Hi all, it’s been a month since my last post but honestly it feels like a year. Amid a pandemic, I thought the only stressors would be around protecting myself and family against illness along with daily life highs and lows. Little could I imagine that the world–mine, yours, the planet would be shaken awake. From quarantine to large-scale discussions around equality, justice, freedom, the Black experience, and allyship, 2020 continues to illustrate that it is the year of unpredictable. As a Black woman, I have clearly always been aware of what my life experience has been with bias and prejudice and the impact. Through it all, I’ve pushed through with resilience, positivity, and hope. While I am still all of these things, I am much more aware and awake to civil rights and inequities that persist within our society.
The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd were horrifying and devastating, as they unfortunately join a list of so many others gone too soon, too tragically. Seeing microaggressions on film in parks and other spaces were unsurprising yet beyond disappointing. All of this and we’re still battling COVID-19. It would make anyone stressed and sick and I was no exception. I went through the range of tuning in to news and discourse online to disconnecting completely to using workouts to heal me to binging on food to dull the pain. The current events and the overwhelming statements of solidarity on a large-scale were enough to throw anyone off their game. Here I am navigating work, health, and extreme mental stress. What it taught me was this:
- Life is precious
- It is important to use your voice to affect change
- Preserving and protecting your joy and peace are essential
- Mental health needs attention just as physical, emotional, and spiritual health
- Journaling is a powerful tool!
While I still feel the overwhelm and sadness from everything happening, I also feel hopeful and inspired to bring joy and full authenticity to everything I do. Will every day be a happy day? No. Will I need to take time away from my platform at times? Yes, and that’s okay. I’m human. We all need to fully experience our feelings, positive and negative, and then determine a productive path forward. It’s okay to just BE and take time to rebound.
What Nia Knows has always been about inspiring wellness, self-care, and personal development. I will still continue to blog about these topics but I will also use this platform to elevate BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) voices. Like many others, I am discovering so much by way of stories, art, and other resources that it is imperative to share. There is beauty in diversity and sharing. I hope you’ll join me in celebrating and pushing for change.
In community & wellness,
Nia