2023 Sparked A Self-First Revolution
Before I could fully come to terms with 2023 leaving, she grabbed her belongings and walked towards the door. Although I wonder what the rush is, I want her to go. She swept in swiftly after 2022 departed and started her stay off with many challenges. She threw several blessings in the mix as the months passed but didn't let up on the lessons. And because I was constantly pushed to reach new personal heights, I'm feeling a bit of end-of-year fatigue mixed with a heap of fulfillment.
A beautiful metamorphosis took place in 2023 that leaves me feeling content. After a rocky first few months of the year, I settled into a rewarding spiritual journey comprised of extreme self-love and pouring heavily into myself. Of course, this self-care practice included the usual physical maintenance (hair did, nails did, everything did *see Drake's song "Fancy"). But, most importantly, it encompassed soulful, mental, and emotional maintenance. The kind of maintenance that forces you to fall deeply in love with yourself and abolish anything or anyone who tries to tamper with that love.
After reading the book The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life earlier in the year, I began to rearrange my life in a way that allowed me to wake up and check in with myself first. I have never been an early riser, but I pushed myself to become one, and it was life-changing. I became more productive, and my spirituality expanded because I had quiet time with God. This new routine allowed me to vibrate higher and made me realize how much of a spiritual and revolution act putting myself first was.
My friend and I began to dig deeper into the self-care realm together, embarking upon this reforming self-care journey that led to us starting a non-profit called Black Women For Self. For centuries, the world has been placing unrealistic expectations on Black Women, and a lot of us have fallen victim to those expectations, thus neglecting ourselves. Therefore, BWFS aims to revolt against those expectations and start a radical self-care movement encouraging Black Women to release, rest, and pour into themselves mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.
My self-revolution became one of the main focuses of my universe for 2023, and I only bothered to do a little writing outside of Hello Beautiful. Also, I didn’t have any words to share on this platform. This year was all about acting on the lessons I was learning. I don't know what next year will bring for this blog. I may let the words I've written on here continue to marinate until it's time for them to move to another platform, or I may come back with a compelling story. Either way, I'm only interested in doing what feels right to me - nothing more. Nonetheless, I appreciate y’all for rocking with me and being patient during my year of silence on here.
If you want to join the Black Women For Self movement, click here. We do bi-monthly events, all aimed at creating space for Black Women. Be sure to follow the organization on Instagram and TikTok. Also, if you care to keep up with my fashion and lifestyle, follow me on Instagram.
I'll leave you with these:
I read somewhere that loving yourself is loving God - big fact. My friend also told me that Iyanla Vanzant once said everything in your cup is for you, and only the OVERFLOW is for others. Both of these notions hit home for me.
From here on out, it's SELF first. And everyone in my circle benefits immensely from this concept.
Until next time,
Peace & Blessings…
- Samjah Iman