Things going on in the month of July:
National Cleft and Cranial Facial Awareness and Prevention Month, Plastic Free July, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month aka BIPOC Mental Health Month
*Independece Day 07-04
*International Drag Day 07-16
*Mandela Day 07-18
*Anniversary of the First Women's Rights Convention 07-19
*International Self-Care Day 07-24
BIAT INSPIRATION:
With thoughts of independence and freedoms going on in the month of July, I can understand why this was the month chosen for a self care day. Not only that, but also national minority health awareness or BIPOC mental health month. Taking care of ourselves not only means physical, but it also means emotional and mental as well. Somehow along the way, people of color lost, or seem to have found a weakness, and taking care of themselves and the mental area of their lives. I myself have been guilty of this. For some reason I felt I have always had to be stronger or put up a façade of strength, even when I was not strong. Or not asking for help and "suffering through" when I really didn't have to. Somehow, thinking that stoicism was unbreakable. Oh, but it wasn't. Everyone and I do mean everyone can break.That is why it is so important to understand and except help when you need it. The old stigmas of stoicism let me rephrase that-Unnecessary stoicism, at the cost of your mental health, is not good for you or anyone around you. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else. I've heard it described on an airplane, they tell you in case of an emergency put your mask on yourself first and then help others. And it's so easy to get that turned around. Remember we can preach "you have to love yourself before you love anybody else", but do we live that? Do you actually live it? I challenge you this month to do something kind for yourself on international self-care day. It is July 24. Take a selfie of you being kind to yourself. You don't have to post it. You don't have to share it, but take a selfie of yourself for yourself, just so you can remember and remind yourself it's OK to love on you first. Start a tradition not just this July, make it every month. Find the beauty in YOU!
Things going on in the month of June:
LGBTQ+Pride Awareness Month, Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome (APS) Awareness Month, Cancer Survivors Month, Gun Violence Awareness Month, Immigrant Awareness Month, and of course the celebration of Juneteenth!
I suffer from APS, so that hits home for me. APS is caused by the body’s immune system producing abnormal antibodies called anti-phospholipid antibodies. From what I’ve been told, it makes my blood thicker than normal. In Laymans terms, it puts me at risk for blood clots, DVT’s (deep vein thrombosis) clots in the legs & lungs, risks of stroke or heart attack if my blood levels are not monitored correctly. Fewer than 200,000 people are diagnosed with this rare autoimmune disorder in the United States per year. Unfortunately, many autoimmune disorders accompany another. In my case this is true. I also suffer from Lupus SLE.
June 19th will mark 158 years of when in 1865 Union General, Gordon Granger, went to downtown Galveston Texas and read ‘General Order Number 3’ saying “all slaves were free”. Even though the rule was read and freedom was spoken, it didn’t happen until two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.
BIAT INSPIRATION: Take time for yourself. Love on yourself. Affirm your good qualities. Get pretty for you. Life is going to “life“. Meaning, no matter how good things go, life will find a way to throw a lemon or two in it. We learned to make lemonade. In doing that, we are finding the beauty and all things. Whether that is finding the lesson in whatever we’re going through, or making magic lemonade-we are finding the beauty in whatever chaos is happening around us. And guess what? We are still here to tell a story. We make magic happen all the time. We just have to remember it’s what we do. Remember to take time to reflect on how far we’ve come. What we’ve been through, how strong we are to have gone through it, and where we want to go! We made it and we are still here to talk about it and encourage someone else! And we can do more! We’ve managed to make it through by finding every single source of power to muster through situations we never thought we could. And that, my dears, is how you find the beauty in all things. Until next month love yourself, love on somebody else and tell someone they are beautiful.