Letting Go and Becoming: Reflections at Year’s End

December, 15, 2025

The Mirror of Transformation

As I stood before a centuries-old statue of Kali, a Hindu deity, watching people bring offerings chickens, goats, and other sacrifices…I felt tears welling in my eyes. The sight was overwhelming, not just for the fate of the animals, but for what the ritual represented. My mentor noticed my tears and gently reminded me: “The pain you feel starts within. What triggers us is a mirror to our own journey.” Kali, after all, is more than a symbol of endings. She embodies both destruction and creation, the cycle of death and rebirth. Despite her fierce image (arms dangling from her belt, weapons in her multiple hands, her leg on a man on the floor, and her tongue hanging out), Kali ultimately represents love in its rawest, most transformative form.

“Love is not just light; it’s also shadow.”

Reconciling Love’s Paradoxes

For years, I struggled to understand love in all its complexity. Love is not just light; it’s also shadow. It’s beginnings and endings, suffering and bliss. It’s the force that perpetuates life…sometimes gentle, sometimes distant. Bees, for example, are a beautiful metaphor for love’s process. They nurture, pollinate, and move on, ensuring the cycle of life continues. Without their coming together and moving apart, flowers wouldn’t bloom, fruits wouldn’t grow, and life would wither. You may find yourself grieving and grateful at once. Both are sacred. Love invites us to hold the paradox and trust that the rhythm of release and renewal is the rhythm of becoming.

The Ebb and Flow of Becoming

This rhythm of beginnings and endings is also the rhythm of becoming. As we approach the end of a year, a year that’s been challenging for many, marked by loss, deception, and upheaval, we’re invited to reflect and let go. We’re invited to embrace the rawness of transformation. This season calls for both grief and celebration.

Even in darkness, there’s been light: people have spoken hard truths, stood up to adversity, shown resilience and love, and embarked on journeys of courage and determination. We are all in the process of becoming, embracing the pain and beauty and everything in between. Transformation requests both tenderness and courage. The following simple practices can help us honor both as we close the year.

3 Simple Practices to Close Out the Year

1. Journal for Five Days

Set aside 10 minutes each day for five days to journal: write or record your thoughts, alone or with a trusted confidant. Ask yourself: What have I felt this year? What have I experienced? What do I want to let go of? What do I want to welcome?

2. Breathe Deeply

Practice big, slow belly breaths (in through the nose, out through the mouth) three times, twice a day. As you inhale, welcome love and your fullest self. As you exhale, release what no longer serves you: fear, doubt, stress.

3. Purge with Intention

Find something in your home, bag, or pockets that you no longer need. Give it away, recycle it, or throw it out. Let this act symbolize letting go and make it a regular practice to release what doesn’t support your growth. The rhythm of endings and beginnings is the rhythm of becoming.

Bringing It Together

December is a sacred time to reflect and let go. This blog is my offering to our collective journey…a space to explore and contribute to our personal and shared becoming. As we close this potent year and step into a new one, may you find courage to let go, boldness to become, and love to carry you forward.

Fearless February: Moving Through Fear Toward Collective Joy

February 2, 2026

Fear is a constant passenger in our lives, often lurking quietly in the shadows of our minds. For much of my life, I struggled with fear without even realizing it. Only recently have I begun to recognize its presence and confront it head-on. My hope is that the lessons I’ve learned, and the growth edges I’ve discovered, can help us all move through fear, both personally and collectively, toward a society that welcomes our shared humanity and uplifts us to unity and joy.

The War Over the Mind

Fear is a battle waged in our minds, and it stands as one of the greatest barriers to becoming our highest, most powerful selves. From the threat of ICE, to war, to imprisonment, fear is often wielded as a weapon to force our compliance. While these threats are real, the power they hold over us (individually and collectively) is not. The influence of fear is often exaggerated to keep us “in line.”

A friend once told me that fear is “false evidence appearing real.” This wisdom rings true for whatever situation you may be facing, personally or collectively. The real power of fear lies not in the threat itself, but in how we respond to it. When we face fear. within ourselves and together, we can overpower it and loosen its grip on our lives.

Celebrating Courage: Black History Month

As we honor Black History Month, it’s the perfect time to remember acts of fearlessness and courage that have shaped our world. Two stories stand out as guiding lights when I feel fear pressing against my voice:

• Harriet Tubman rescued over 70 enslaved people, guided by her courage, intuition, love, and spirit.

• Roger Pradel, my grandfather and a leader in the Haitian military in the 1930s, led a rescue mission during the Parsley Massacre, saving Haitians who were targeted simply for being on the “wrong side” of the border.

These acts remind us that fearlessness is not the absence of fear, but the decision to act in spite of it.

My Journey: From Silence to Boldness

My conscious journey with fear began in 2012 during a weekend workshop on emotional intelligence. The facilitator guided us through exercises to feel specific emotions. When it came to fear, I found it elusive at first. But as I visualized moments of fear, I realized it was a constant, subtle presence in my life.

I began to understand how deeply my experiences of racism had ingrained fear into my body and mind. I picked at my skin, bit my nails, and stayed silent when I wanted to speak—signs of anxiety and low-grade fear I’d never recognized before.

The workshop was a turning point. I started to notice the ever-present fear, and it was uncomfortable. It showed up as silence, half-truths, and neglect. But I didn’t shy away. I dug deep, allowing myself to fully experience the fear. I shook, quaked, screamed, and cried. I let it all out.

In the midst of this release, I affirmed a vision of fearlessness, love, and boldness. Gradually, the fear diminished. I began to speak my truths with compassion and courage. I stepped into bold actions and took up more space in the world.

How Fear Shows Up and How We Move Through It

Fear is something we all struggle with, knowingly or unknowingly. It can manifest in soft addictions like social media, junk food, or binge-watching Netflix. It can show up as daily alcohol consumption, nail-biting, or leg-shaking. Sometimes, it appears as outbursts of anger or spontaneous yelling at loved ones.

To overcome fear, we must look at it, dive into it, move through it, decouple from it, and release it. Only then can we step into who we truly are…fully and fearlessly.

Share this post if you believe in the power of facing fear together. Let’s move through February — and every month — with courage, compassion, and unity.

3 Gentle Practices for Transforming Fear

1. Feel the Fear

Instead of freezing, fleeing, or fighting, feel into the fear. Let it move through you: tremble, breathe, cry if needed. Emotions are meant to move; don’t stop them from completing their cycle. How might you transform fear into release or freedom this week?

2. Listen to the Message

Every fear holds wisdom. Ask: What are you protecting me from? What truth are you trying to show me? Fear often points to what we most long for.

3. Practice Courage in Proximity

This week, place yourself gently near something that intimidates you. Speak your truth, ask for what you need, take the small bold step. Courage grows with practice.

Bringing It Together

Fear is not meant to cage us; it’s meant to awaken us. When we honor it with awareness, it transforms from a chain into a compass.

 As we move through fear, we reclaim our voice, our love, and our becoming.

If this resonates with you, please share this blog and your reflections on social media — let’s grow through our fears together.

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