Women, we are always there for everyone else. This season, this THANKSgiving season, among the many things that I am truly thankful for is women.
Women, we are always there for everyone else.
This season, this THANKSgiving season, among the many things that I am truly thankful for is women.
We have spent too many years carrying the weight of the world on spines that were never meant to bear it alone. We have been the mules of the earth, the backbone of movements, and the quiet healers of everyone’s wounds but our own. But I am writing this to tell you something the world will not: You are owed your rest.
This time I am talking about a sanctuary. Not just a room with a lock on the door, but a space in this world where your spirit does not have to stand guard. You deserve a space where you do not have to keep your eyes darting to the corners, waiting for the next blow, the next insult, the next demand on your time.
You deserve to unclench your jaw. You deserve to take a breath that goes all the way down to your belly without catching on fear.
We talk about liberation, but how can we be free if we are always on high alert?
You have the right to exist in spaces that allow you to unfold. To be soft when you need to be soft, to be loud when the spirit moves you, to change your mind, to switch up your rhythm without explaining yourself to a living soul. You deserve to prioritize your own survival, your own safety, your own healing, your own joy, and your own peace above the comfort of others.
And just for clarity: This is not just about us finding a hiding place. This is about a demand we make on the world. Every room we walk into—be it the workplace, the meeting hall, public spaces, or the home—should be a place where our humanity is respected without question.
It is not too much to ask. It is the bare minimum.
We should expect, demand, and require that the people occupying these spaces conduct themselves with the discipline and respect that allows us to flourish as women. If they cannot create a paradise where we can sit down and rest our weary feet, then they are not ready for the gift of our presence.
Lay your armor down Ladies. You do not have to earn the right to breathe.
In Love and Thankfulness,
WESurviveAbuse
Affirmations
“My rest is a revolutionary act; I refuse to apologize for reclaiming the energy this world tries to steal from me.”
“I am not a mule for the world’s labor, nor a shock absorber for its pain; I am a vessel for my own joy and I will fill myself up first.”
“I have the right to lay down my armor without fear; I deserve a love and a life that does not require me to be constantly at war.”
“I release the need to be ‘the strong one’ for everybody else; today, I prioritize my own healing over the comfort of those who benefit from my silence.”
“I will not make a home in hell just to be someone else’s angel; I walk exclusively in spaces where my spirit is free to breathe, to move, and to be whole.”