Happy New Year 2023 and New Lunar Year of the Rabbit!
Fun fact and because I am in the mood to celebrate, January 1st was also Haitian Independence Day! Isn't it fitting that we enter every new calendar year on the same day the first slaves in the Americas gained their independence from the French! It is truly a cause for celebration and even more so because in true form of leadership and camaraderie, after gaining their independence Haitians then granted a helping hand in the revolutions and subsequent gains for independence all over Latin America. Also of course, in that same vein, we must not forget that Monday, January 16th we also celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy as a pillar of the US Civil Rights movement - A reverend who dedicated his life for the fight towards equal rights for Black Americans, which again, subsequently meant equal rights for all other Americans of Color.
When taking all this into account, January truly is a month worthy of celebration, thankfulness, and reflection for all - but especially for those of us of the Black and Brown communities living in the Americas. Leading to of course, another very fitting and important celebration for the East Asian community, The Lunar New Year starting January 22nd. This new year marks the year of the rabbit - a year that focuses on rest, introspection, peace, and optimism for all of our East Asian neighbors.
With all these days of celebration, commemoration, and regeneration, I wish you all the most restorative and reflective new beginning ahead. I urge you to take this time to think of new ways you can help yourself rest this year. Be it by having a self care day to yourself, doing absolutely nothing, or something you love to do, or by booking a massage or spa day via an outside source. This year make sure you take care of you. This is the year you start journaling again; the year you get a therapist or re-start therapy; the year you pick up yoga or zumba; the year you go watch the orchestra or catch a show on Broadway; the year you start decompressing and reflecting on your life and self. This is a restorative year. A year you can take to come back to you. A year where you get to check somethings off your bucket list and do something you've always wanted to do. A year where you won't let yourself become overworked and you remember to rest. This is the year you restore and reflect.
Thank you,
Carmen Hernandez
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