Month: June 2021

The Gift of Words & Writing

I’ve connected with quite a few writer friends this week and it has fueled my creativity in ways that I didn’t realize I missed so much during the pandemic.

Two of the catchups were one-on-one reunions over a meal, and both of those friends/mentors reminded me that writing is important work – to be leaned into, wrestled with, granted free reign, yet relented to with finesse, because words hold power and stories help us understand each other; and when we put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, sometimes we even surprise ourselves at the important truths, wounds, dreams, hopes, fears, strength and more that lie just beneath the surface.

Whether we’re writing fiction or nonfiction, that power – and responsibility – are the same.

My other gathering with writers was filled with amazing talent and wisdom too, and left me with an inner glow.

I share all of this to note that as I’ve spent time at my keyboard after hours and in the wee hours of morning this week, editing others work and also nurturing my own work-in-progress, I’ve felt more grateful than ever for the gift of words and writing, and for the opportunity to speak to the world in a manner that can endure.

What part of your purpose or your journey are you most grateful for this week? Acknowledge it and celebrate it in some way.

Author & Essayist Stacy Hawkins Adams

Make #Juneteenth Your Do-teenth

I wrote this #LifeUntapped blog post about Juneteenth one year ago, and in light of the new federal holiday, I’m sharing again. Let’s make Juneteenth – and every day beyond – days in which we make a tangible difference. – Stacy

Life Untapped with Stacy Hawkins Adams

I learned of Juneteenth when I was 21, during a summer internship in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A young black couple that befriended me took me to my first-ever Juneteenth celebration and opened my eyes to why it was significant.

I wondered then why I’d never heard of it, and it’s a reminder today of the truth that many of us “don’t know what we don’t know.”

Today is an excellent day to spend some extra time seeking information through Google or your favorite search engine; to buy some ebooks, audiobooks or print books that detail the rich history of African American dreamers and doers; to watch some of the documentaries that add context and revelation to the pandemic that is known as racial injustice, such as 13th or the classic Eyes on the Prize or others you discover through your own research.

Juneteenth is “a thing” because it took forever…

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6 Reasons to Keep Going

I’m sharing this “public service announcement” to persevere for whoever needs it (and just know, that sometimes it’s me). 

If it’s not you today, pass it on!

  1. Keep breathing – your deep-in-the-valley season is just a pitstop.
  2. Keep dancing – the swirling storm will find it harder to touch you.
  3. Keep believing – beauty can indeed be birthed from ashes.
  4. Keep trusting yourself – you’re a prize worth cherishing, at home, at work and everywhere in between. 
  5. Keep paying attention – to your heart, to your gut, to what people show you rather than what they say, and to what you know to be true. Trusting yourself will never lead you wrong. 
  6. Keep laughing – it’s medicine for your soul, and everything doesn’t have to be so serious. 

Most importantly? Just keep on keeping on. 

I promise you, your best days are ahead, no matter your age, stage or circumstances. 

Your job is to persist in excellence, love with an open heart, set appropriate boundaries, welcome peace and treasure your joys. 

I’m living proof (and there are so many tangible examples around) that it’s all doable. Join me on this Life Untapped journey in your own way and in your own time. Just promise me, and yourself, that you’ll keep going.  

Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com

Why Self-Love Matters

The most important person to love is yourself.

Not selfishly, nor blindly, nor exclusively – just boldly.

If you’ll love yourself with this level of intention, it can’t help but spill over to others and compel you to seek their highest good, too. 

This is how unconditional love and collaboration and peace and hope are fostered.

Plus, imagine the opposite: When you don’t launch into your day (or your life) with a healthy self-love, there’s little left to share with the world. This is how competition and hate and and war become the norm.

Plant seeds today that yield the harvest you prefer – for yourself, for your children and for humanity.

Photo by Designecologist on Pexels.com

Try On the New

New seasons of life, new opportunities, new doors to walk through are often what we pray for; yet when they arrive, we sometimes quake in our boots. (See my raised hand.)

But as my late mother told me in our final conversation before her passing, “Sometimes you have to lose to gain.” 

Growth = movement, and progress requires letting go of what’s in your hand now to take hold of the blessings that await.

When you feel at peace that you’re moving in the right ways and at the appointed time, go ahead and trust yourself – summon your courage and leap. 

As one of my favorite quotes suggests, your next-level joy is on the other side of your fear of the unknown – and your purpose-driven path may be there, too:

“What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Naomi’s Reminder

Welcome to June. We’re halfway through another historic year!

In light of young tennis star Naomi Osaka’s dramatic (and courageous) decision a few days ago to put her dreams on hold and practice self-care, I share the sentiments in this post as a reminder to all of us that what matters most is not material gain nor worldly success.

It is what flows into and from the heart that can make you or break you.

Let us live and lead with more empathy, truth and love, because everyone, at every level, needs it.

You never know what someone else is going through behind that smile, that frown, that fear, that anger, those actions or that attitude. So give everyone grace, because they don’t know your full story either.

Judge little; love liberally – rinse and repeat!

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