In All About Love, Belll Hooks quotes M. Scott Peck when discussing love and communities and how we come to make them and serve them, “In and through community lies the salvation of the world….. who have learned how to communicate honestly with each other, whose relationships go deeper than their masks of composure, and who have developed some significant commitment to ‘rejoice together, mourn together,’ and to ‘delight in each other, and make other’s conditions our own,”
Hooks goes on to say, “To love well is the task in all meaningful relationships, not just romantic ones…”
As we close the year and look to the one ahead, this quote on community goes far beyond my personal life. It is the ground for which I run this blog and a business. And as we enter a new year, it is something worth openly acknowledging as the overall message of this space.
A few weeks back, I grew frustrated with intsagram and its ability change things up and curve the amount of people who interacted with things, and what I myself interacted with. There were many occasions when I texted a friend or thought, “Thank God for the blog.” and I meant it in such a deep way. And its not just the lack of control on social media, or the way the connections are seem less fruitful. My thankfulness was in the reality that one can create a community as an extension of the community we live in and have that extension of community thrive and grow in. A community that can mourn together and rejoice together.
Over the last year and a half , I have seen the power of this space. And I want to thank you. Thank you for being part of this community. Thank you for allowing me a space to create, share, and grow a business, too. Thank you for allowing me to navigate motherhood alongside you, and re-approach how I do so publicly again and again. Thank you for supporting my work, and most of all, for supporting me as a person whoever I am, whoevever I decide to be. It has been an odd and beautiful thing growing a blog and a family in my 20s. I hope that when I share you are able to not only be inspired, but know that your roads are your own and they can be as you wish them to be. Most of all, I hope that you can continue to serve, support, and delight in your immediate communities.
If you follow me on isntagram, you know that I share a good amount of words and passing thoughts. Going into next year, I want to hold on to those and bring them back here. Instagram, is an extension of the conversation and community, it is not the host. I hope that you continue to come here and engage in the stories told and the community created.
Finally, I hope that this spring, I am able to hug you in person as we celebrate the publishing of Woman Of Color in a few cities.
Here are a few of my favorite posts from this year….
5 Ways I instill Confidence In My Children and Myself
Motherhood Right Now: You Are Here
On Combating Racism and Fostering Joy
Style:
What To Wear When You’re Riding A Bike
Vintage Rainbow Raincoats and other things that make me happy
Travel
9 Things I Did: My Berlin Vacation
A Weekend In North Adams, Massachusetts
On Caring For Your Mental Health As The Summer Ends
Physical and Mental Decluttering
5 Things I Do Alone In The City
Finding my Community On My Grandmother’s Stoop
A look at my Brooklyn Apartment
And then there were so many amazing women who I was able to have on here like Anja, Dionne, and four friends discussing mental health. There was the Window In series, too. There was lots of culture, and more open discussions about voting, racism and work. If you have some time, you can look through the archives.
And if you’re interested, here’s a few things from me in other places.
Thank you again, and I can’t wait to see what 2019 has for all of us!
