ready to own your struggles?
[GIVEAWAY] "Self-care is the bridge to community-care, and community-care is the bridge to community healing." - MINAA B.
I didn’t even know it was possible to “own” your struggles until I came across the words “Owing Our Struggles: A Path to Healing and Finding Community In A Broken World.”
Earlier this year when social worker and mental health educator Minaa B announced her first book, I had to read the title three times.
I’d seen owning our power, owning our creativity (*waves to self*), owning our voice but never owning your struggles. For someone that’s an independent creative (meaning I don’t full-time work for a large company, I don’t have investors, and I strategize my business around my creativity), ownership is a mindset shift. Ownership means that I take responsibility for the ins and outs of whatever is mine and I steward it with intention, integrity, and innovation. Ownership of myself and how I work provides a pathway to freedom that’s way more Instagram friendly than the idea of owning struggles.
Why would I want to own my struggles, let alone our collective ones?
Fast forward to last month and reading these words in her book:
“Owning Our Struggles requires us to look within and ask: Are we truly owning who we are? No two lives are the same, but no matter our race, class status, gender, ability, or sexuality, adversit is woven deeply into the human experience. There is no amount of goodness that you can uphold that will make you exempt from struggle. Adversity will come and how you choose to face it will play a big role int he quality of your life and mental health. However, it doesn’t stop there. Self-healing my be powerful, but we are not healing to exist within a vacuum; we are healing to integrate within our community and build healthy, supportive networks.”
That passage made me realize that the minute we own our struggles, we begin to start the healing process. And it gets to start with honesty, acceptance, and a step towards a positive decision that impacts us and the world around us.
accept your truth and take a step forward,
Melissa, founder of #blkcreatives
Giveaway Details
We’re gifting FOUR copies of “Owing Our Struggles: A Path to Healing and Finding Community In A Broken World” to U.S. based folks. Here’s how to enter:
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BONUS entry: Comment on this Instagram post and let us know what interests you in this book.
Entries for Giveaway Ends: Friday, October 20th at 7pm CST. Winners announced in this newsletter on October 23 at 7pm CST.
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Until Next Week, Take Care!
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