Happy End Of May 2025!

It is Self-Care Month and I was thrilled to participate in a wellness workshop this month!  (I also spoke at one in April for the Chicago Urban League)

Here are a few takeaways from the day in Detroit:

Mindful Movement —moving helps with our wellness; just move: walk, stretch, dance *ya’lll know the boots on the ground dance?!

Something to look forward to —I talk about this in Navigating the Blues; what are you looking forward to? It can be big (vacay) or small (getting outside to plant your flowers or meeting up with a friend). What brings you joy and how many times are you doing that activity? Schedule it now! Do it and hit repeat.

Rest vs sleep—We had a great discussion on this; sleeping through life is not resting, in fact it can be a marker of depression. Resting is different. It means your mind is being restored and this can even be done through activity. When you wake up, do you feel refreshed or like you need more sleep? Perhaps you’re not really resting and need to find moments to rejuvenate your spirit. We also talked about what happens when we rest —sometimes we don’t want to rest or stop moving or doing because we’re going to have to face some issues. You deserve rest; press through the hard things. (See my blog on rest)

A special thanks to Thriving Black Church Initiative for hosting this session and giving away copies of Navigating the Blues. We’re trying to be whole!

Talk about Mindful Movement. I stumbled across a great gospel workout; I’ve also tried this woman’s boxing workout and ballet/barre workout. It’s fun and a real workout. Try one. Thanks Unjala Lester!

My devotion for March 6, 2025, on ODBM.org received lots of feedback https://www.odbm.org/en/devotionals/devotional-category/not-easily-offended

My favorite read: One of my favorite reads of the month was First Ladies, a historical fiction novel featuring the friendship and activism of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McCleod Bethune.  Thanks Victoria Christopher Murray and Marie Benedict

Upcoming events: I’ll be at Write to Publish for one day only on June 11, 2025. I think it is one of the first writing conferences I ever attended…way back in the ‘90s (like the 1900s, as my daughter says).

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"Make sure to include yourself in the list of things you need to take care of this week." --from @robdanceoffical

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