I just got back from a beautiful, two week vacation.

It was desperately needed, because to be honest, right before that I was losing my mind.

My anxiety was through the roof, I was struggling to work at all… it was my worst week in a really long time.

 

Before the trip, my best friend told me: 

“The trip will fix everything- you’re going to come back refreshed, ready to work, and you’ll feel like a brand new person.”

 

Spoiler alert, I am not a brand new person.

Yes, I had a beautiful break.

Yes, I experienced so much peace.

Yes, I had so many perspective shifts.

 

But no, everything that I was anxious about before vacation had not magically melted away.

I love my bestie, but she accidentally sold me on a very typical wellness industry lie.

 

The wellness industry (including coaches and healers) like to sell us a “magic pill”…

 …if you just do this one thing, you’ll finally be healed.

 

Why?

 

Because if we’re being honest, we want the fantasy of the “quick fix”.

We want to believe in the fantasy that white supremacy culture and capitalism have created for us…

…which says that there’s a magical, mythical world in which we are “better”, “fixed”, and “whole”.

 

We want to believe that it’s possible someday to be “perfect” – which in a white supremacist culture is rich, white, thin, “successful”, and endlessly happy…

…because white supremacy culture wants us to believe that if we simply conform a little more, fit in just a little bit better then we wouldn’t experience as much oppression throughout our daily lives.

 

Let me say this plainly:

You are already entirely and perfectly whole.

 

And if you don’t believe me, or have a hard time taking that in, I want to remind you that’s a result of living in a white supemacist world.

 

White supremacy culture wants us to believe

Our oppression

Our trauma

Out mental health

Our money issues

Our “success” (or lack thereof)

 

Is our fault, and our responsibility to “fix”.

 

Here me when I say this:

None of that shit is your fault.

 

As humans of color, we live within oppressive systems that harm us daily.

So if we didn’t get into this pain alone, how do we get out?

We do it together.

We need to find communities when we can finally feel safe, with individuals who truly see us and support us to move towards what thriving looks like for us.

 

When I was losing my mind and heading on vacation, my generative community looked like:

My best friend Nadia, who pushed me to offload as much work as humanly possible while I was out of town (advice I conveniently forgot I gave to her a month or two before, lol).

My other friend Raquel, who pulled tarot cards for me and took a look at my transits when I was having a terrible week.

My friend Emma, who helped remind me that I wasn’t alone in what I was feeling.

My lead coach, Olivia, who took on new responsibilities (sometimes with an hour’s notice) and took over my work for the week.

My assistant, Jalene, who held down the backend of our customer service and moved meetings so that I could have the space I needed.

 

I have no doubt that without this safe community I’ve built of humans who share my decolonial, anti-capitalist goals, I’d still be holding onto my pre-vacation freakout.

 

The right community for you:

• Sees you in your glory and your mess and supports you at either end.
• Reminds you of your values and goals when you forget
• Lets you know that you’re not alone, crazy, etc…
• Teaches you that you can be vulnerable and supported, just for being you

 

Healing is done best in community, because most of our pain is created by toxic, unsafe community interaction…

…so we need to create positive, safe community interactions to rewrite the old traumas from our past.

 

That is exactly why I created Revolutionary Rising, my six month group coaching and healing program for BIPOC changemakers.

I saw the way my 1:1 coaching clients’ progress skyrocketed when they were in a safe community where they could realize they’re not alone.

I saw the way the support from the community was sometimes more healing than the coaching itself.

Best of all, I saw them bloom into more confident, expressive, vibrant versions of themselves as they saw that they could show up in a community and be safe, supported, and loved.

This is the work we do everyday in Revolutionary Rising- help you heal the harm that has been created by living in a white supremacist society.

… and we do it together.

Interested in joining us? Click here to apply.

We have a new cohort getting started in July- we’d love to see you there.

 

Love,

Gieselle