Mindful Monday V5

*Watercolor by Clementine Studio

I debated the topic for today’s post for a while… Not wanting to isolate anyone. But, I also wanting to talk about the biggest thing that’s been weighing on my mind and heart the past few weeks. But after sending a little love out to all of you this weekend, I realized it’s been tough on a lot of you, too.

So, to every woman…

…who works extra hard so you are taken seriously.

…who is as polite as you can be so you don’t seem irrational.

…who wears shoes you can run in if you know you’ll be coming home alone late at night.

…who has a long list of catcalls you’ve heard.

….who wears headphones when on a run or walking without sound (or low sound) so that you can hear someone following or approaching.

…who makes sure your phone is charge when getting in an Uber, Lyft, or cab… just in case.

…who thinks about where the nearest door is when a man comes to do any work on your home because of that incident that happened to you or a friend.

…who knows what it feels like to have a man touch you inappropriately just because he felt like it/he was drunk.

…who knows so so so much worse than that.

Most of us live with these realities all the time, but these past few weeks, it’s been amplified and unfortunately, justified by the most powerful men in our country. I won’t explicitly get into the politics of it all here. But I just felt the need to say to all of you. You are not alone. Please continue to speak up. Please keep sharing your stories. Also, please keep talking and listening to each other, so that women supporting women is the expectation, not the exception. Keep talking and listening to the men in your lives too, so that more of them can be our allies. Read as much as you can, and use this as a reminder to become even more informed than ever. We are strong and resilient. And I am rooting for you ❤️

In case you missed it, here are my Mindful Monday V4, Mindful Monday V3, Mindful Monday V2, Mindful Monday V1.