It hasn’t been easy to write this post. The final post ever in the #BlackBlogsMatter challenge.

But it’s time. And I’m ready.

In the time I’ve been procrastinating on writing this post, the world turned upside down. The COVID19 pandemic has everyone stressed out in ways and levels we’ve never seen. Over a million people worldwide have contracted this strain of coronavirus and tens of thousands have died. I haven’t left my home for any significant amount of time in nearly a month.

So while it feels weird to be writing about transforming trauma at a time like this … there’s also nothing else really worth writing about because what is happening right now is traumatic and triggering. Like many others, I have struggled to cope. My anxiety stays high and my depression peaks out of the hole I put it in almost 2 years ago. I worry constantly about my family, friends, loved ones and coworkers. I feel helpless to assist those who don’t have a safe place to stay or the resources for their basic life expenses … The unknown and uncertainty of it all create this unrelenting, surreal sense of overwhelm.

Yet I still feel hopeful. Deep down inside, I have hope.

Because when it comes to transforming trauma into triumph, Black Americans have it on lock! No one has faced the hardships that we’ve faced … yet we keep finding ways to rebound, rebuild and come out on top. This moment will be no different. We should be proud of ourselves. We should want to connect with and support the roots of our African homelands — and we should also be proud of our history and what we’ve accomplished right here.

We should also acknowledge our trauma. Generational trauma for Black Americans is very real. Just like we pass down family recipes and stories, we pass down unhealed hurts and irrational fears. It is believed some of that gets in and alters our DNA in ways that make us more susceptible to certain physical and mental diseases. In this time, that scares me more than usual because it puts us more at risk to contract, suffer and die during this pandemic.

As we push to survive this moment and all the ones that will come after, healing our trauma is essential to survive and thrive. We must seek therapy and deepen our spiritual connection so we can forgive our ancestors and ourselves for our failures. We must show extraordinary kindness to ourselves. We must release ourselves from the unattainable and unreasonable duty to be perfect, to have all the answers all the time to all the questions, to make only the right and best choice, to love without boundaries, and accept others without accountability. We must accept that we get to mess up, to learn and grown, to love and to forgive on our terms and for our highest good.

This is how we transform trauma into triumph. By intentionally addressing our hurtful experiences and forgiving the places we’ve fallen short or been harmed. By unlearning the ways which don’t serve us and replacing those with healthier habits. By surrounding ourselves with people who support us and show appropriate loyalty. By refusing to accept less than what is best for our highest good.

As we make this transition and transform our trauma, those who wish to keep us confined and oppressed will be afraid. They will lash out … We must not let that stop us. We must not let fear cause us to relent. We must fight for our future. By speaking truth to power. By being active in our communities. By voting. By circulating our dollars among ourselves and with those showing consistent commitment to us.  By caring for our children and elders. By sharing our stories.

That’s why Black Blogs and Black Podcasts will continue to matter. That’s why they will always matter. So this Annual Challenge may be ending — but our challenge has not and it will not. We can transform our trauma and get beauty from the ashes if we keep pressing forward and don’t give up.

Thank you for 4 years of listening, sharing ans supporting the #BlackBlogsMatter and #BlackPodsMatter annual challenge. I hope you will continue to support both in their next phases. And I hope you will keep actively working to transform your trauma, whatever it may be.

Stay safe and sane.