*Emefa Boamah is an embodiment coach based in Dallas and a Public Voices Fellow through The OpEd Project.*

By Emefa Boamah

So, I will rest, and you know what? The world will go on and it’s ok. I will try again tomorrow.

The onset of the pandemic. A personal near-death experience from COVID and it’s aftereffects for six months. Civil Unrest. Gun shootings. And most recently, living in a post Roe v. Wade country. Is this still the land of the free and home of the brave?

My stomach is in knots experiencing foreboding joy, waiting for the next shoe to drop. My heart races every time that I read or hear on the news that there has been another shooting. I am filled with rage and fear in the pit of my gut because of the multiple ways that this country is working to rid me of my basic human rights – right to bodily autonomy, to who & how I love, to who & what I choose to identify myself as. I know I am not the only one.

The stereotype of the “strong black woman” is more than just a cultural trope: Many black women in America report feeling pressured to act like superwomen, projecting themselves as strong, self-sacrificing, and free of emotion to cope with the stress of race- and gender-based discrimination in their daily lives.

Yet, as Audre Lorde beautifully said, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” That is how I am taking my power back. I will keep taking deep breaths. I will rest, but not quit. I will speak up for those who cannot. I will ask for help when I need it by leaning into Community Care. I deserve joy, ease and softness. And so do you. Take care of yourself, the fight will be there when you come back.

““I will keep taking deep breaths. I will rest, but not quit. I will speak up for those who cannot. I will ask for help when I need it... I deserve joy, ease and softness. And so do you.” Emefa Boamah @emefab_coach #PowerToChangeStories”

Emefa Boamah is an embodiment coach based in Dallas and a Public Voices Fellow through The OpEd Project. @emefab_coach https://www.facebook.com/emefa.boamah/ ; https://www.instagram.com/emefa_embodiment_coach/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/emefaboamah/ ; https://emefaboamah.com/