Hey Reader!

Last week, I had the incredible honor of sitting down with Abby Phillip for a live conversation about her new book, A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power.

Buy this book, because this is history we must not forget, and Jesse Jackson's legacy has been a critical part of American history.

Then I got to moderate Jen Hatmaker’s Chicago tour stop for her New York Times bestseller Awake. Two incredible books, two brilliant women. 🤌🏾

And the best part? Throwing a party for my mom’s 70th birthday and living all our best lives. She was showered with so much love as people flew in from everywhere to celebrate her. It was amazing!!!

Them good times hold us in the rough times. And the world is legit rough AF right now.

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RANT

We live in a lawless country.

Habanero Hitler casually demolished the East Wing of the White House. The gahtdamb EAST WING.

I’ve been there many times. That’s where the holiday parties are. That’s where the commemorative events happen. And this faulty version of a human destroyed it, in spite of the fact that it is 12 types of illegal and no president should have the authority to destroy The People’s House.

It is another loud declaration that we truly live in a lawless country. Completely, utterly devoid of order.

ICE raids in Chicago and elsewhere in the country. More families ripped apart. More straight up lying to the American people like we're supposed to just accept it.

Nothing is functioning like it should. The fact that a convicted felon is running this country while accusing everyone else of criminal behavior is beyond comprehension at this point. Mango Mussolini is treating the country as his personal ATM, and there is not much being done to stop him.

The part that is continuously wild to me is that we’re still trying to be orderly through how we handle this time. We're using Q-tips and he's using bazookas. Two completely different games are being played.

Laws are only as good as our ability to uphold them and our willingness to enforce them. And right now? Nobody's enforcing anything. Checks and balances packed their suitcase and tiptoed out on January 21, and we ain’t seen them since.

CHECKS AND BALANCES? “I don’t know them.”

This lawlessness triggered a government shutdown that's been going on for a MONTH now. And you know what that means for actual people?

SNAP benefits are going away October 31. TODAY. After today, people aren't going to be able to eat. Federal workers are either not getting paid or trying to show up to jobs while wondering how they're gonna make rent. National parks are closing. Veterans' services are delayed. Small business loans are frozen.

People are exhausted. They're frustrated. People are feeling completely helpless, and frankly, it’s bringing out the worst in everyone.

When the people making decisions face zero consequences for breaking every rule, it rolls downhill to families wondering how they'll buy groceries, to workers showing up without paychecks, to all of us just trying to live our lives.

This is where we’re going to have to start filling gaps for each other. We’re gonna need to start seeking out who needs mutual aid in our families, communities and neighborhoods.

This is why we must pay attention to who we vote for and what policies they're pushing. Because eventually, it all comes back around. Eventually, the lawlessness becomes a shutdown which becomes your neighbor can't feed their kids which becomes ICE raids in your city.

We deserve better than this. The people trying to do their jobs deserve better than this. The people just trying to eat deserve better than this. 😩

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REFLECTION

Keep your heart soft when the world tries to break you.

The past couple of weeks have tested me in ways I wasn't expecting. And earlier this month, I keynoted the Girl Scouts River Valley's International Day of the Girl program. During the Q&A, one of the questions was: "How can we, as teenage girls, keep our confidence?" (click that to watch my answer)

What. A. Question.

The world feels loud, critical, and relentless. So I told them a truth we don't talk about enough: confidence is a group project. 🗣️ It's you and your squad against the world, and you need to borrow confidence from each other all the time. When you see your girlfriend and she's looking good that day, take it upon yourself to be like, "Girl, the fit is fitting." Yes, ma'am. 🙌🏾

And since telling them this, I have definitely had to tap on my own advice.

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to stay open when everything around you is closing in. To choose grace when judgment would be easier. To keep your heart tender when harshness is knocking at the door every single day.

What if part of the purpose of life is to be able to keep our hearts soft and open no matter how much the world tempts us to do otherwise? What if it is about keeping ourselves whole in spite of all the times folks have tried to break us, embodying love and joy in spite of it all?

I am blessed with the love of those who show me that it is worth doing: keeping that soft heart.

Reader, I know you're feeling it too. The world will give you a million reasons to shut down, close off, and protect yourself by becoming harder.

But hardening your heart doesn't actually protect you. It just makes you unavailable for the joy, the connection, the grace that's trying to reach you too. 🥹

There will come points where other people's words will say you are opposite of who you are, will say you're not worthy, you're not enough. I need you to insist on not believing it and absorbing it.

Then, you need to turn and strengthen those in your circles, to make sure they don't absorb it either.

Right now we are in a community project, a group project of making sure that we all hold onto our confidence. That we all retain our power, our worth, our soft hearts.

Because that confidence? That's what we're all gonna need to make it through. 🫶🏾

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RECOMMENDATION

Community is a verb. Let's stand in the gap.

On November 1, (TOMORROW) millions of people will be without food stamps (SNAP). And it is truly a horrific thing for politicians to use this type of stuff to play games with folks' lives.

This is where mutual aid needs to step in. This is where we have to show that community is a verb. 🗣️

On my Facebook, I've created a post where we're actively connecting people who need help with people who can give help.

Here's how it works:

➡️ If you are someone who will be badly affected by the SNAP pause, comment on the post and let us know.

➡️ If you are someone who can help them, even if it's $20, reply to them or drop a blessing in their Venmo/CashApp.

➡️ If you know of resources people can tap into, please add them too.

This is mutual aid in action. This is us not waiting for the government to get their act together. This is us being the help we need for each other in these wild times.

Join us here and let's see what we can do to make sure our people eat.

So here's what I want to know: In a world that feels lawless and chaotic, how are you choosing to show up for yourself and your community right now?

Hit reply and let me know. I read every response. 🥰

With a soft heart and strong boundaries,

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P.S. If the chaos in the world has your mind spinning, the one thing that could quiet it is writing. I created the Word Work: The 30-Day Writing Challenge. 30 minutes a day. Daily prompts. 10,000+ words by month's end. Over 300 people proved it works in October. Join us for November and show up for yourself. 💫

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