Why You Should Be Here

I encourage people to prioritize and maintain personal wellness and a commitment to authenticity as guiding lanterns for us all to be free. Authenticity-Wellness-Freedom.

So – what does this mean? 

The guiding principles of this space, defined:

Authenticity

A commitment to your true self or, showing up to the world the same person you show your innermost self. A firm stance on your values, your boundaries, regardless of external pressure. Allowing yourself to fully engage in what motivates you to contribute to the world. You ask yourself these questions daily and are able to reply a resounding YES.

1. I own all parts of myself
2. I am who I am, no matter who is watching
3. I communicate what I won’t compromise
4. My actions match my values
5. I put myself and my needs first.

–My Affirmations for Authentic Living

Wellness

Prioritizing individual wellness so you are fully able to contribute to the wellness of our larger communities.

Individual Wellness

This looks like a holistic well-being that goes beyond physical ailments or appearance. The inclusion of mental and emotional well-being as a marker of overall wellness. This may mean:

• managing mental health & mental illness so that it does not fester into a monster in your life, interfering with your purpose. 
• Consistently referring to your authentic boundaries to prevent self-sacrificing (We don’t do that here).
• Pausing to be mindful of how we show up in the world while also taking stock of how the state of the world is causing us to show up. 
• Splurging on personal pampering and allocating time and resources to those activities that rejuvenate us.

Overall: An affirmation of self.

Community Wellness 

Checking for your people (you define who your people are). After putting on your own mask, handing out masks to your people who are pursuing their own wellness journeys. Making sure the systems and organizing we use and engage in are sustainably managed to be effective. Making sure the collective needs of your people are top of mind. We can’t be well in a bubble and watch as our siblings are gasping for air. Enabling your community to engage in an affirmation of itself to create new futures and possibilities.

Freedom

Personal and collective freedom. Personal freedom achieved through the support of a commitment to authenticity and individual wellness. Freeing ourselves of external oppression on our expression of who we are and what is important to us. Existing outside of the gaze of the restrictions of the external world (including patriarchy, heteronormativity, and white supremacy). Angela Davis encourages us to liberate minds as well as liberating society. And with individual freedom comes a responsibility to collective freedom. Collective freedom through an interrelated human struggle for liberation.

Living out this charge:

If you’re here, you’ve taken the first step toward prioritizing a life of authenticity-wellness-freedom. Welcome.