Keeping it real – have you ever snoozed your alarm, then woke up in a complete panic because five minutes turned to 30, in what felt like 10 seconds?  Well, that’s how the beginning of 2025 has felt, maybe you feel the same or maybe it’s just me...  In this scenario, 2024’s smooth closing is the slumber, and the LA fires which led to a 2-week evacuation, then returning in time to prep for a film release, and a new photo collection gallery exhibit, and a sprinkle of personal life breaking and grieving, and can’t forget plane crashes and DEI and Elon Musk… this year has really woken me up in a panic 🫠  lot’s of lows and highs and scares and loss, but all is well, and I hope you are finding your way.​

 

Today marks the March Equinox.  [Equ]inox as in [equ]al or [equ]ator– the Sun's rays are hitting our equator directly, resulting in equal hours of day and night.  This brings Spring for those in the Northern Hemisphere and Fall for those in the Southern.

 

In my last newsletter I posed the question:  What are we saying goodbye to and what are we welcoming in? Little did I know I’d quite literally be saying goodbyes that I did not anticipate and welcoming in things that I did not foresee. Taking the good with the bad and the unknown with the unforeseen, I’m consistently reminding myself to roll with waves, and to not get stuck in my own way. As we dive into this equinox, I offer us two words: resistance & resilience.​

 

Resilience and Resistance share a common Latin root: "resilire" and "resistere," both of which are derived from the prefix "re" (meaning "back" or "again") and different verb bases.

1. Resilience comes from Latin resilire, meaning "to leap back" or "rebound." It evolved to describe the ability to recover or spring back from adversity, physically or metaphorically.

2. Resistance comes from Latin resistere, meaning "to stand back" or "withstand." It conveys opposition, refusal, or the ability to endure external forces.

Both words imply a form of strength in response to external pressures—whether by bouncing back (resilience) or standing firm (resistance). Their shared prefix and similar sounds reflect this conceptual overlap.​

 

🌼 SHIFTING INTO SPRING 🌼

Winter has come to an end so here comes Spring.  Spring is the season that slowly warms us back up, it wakes us with flowers, cool breezes, rainy showers, and lots of sneezes (if you have allergies like me).  For the Earth, this season signals a new beginning, a fresh start. And with this fresh start I’m asking myself:  what have I been resisting and how have I been resilient?  I’ve been resisting change and I’ve been resilient in change - and I think that’s been a lot of us this year. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes resistance feels like the strongest most necessary action we can do. To stand firm, hold our ground, not be moved.. but when does resistance turn into our own poison?  I’m starting to realize that having too firm of a grip on anything is not good. Let’s take the good with the bad, and maybe resistance is hindering our growth, or stopping us on our paths, maybe we feel strength in our resistance, so we don’t realize it’s breaking us.  So let’s acknowledge this truth and choose to use the fresh start of Spring to focus on releasing our grip on resistance.

 

I’ve also been resilient in change, and I think it’s important to acknowledge that as a win.  The ability to bounce back.  I mean, isn’t that what Spring is - a bounce back from Winter, a second chance, a rebirth, a renewal.  I think we’re all doing our best so I offer a huge congratulations on your resilience, you and I are bouncing back with growth, we’re recovering with dignity, and springing back to life. While releasing our grip on resistance, let’s also celebrate our commitment to resilience.

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🍂 SHIFTING INTO FALL 🍂

Summer sunshine breaks for Autumn leaves to fall. Fall is the season that slowly cools us back down, it embraces us with scarves, fills us with pumpkin spice, and calms us with crispy foggy air. For Earth, this season signals the harvest in preparation for Winter and gratitude for all the abundance from what we planted in the Spring. So during this harvest and gratitude, maybe ask yourself:  how has my resilience helped me grow, and where has resistance kept me from receiving the abundance of my efforts?

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This season is about reaping what we sow in preparation for the next – so maybe this is a great time to check-in on your self-growth.  Are you bouncing back from setback?  Are you giving yourself ample time to recover from challenging experiences? Are you using your resilience as a tool?​

 

This season is also about giving thanks for what we’ve been able to reap – so maybe this is also a great time to check-in on your blockages. Are you standing in the way of yourself? Have you acknowledged and/or celebrated your efforts? Do you notice your worth?

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Be mindful of your resistance, and stay resilient.

 

🎵 Love Yourz by J.Cole