Week 1 Challenge: Build A Support Crew
Pictured: Trekkers in the Selma Jubilee Parade
Greetings Freedom Fighter!
Are you ready for this week's assignment? Remember, anyone can start anytime so forward this email to friends and family who you want to join you.
Last week we focused on setting intentions and detoxing from the digital world in order to see the path ahead of us more clearly. Now we turn our focus to the power of community and the necessity of building and maintaining mutual support systems.
You cannot travel this world alone. Your healing journey will require you to know how to identify the people you want to walk beside you in life, how to nurture those bonds, and how to deepen those connections.
Self-Care Mission
This week, we dare you to nurture the roots of your relationships through intentional acts of love and mindfulness. Your mission is to not just think about, but actively uplift, the spirits of five phenomenal women in your life.
Why? Healing within a collective context is not just beneficial; it's foundational. Research underscores the significance of communal networks in providing emotional support, enhancing psychological resilience, and creating a sense of belonging. By leaning into and strengthening these networks, we engage in a practice deeply rooted in our history and culture.
Self-Care Strategy
Walk, Pray, and Meditate: Each day, dedicate your walk to a remarkable woman who lights up your world. As you walk, meditate on the strength, joy, and comfort she brings to your life. Let gratitude fill each step. That's five women and five walks.
Intentional Acts of Love: During your walk, focus your thoughts and prayers on this special person. Visualize sending her strength, peace, and happiness. Imagine your steps weaving a network of support and love around her.
Send a Message of Light: At the end of your walk, reach out. Text her this message: “Today I walked and meditated on the light that you bring into my life and it made my path brighter. Thank you for being a part of my crew.”
Deepening empathetic connection. Throughout this week, as you dedicate your walks to meditating and praying for the women in your life, you're not just practicing a daily form of intentional gratitude, you're also engaging in a form of empathetic connection. This practice enhances your ability to connect with others on an emotional level, enriching your relationships and strengthening your bonds.
"Black Americans have been defining family through love and connection, as opposed to biology alone, for centuries. Scholars on Black American history note the importance of nonbiological and non-nuclear kinship for survival for enslaved Africans and their descendants. But the practice of Black communities embracing an expansive definition of family extends much farther than slavery. Black people across the diaspora continue to create bonds that aren't based on biology." Read more about it here.
Deepen your self-care practice through habit stacking! If the week-0 social media detox brought you peace, extend it into this week. Similarly, if you embraced drinking 64 ounces of water daily, continue this habit. This method, known as habit stacking, helps integrate new routines into your life, compounding their benefits and solidifying them as part of your daily self-care regimen.
This week, let’s transform our walks into moving prayers, each step a testament to the strength and beauty of the bonds that unite us.
Vanessa & Morgan
P.S. For the next 10 weeks, we’re stepping away from social media and into the streets of our neighborhoods. Sign up for SMS text messages so you can get exclusive updates from the movement that won’t be posted on the gram.
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