Episode 4: What’s For You Won’t Miss You
And that's that on that.
TL;DR: I share what I’m reading, watching, and listening to towards the end of this if you want to skip down to that!
What I’m Thinking About
On my current journey of soul searching, I’m trying to figure out what I am called to do in this next season of my life.
After my trip to Mexico, I decided to have my chakras balanced. Now I’m not super well versed with how all of this works, but I’m down to try anything once. My friend kept mentioning her chakra lady, so I told her to send me the lady’s info and booked an appointment!
The Chakra Appointment
I had no idea what to expect going to this appointment. When I arrived Denise (the chakra lady) asked me what made me come. I told her that I was going through a life transition. This lady asked me if I was getting divorced LMAO (I literally laughed out loud). I told her no, and that I was recently laid off and unsure of what to do next.
After we chatted a little more, I went into her healing room and laid down on a massage table under a few blankets. She gave me an eye mask, placed bags of crystals on each chakra, played some music, and I zoned out. About an hour later, Denise removed the mask and told me that a few things came to her about me during the session and she began to share them with me. (Here’s a video from her website of the process)
She assumed that my root and sacral chakras were closed since I was dealing with work and home issues, and she was right, so she opened those chakras. One of the other things she shared was that once I focus on what I want, I will have it. In other words, once I did the work to determine how I wanted to proceed with my career - opportunities would come to me. She also shared that I needed to practice asking the spirit (or for me, God) for a sign that something is right for me. She stated that we have to give God permission to show us things. Questions like “how will I know?” Can help as long as we are open and aware of the signs when they come.
The other thing she shared was that I hear my intuition, I just don’t trust it. I already knew that…so she was not lying haha.
Life after the appointment
Once I left Denise’s studio, I actually did feel clearer and lighter. That same week, a few things started to happen. Jobs started to fall in my lap, and I knew right away whether it was the right one or not. (A cool job came my way, but it was in Philly and I am not moving back there lol)
One day I was on LinkedIn Jobs and came across what I thought was the PERFECT job for me. The role was Chief Learning Officer at a tech education non-profit and would have been the perfect way for me to combine my CS career/education with my education knowledge. I couldn’t believe it. I started doing some digging to see who in my network was connected to folks who worked at this company to make sure it was a safe space for me to work (I do this a lot). I was also looking for someone to make a referral on my behalf. My homie and former non-profit mentor Jess was willing to send a referral on my behalf once I applied AND I slid in the DMs of the person who currently had this title at the company to tell them I was perfect.
A recruiter reached out to set up an interview and I was hyped. I prepped for the interview and couldn’t wait to chat. Well, the interview did NOT go as expected. In fact, the recruiter cut the interview short because they claimed I was in fact NOT perfect for the role lmao! While I couldn’t believe it and didn’t agree with the criteria of who they claimed they were looking for (which wasn’t as clear in the job description), I was not sad about it at all.
When you know your worth you aren’t desperate for a job, and you understand that what’s for you won’t miss you, situations like this hit differently. While I was excited about the prospect of this job, I also asked God “how will I know this is the role for me?”. Well, the recruiter gave me an answer that was LOUD AND CLEAR! I was admittedly a little on the fence about the role despite my excitement because it felt like a job that was more demanding than I prefer this season. I know the non-profit scaling grind all too well and I’m good on that.
I thought CS Education was pulling me back, but maybe not! Time will certainly tell.
While I am still actively searching for a job, and had a few more interviews that actually went pretty well, I will continue balancing rest and hanging with friends in the meantime!
Have you ever gotten your chakras balanced? Was it helpful? Do you plan to try it now? Let me know!
What I’m Reading
I give this book 4.5/5 stars
I wrapped up this beautiful, heart-wrenching memoir this morning. I took off a few points on my rating because the last two chapters felt very disjointed in the storytelling. I expected the story about adopting Genesis and playing on How To Get Away With Murder to be a lot more succinct than they were. The stories felt all over the place at the end.
Anyway, I am still in disbelief that so much trauma happened in Viola’s life, and yet she was still able to transcend all of the bad, become a star, and emerge as the phenomenal actress she is.
There were quite a few life lessons that I underlined to come back to later!
If you want to know more about the book before you read it, I highly suggest watching her interview with Oprah!
What I’m Watching
The Other Black Girl on Hulu
This show is based on the book with the same title. I admittedly could not get into the book and decided not to finish it. I almost felt the same way about the show, but I stuck beside it.
The show is about an editorial assistant who is the only Black woman at her company. She’s excited when a new Black woman is hired, but then things start to get a little weird at work between the two of them. Some of the scenarios can be triggering for a Black woman in the workplace. If you like suspense and Jordan Peele-type movies, this is the one for you!
The last three episodes were the best of the entire series in my opinion. It was great being able to see Garcelle Beauvis and Bellamy Young in the same show!
Have you watched this yet or read the book? Let’s discuss it!
What I’m Vibin’ to
Musiq Soulchild & Hitboy “Victims & Villians”
I’ve been a Musiq Soulchild fan for YEARS, so when my friend Chasity put me on to this EP, I was hype. Musiq and Hitboy did not disappoint with this!! The entire EP is a vibe, and I especially loved “i remember you my ex”, “imreallytrynaf*uckwichu”, “is it love, is it lies”, “victims and villains” (basically all the songs).
Check it out on Spotify or Apple Music and let me know your thoughts!
Bonus Track: Taking Care of Your Candles
This is random but I realize a lot of folks don’t know how to take care of their candles or that candles even need “care”.
My friend Charnelle started a candle business and since I was front row for the journey, I learned a lot!
Step 1: Let the wax on your new candles pool
When you get a new candle, make sure you let the wax pool all the way across the diameter of the candle. This will ensure an even burn throughout the life of the candle. I’ve made the mistake of burning a candle without enough time to let it burn all the way through and regretted it lol. If you don’t let it pool all the way, the candle will create a tunneling effect and you will not burn all of the wax!
Step 2: Trim your wicks
Buy a wick trimming kit and trim your wick before each burn. This will prevent soot and also add to candle burn time. I got this kit from Amazon and use it religiously!
What can I do about candles that have tunneled?
While burning the candle can’t fix this, you can purchase a candle warmer to get the most out of the remaining wax. It will still smell the same, and in some cases, the scent will be stronger. You can also stretch out the usage of your candles this way, as they seem. to last a lot longer when burned on a warmer. I got mine at Michael’s but you can find them on Amazon.
Warning: Once you put the candle on the burner, it may not burn via the wick anymore, at least that’s what happened to me! So be sure that you no longer want to burn the candle via a wick before you put it on the warmer.
Love this post and all of the reflections! I’ve never gotten my chakras balanced before but now I want to try it.
I love all your posts but this one really hit home. Whew. I, too, am transitioning and I’m starting to ask God more questions and leaning into the signs. Thank you for sharing! I hope the job search continues to go well.