the life force for our children.

You are so special and so unique, being in your presence is simply splendor.

You are God’s promise fulfilled.

You are the reason Jesus wept and rose.

You are the future.

You are the world made anew.

If you could see you through my eyes, you would be so proud of the women you have become.

Not in spite of your walk, but because of it.

Here are 3 “Giving YOU to YOU” Defy Impossible practices so you can see you … beautiful:

1. Mirror Love: Go to your mirror (as soon as you can, I invite you to go in the buff so you can’t hide from yourself) and look you in your eyes. The most powerful statement in the Universe is “I am.” Affirm you with the following “I am” declarations:

            I am a good person.

            I am becoming the best me possible.

            I am the truth and I live my truth out loud.

            I am perfect in my imperfections.

            I am the answer to people’s prayers.

            I am wanted.

            I am adored by God.

            I am prosperous, affluent, and abundant.

            I am the way, the truth, and the light.

            I am open and ready to receive all the goodness of life.

            I am magnificent—no matter what the past says.

            I am loved.

            I am deserving.

            I am trustworthy.

            I am kickin’ butt and taking names.

            I am doing God’s work.

            I am the one the world has been waiting for.

            I am… (fill in the blank with the highest possible truth about you that you can own.)

2. Scented Secret Santa Love Note. Take a moment. Think about how you want someone else to value you, acknowledge you, understand and appreciate you. Now give it to yourself. You are your own best thing. Put it on pretty paper. Spray the love note with perfume. Then hide it from yourself. Put it at the bottom of the clean sheets closet or in your winter coat pocket. Then forget about it. When you get to the last set of clean sheets or winter comes, your love note will be there to remind you that you are special and you are loved… by you.

3. Tend to your body with tenderness. Your body is God’s temple. It is the only one you get. Most Black Women who have walked through life’s fire don’t know tenderness. Not with our bodies. I was so used to my body being in pain, I associated pain with being alive. It took purposeful, conscious, and deliberate tender attentiveness to love my body back into wellness. Scented baths, foot massages, energy healings, aligning chakras, rolfing, body work, body wraps, facials, yoga, boxing, weight training, walking, meditation, hand rubs—start small. Touch your face. Your hands.

Take a deep breath.

You are here. You are alive.

You are the miracle.

Cherish you.

You matter.

Please post below which one of these practices you will take on this week and why. I bear witness to you seeing you… beautiful, whole, and precious.

With all the love my heart can hold…

I was thinking of you today.

I want to give you something beautiful.

I don’t know what that is.

I don’t know what it looks like or tastes like.

I thought about sharing a spoken-word piece I wrote when I was doing my dissertation at Stanford.

I thought about including a monologue from my solo performance piece that went up off-Broadway.

I want to give you something.
Something beautiful.

As powerful Black Women who have walked through life’s fire, we spend our time feeding others—yet very seldom do we have the experience of being fed.

I want to feed you.

I want you to know what it feels like to be nurtured and supported for no reason.

I want you to feel the texture and caress of being loved—just as you are and just as you are not.

Have I told you lately that I love you, Black Woman?

I love your swag, your genius. Your quick wit.

I respect your walk.

I honor your heart.

Today I want to give you something beautiful.

I want to give YOU to YOU… through my eyes.

YOU are beautiful.

You are magnificent.

You are perfect.

You are divine.

You are God wrapped in flesh.

You may not know this, but you are the answer to our prayers.

You are the reason the ancestors bowed their heads.

You are the inspiration that kept our men alive.

You are the life force for our children.

You are so special and so unique, being in your presence is simply splendor.

You are God’s promise fulfilled.

You are the reason Jesus wept and rose.

You are the future.

You are the world made anew.

If you could see you through my eyes, you would be so proud of the women you have become.

Not in spite of your walk, but because of it.

Here are 3 “Giving YOU to YOU” Defy Impossible practices so you can see you … beautiful:

1. Mirror Love: Go to your mirror (as soon as you can, I invite you to go in the buff so you can’t hide from yourself) and look you in your eyes. The most powerful statement in the Universe is “I am.” Affirm you with the following “I am” declarations:

            I am a good person.

            I am becoming the best me possible.

            I am the truth and I live my truth out loud.

            I am perfect in my imperfections.

            I am the answer to people’s prayers.

            I am wanted.

            I am adored by God.

            I am prosperous, affluent, and abundant.

            I am the way, the truth, and the light.

            I am open and ready to receive all the goodness of life.

            I am magnificent—no matter what the past says.

            I am loved.

            I am deserving.

            I am trustworthy.

            I am kickin’ butt and taking names.

            I am doing God’s work.

            I am the one the world has been waiting for.

            I am… (fill in the blank with the highest possible truth about you that you can own.)

2. Scented Secret Santa Love Note. Take a moment. Think about how you want someone else to value you, acknowledge you, understand and appreciate you. Now give it to yourself. You are your own best thing. Put it on pretty paper. Spray the love note with perfume. Then hide it from yourself. Put it at the bottom of the clean sheets closet or in your winter coat pocket. Then forget about it. When you get to the last set of clean sheets or winter comes, your love note will be there to remind you that you are special and you are loved… by you.

3. Tend to your body with tenderness. Your body is God’s temple. It is the only one you get. Most Black Women who have walked through life’s fire don’t know tenderness. Not with our bodies. I was so used to my body being in pain, I associated pain with being alive. It took purposeful, conscious, and deliberate tender attentiveness to love my body back into wellness. Scented baths, foot massages, energy healings, aligning chakras, rolfing, body work, body wraps, facials, yoga, boxing, weight training, walking, meditation, hand rubs—start small. Touch your face. Your hands.

Take a deep breath.

You are here. You are alive.

You are the miracle.

Cherish you.

You matter.

Please post below which one of these practices you will take on this week and why. I bear witness to you seeing you… beautiful, whole, and precious.

With all the love my heart can hold…