Is it just me or do you feel like we entered a time warp? I think this happens every year around this time. I promise you it was Dec 22 just yesterday. But here we are a day or two after Christmas (depending on where you are in the world) and it is hard to keep track of what’s next and what’s just happened. In today’s letter, I want to share with you a mini holiday lesson on one of my favorite holidays during this season, Kwanzaa. I’ll also share some exciting news Lo and I are celebrating (no, I’m not pregnant 🫠). And lastly, I will invite you to reflect with me at my Reflections & Intentions Setting Workshop.
Mini holiday lesson: Kwanzaa
“if you want to go quickly, go alone if you want to go far, go together.”
Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday celebrated by people of African heritage in the United States and around the world. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an African-American professor of Africana Studies, as a way to reaffirm and celebrate African-American culture and traditions.
Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26th to January 1st, and each day is dedicated to one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). These principles are meant to encourage people to live in accordance with African cultural values and to build strong, healthy communities.
During Kwanzaa, people often engage in activities such as lighting candles, sharing meals, and participating in cultural events and rituals. Kwanzaa is a time for reflection, celebration, and community building, and it offers a meaningful way for people to connect with their African heritage and culture.
What Lo and I are Celebrating:
“Do you know what today is? It’s our anniversary”
Dec 2017 in Khanom, Thailand
Lo and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this week. We eloped in Thailand on Dec 26, 2017 and wow, I am just so thankful for our partnership and the magical life we continue to co-create.
After a few encouragements on IG, I’ve decided I’m going to finally write up our love story… I’ll put it on this platform in the next month or so.
We also celebrated some new developments in our careers. I’m heading back to education full time as an assistant head of secondary at a school on island (for my non-international school friends- secondary is a combo of high and middle school. Primary is essentially an elementary school). The school where I’ll be working has a secondary and a primary school. I’ll be the head of the secondary. Assistant head to my boss who runs both schools. Any other educational leaders reading this? Let’s connect! I’ll be doing a free mastermind group in the spring to share resources and best practices!
Lo is continuing his journey with the Green School. He is just thriving with his blue ocean programs and coral restoration dives with the kids. He is in his fourth year of playing Capoeira and I could not be prouder of him and the work he is doing.
This puts us in Bali for another 2.5 years. This is pretty big for us as we normally don’t plan too far ahead in the future. Before we signed on these most recent contracts, we talked long and hard about if Bali is still the right place for us and even thought about what it would look like if we were to move in the next year. Ultimately, we decided to settle in a little more permanently, at least for us, and started to make our joglos feel even more like a home. I’m so in love with our living room Joglo right now!
For Christmas, we celebrated with the Black in Bali group at a 40+ person 4-Course dinner with wine pairings. It was so joyful to eat nourishing food and fellowship with melanin folks from across the globe. We played games, sang songs, and just had a lovely time all around. I even pulled some oracle cards at the end!
We’ve even been enjoying a few reunions over this last week as several friends who moved to places like Australia, Cambodia, Singapore, and the Philippines have returned to the island for the holidays.
I found coffee mate at the local store this week!!!!
As much as I’ve loved all the festivities and reunions, I’m taking the next few days to slow down and ground myself. Get back into my slow and nourishing morning routines. I’m currently doing a manifestation challenge with To Be Magnetic, and took a pause on the Unblocking work to just be for a bit, but I am getting back into the work today. I still have a few more pages to work through in my reflections & intentions guide. As I prepare to transition back into education after 2.5 years away, I really want to be intentional about setting myself up with sustainable routines and nourishing boundaries. I’m excited for this next chapter, but I wont lie, ya girl is a little nervous! Send good vibes my way! TIA!
A start to my End of Year Reflection
“Bloom with Balance and Ease”
That was my phrase for the year!
I became really clear on what my core values are this year. Through my work with TBM, they have a workshop that focuses on figuring out your authentic code
My main values are Nourishment/Safety, Balance/Flexibility, Authentic Connection, & Expression. I’ve been filtering most of my decisions through these key values. If it doesn’t align, it ain’t it
Lo and I moved to our new home this year- the 10th one we’ve lived in together!
I’ve made some new friends and connected deeper to the seasoned ones and lost touch to some I thought would be with me until the end
I transitioned my 1-1 coaching program from writing and education coaching to intuitive coaching
I redesigned and reopened my Word Weavers creative writing program for kids.
I started the Giving Season
I made some serious breakthroughs with my therapist around some long-standing limiting beliefs and blocks
I binged the entire vampire diaries universe and all of home economics. I watched it’s the wonderful life for the first time and practical magic for the 100th.
I listened to Viola Davis’s memoir, May Cause Miracles by Gabby Bernstein, Bamboozled by Jesus by Yvonne Orji, and Homecoming by Eddie Huang
I read The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer, and Lemony Snikcet’s a Series of Unfortunate Events, Understanding Human Design by Karen Curry Parker
I started to do the hard work to forgive a few key people who hurt me in my 20s and started doing the work to forgive myself for the people I hurt as well.
Still working through the guide and will share some more insights that come up in the January update
I wanted to share with you all my third annual reflection guide and accompanying reflection and intention setting workshop. As I transition into my new role, I’ll be taking time off from the live workshops for a bit, so if you’ve been wanting to this is your sign that now is the time.
If you're like me, you probably find the end of the year to be a time of transition and change. It's a great opportunity to look back and see what plot twists you’ve experienced and how you’ve grown over the past year.
That's where my reflection guide and workshop come in. The guide is a 50+ page resource full of gentle guidance and thought-provoking prompts to help you connect with yourself and your community, find alignment and balance, and set sustainable intentions for the year ahead. The accompanying workshop is a 2-hour deep dive into the guide, where we'll explore the prompts and exercises in more detail and have the chance to discuss and reflect as a group. The first half will be about reflecting and the 2nd half we will really focus on creating sustainable intentions in our lives. Not over the top resolutions or huge goals, but small subtle shifts, or even how to learn to just be and work on enjoying exactly where we are.
If you're interested in accessing the full version of the guide, it's available now for just $15. Or, if you'd like to access the full guide and join me for the workshop, you can do so for just $22. I hope you'll consider joining me on this journey of reflection and growth.
If I don’t see ya in the workshop, I’ll see ya in the new year!
