What you’re feeling is right.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written to you. There are so many things swirling around me that I want to express.

I have a lot of strong opinions on things that are taking up lots of real estate in many of our hearts and heads.

A lot of big feelings.

I'm sure you do too.

Many of those feelings are heavy and unpleasant. (To say the least.)

And if you're also having big feelings, you're not wrong and it's not your fault that you feel how you feel.

And I notice that it gets to be really hard, if not impossible, to go about our daily lives and pretend like everything is fine.

Because it's not.

Launching another war without congressional authorization is not okay.

Years of abuse towards girls and women with no accountability is not okay.

State-sanctioned and funded violence is not okay.

The water consumption of AI data centers being built in marginalized, water-scarce communities is not okay.

There are so many more to add to this list.

And pretending that all of this isn't happening just doesn't work.

It seeps into our relationship with each other and our relationship with ourselves.

We need to face it.

And name it.

As James Baldwin says, "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

There's an exercise that I learned from International EMDR therapist, coach, and educator Jane McCampbell Stuart in her Trauma 101 course called the "Even Though Exercise."

I've done this exercise on my own and with groups and individual clients - I led a coaching client through it just this morning.

It's a beautiful and effective way to acknowledge what you're feeling while also helping your nervous system to regroup.

And because we could also use some healing and care right now, I'm sharing this exercise in two different free sessions this month:

Join me on Sunday, March 8th at 5pm ET

Join David and me on Wednesday, March 18th at 6pm ET

You're welcome to join one or both if you'd like. No pressure.

Or, if you'd rather schedule a 1:1 session with me to try the Even Though exercise, let me know.

Whatever is weighing on your heart and head is true. And how you're feeling about it is also true.

With love,

Stacy

PS. If you're looking for a 4-minute dose of inspiration, I watched Viola Davis' speech from the recent NAACP Awards this morning - she won the Chairman's Award for Excellence, Impact, and Advocacy. Watch her powerful speech here.