how to invest, pt. 2

investing is a lifestyle. investing takes time, intention and money.

in my last blog post about investing, i talked about ways that we can invest within our professions. this means that you are dismantling systemic oppressive systems at your job. many people subscribe to the thought that the only way to change the system, is to be the system. and while i believe that, being passive within an oppressive system helps no one. you must enter the system and actively work to be anti-racist. actively work to engage in change. actively work to seek out others who are about the movement.

but it’s also with our dollars. we need to be supporting black owned businesses, which is a way to support black people as individually and collectively. start asking yourself- who owns this? from what i’ve seen, most things are run by white men. where is your money going? are the passionate about the movement? what are they doing to be anti-racist? your dollar has value. use it to your advantages.

here are some resources about how to support:

support black businesses

sweet savage index

yoga green book (black owned yoga studios and black yoga teachers)

black.owned.everything (on instagram)

how do we plan?

first, you figure out what you need.

how much sleep do you need? food? water? alone time? social time?

figure out what you need to keep going. one of the biggest thing for me, like i said in the last post is yoga. it relieves stress and grounds me. i know that i need sleep too.

most of all, i know i need like minded people to talk to. i need to think things out.

i need to find research and documentaries that valid/reflect my feelings. i find it inspirational

so think about what you need?

therapy? therapyforblackgirls.com will help you locate a therapist in your area that is black. it can often be helpful to turn inward to our community during this time.

sleep? try lavendar oil on your pillow. take a sea salt soak. or an epsom salt bath. this activities help relieve stress and will help you sleep

research? this gets a little more complicated. as an educator, i have turned to data bases such as ERIC, but i am unfamiliar with many other historical databases. but google could help with that.

i’m so proud of us

i’m really so proud of the progress everyone i know is making. we’re defining boundaries, clearing up expectations and being our authentic, emotional selves. and for this, we just give thanks. while it might be difficult and you may feel you’re being overly sensitive or emotional, just know that it’s you growing. your emotions are indicators; take them as tools and use them to help you develop. you’re becoming the best version of you. challenge yourself. i promise it’ll be worth all the hard work.

lately i’ve been working on defining my boundaries. my only true job is to take care of me. so i’ve been working on starting to do that more. and while it’s a lot of work, i’ve already been reaping the benefits.

let this post serve as a little motivation, to keep moving forward, and to remind you that are you are seen, heard and love.

sat nam (truth is my essence),

mayah

whew, i feel much better

i’ve spent most of my time lately, at home. while i’m still in school, i’ve had so much more time for yoga and meditation, and healing. i’m astonished at how much i’ve grown, in just two months. honestly i feel like a new person.

one of the biggest things for me is looking at my life from a different perspective. from the perspective that everything is happening for a reason, which is to help me grow closer to God. it gives me comfort. i know that my experiences are teaching me things. “All you are is God and you cannot hurt me, thank you for being my teacher.” ive started thinking of my emotions as indicators of a problem and to be joyous when i find things to release. much of this is credited to my mom and Louise Hay (her book you can heal your life is AMAZING- 10/10 recommendation)

lately, i’ve been working through old emotions. sadness about things that i thought i had completely healed from. i’ve learned that old things come up so you can let them go. and to be grateful during this process of letting go.

i’ve also learned that forgiveness is based on being willing to forgive. and i’ve learned that you can forgive and choose to not continue the relationship. in my mother’s words, “you (the person being forgiven) took it too far.” sometimes it’s too far to rekindle a relationship. and all that means is you learned what you needed from them.

i’m also working on staying present more. i have a very active imagination and have my whole life. i daydream constantly. while i enjoy these qualities and know that they make me, me, i want to spend more time being engaged in the real world. to do this, i’ll keep doing yoga and probably start journaling more. i bought a passion planner which also has goal settings and prompts and stuff so i will use that as well.

as my chalkboard says “be intentional”. everyday i’m trying to be more of myself. to get to know me. and to be kinder to myself and the world.

intentionally

i’ve been on this journey of self-love for years now. i made this blog back in 2014 and if you look back at old posts you’ll see me raving about what it means to love someone or even yourself.

the way i define love now is the commitment to the bettering of oneself or another. so when i think of self-love, i think of what i actually do to better myself. that includes a lot of things, like sleeping, buy nutrious food to eat, cooking for myself, doing yoga, etc. my self love practices answer the question- what am i doing to help me?

so what am i doing to help me? lots of meditation and yoga. lots of meditating in yoga. lots of yoga in my meditations. i’m at the point where i’m doing yoga and meditating twice a day. i probably spend at least 2 hours daily for both. and honestly, it’s been amazing.

i feel more like me. more like me than i’ve ever felt. when i work during the day (i’m in graduate school full time), i am more reflective. i am more thoughtful. i put in more energy to my work and it’s a better quality.

i show up for myself everyday. i can count on my hands how many times in this last month i have not done yoga.

loving yourself doesn’t be have to be anything fancy. it’s just setting an intention. when setting your intention here are somethings to think about:

  • what makes me happy?
  • when do i feel most alive?
  • what’s one thing i can do today to make the day great?
  • how is my mindset reflective of what i want?
  • is there anything i can do to make the best out of the situation i am in?

by taking the time out to answer these questions and ones similar to it, you’ll start learning to identify what makes you happy and how you can incorporate that into your life. to often people turn to friends and others to make them happy. true happiness comes from within! cultivating your own happiness is your responsibility. start small. you’ll see big changes.