As we get ready to close out the year, what will we focus on, and what will we release with gratitude ? Last fall, I wrote about rest and Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith’s seven types of rest: physical, mental, emotional, sensory, creative, social and spiritual. A year later, as I get closer to closing out my… Continue reading What are you putting to rest this fall?
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The Questions I Keep Coming Back To
Decades of experiences; one quest for understanding. More than 14 years ago, I started a blog called Don’t Forget the Sparkle. It was really just a place for me to capture my life—the big moments, like having a baby, but also the small ones, like making chili on the first cold day of fall. I’ve… Continue reading The Questions I Keep Coming Back To
Redefining Wealth: The Stewardship of Time
An exploration of time as wealth through understanding our power to steward it. It has almost become cliché to say that time is the most valuable thing on earth. Ever fleeting. Unchangeable. Ruling over all of us. Time is not kinder to anyone because of status or man-given titles. It does not bend for ambition.… Continue reading Redefining Wealth: The Stewardship of Time
Hope, Community, and a New Definition of Wealth
A reflection on how hope is reshaping my understanding of wealth, community, and what truly makes a life rich. I used the fall season to rest and heal. In that quiet, I had time to sit and think. What has become clear to me is this: while there is an objective view of wealth—assets, income,… Continue reading Hope, Community, and a New Definition of Wealth
Falling into Rest: Learning the Seven Types of Restoration as the Seasons Shift
As the leaves begin to shift and the days grow shorter, I find myself paying attention to what nature is teaching us. Fall is a season of release, of slowing down, of preparing to rest. The trees let go of their leaves without shame. The earth prepares for hibernation, knowing that winter is the deep… Continue reading Falling into Rest: Learning the Seven Types of Restoration as the Seasons Shift
Beyond Silos: Rethinking How We Build Healthy Communities Together
True community cannot be built in silos. My journey across social work, housing, education, farming, and birth justice has shown me that thriving communities depend on cross-sector partnerships, multigenerational wisdom, and the courage to bring all our strengths together.
Learning to Rest without Regret
By: Makeda Marshall-NeSmith We’ve all heard it before: rest can save your life. If you want to explore that deeply, I’d point you to two powerful pieces from voices I admire: Why Is Exhaustion So Normalized for Black Women? from Allure, and Yes, Even Social Activists Need Rest Too from Verywell Mind. Both speak to… Continue reading Learning to Rest without Regret
Leaning Forward: How Pregnancy Support Transforms the Birth Experience
By: Makeda Marshall-NeSmith https://www.instagram.com/sankofa.wellness/ There was a time when bringing new life into the world was never done alone. Women were surrounded by aunties, grandmothers, sisters, and neighbors. Birth was a community event, and the new mother was cared for, nourished, and held by those who loved her most. Over time, our culture has shifted.… Continue reading Leaning Forward: How Pregnancy Support Transforms the Birth Experience
Rainy Day Reflections
By: Makeda Marshall-NeSmith It’s a rainy day here in New Jersey, and I find myself sitting with all the thoughts swirling around me—much like the raindrops tapping against my window. So much has transpired this year. Change upon change, shift upon shift. As we prepare to step into the final quarter of the year, and… Continue reading Rainy Day Reflections
Solstice as Portal: A Reflection on Hope, Healing & Collective Courage
By: Makeda Marshall-NeSmith Some thoughts during this time… Today marks the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year—the moment when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, casting its fullest light upon the earth. For many cultures across the African continent and diaspora, the solstice was not merely an astronomical event—it was a spiritual… Continue reading Solstice as Portal: A Reflection on Hope, Healing & Collective Courage
