“Customizing (My) Joy Factory”
Thank you Farmer Cee for this quote above.
The Power of the Tongue
I’ve always envisioned YR1 of Middleton-Cooke Farms as a time of discovery, where I find my aspirations and inspirations. Meeting Clarenda Stanley (Farmer Cee) of Green Heffa Farms* and Bonita Clemons of Farmasis at this year’s Good Business Summit was incredibly serendipitous. I'd been asking myself, “Where can I meet some Black women farmers? Where y’all at?” And boom! Spirit answered lightning-fast.
I was invited by Lowcountry Local First to moderate a panel called Strike the Balance: The business case for radical self-care, and guess who was one of the keynote speakers? Farmer Cee! I was in complete gratitude. We met at the mixer the night before, and I tried not to fangirl—I really did, because, hey, "Um from Brooklyn, baby!" We spoke briefly because, well, you know how it goes when we’re the only sisters in the place—no shade, it's the norm. Anyway, eventually, Bonita shows up, and then there were three, and we did what sisters do after an immediate bond—we keekee’d and went out to dinner. For clarity, Bonita and Cee already knew each other. I can’t emphasize how significant these women are in the movement. When I tell you these women made me feel like I was family from the very start, I mean it. Just read up on who they are if you don’t know. My ancestors are workin’ it, y’all. That’s all I can say right now without shorting out my keyboard with tears flowing.
Check out some clips and pics down below from the night before and the day of the summit. Shout out to Lowcountry Local First, who has continued to embrace me from day one, always looking out and standing ten toes deep in their motto of “Business as a force of good.”
Breaking the Cycle
As a medium, I sometimes hear the doubts of others, and as an empath, I often take on these energies and make them my own. As I continue to work on myself, I've discovered that this is deeply rooted in MY trauma, MY wound, and MY pain. So when I decided to create an online platform for my people, mainly Black women and femmes, I could literally hear the voices immediately say: “Oh brother…what now. She always doin’ somethin’. What does this have to do with farming…or anything. Why can’t she stick to ONE thing…” Y’all, I heard it and I hear it, but I don’t care. You know why? Because I knew that I was being guided the whole time, most of the time, not knowing why I started The Show. At first, it started as just a way for me to engage with my community. But as with all communities, it needed a focus, a purpose. Not consciously knowing the real “whys,” I went ahead with what I know best: MY lived experiences. And so, I started by “getting the band back together.” I reached out to people I met online since the pandorama and asked them to come and chat with me. Not one person told me no. And in January, after a soft launch, we opened The Show; a platform for Black expression and healing. Among all of the live content around mediumship, astrology, human design, Black spirituality, near-death experiences, Gullah Geechee culture, sacred earth medicine, black midwifery, women’s reproductive health, and so much more, we did a deep dive into exploring intergenerational trauma with our newly formed book group centering the book: Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma by Dr. Mariel Buqué.
“This groundbreaking guide to transforming intergenerational pain into intergenerational abundance. With Break the Cycle, she delivers the definitive guide to healing inherited trauma. Weaving together scientific research with practical exercises and stories from the therapy room, Dr. Buqué teaches listeners how trauma is transmitted from one generation to the next and how they can break the cycle through tangible therapeutic practices, learning to pass down strength instead of pain to future generations. When a physical wound is left unhealed, it continues to cause pain and can infect the whole body. When emotions are left unhealed, they similarly cause harm that spreads to other parts of our lives, hurting our family, friends, community members, and others. Eventually, this hurt can injure an entire lineage, metastasizing across years and generations. This is intergenerational trauma. This trauma is why some of us become estranged from our families, why some of us are people pleasers, why some of us find ourselves in codependent relationships. This trauma can be rooted in the experiences of ancestors, who may have suffered due to unhealthy family dynamics, and it can be collective, the result of a shared experience like systemic oppression, or harmful ingrained behaviors in a culture like the acceptance of physical discipline of children, or even a natural disaster like a pandemic. These wounds are complex, impacting our minds, bodies, and spirits. Healing requires a holistic approach that has so far been absent from the field of psychology. Until now”
And because the work involved some very sensitive reflections and breakthroughs (again in a safeguarded forum) over the course of a month, I can only summarize with a few reaction emojis: 👀😭🗣️❤️🧐☹️😒😩😳😇🥳🤩🥺🤬🤯🤭🫣🫥💀🙌🏾🙏🏾🫀🫂🤰🏾🤱🏾🏃🏾♀️👩🏾🏫🕵🏾♀️👁️🌚💎🎈🎉🪅
And the work continues.
But a huge thank you to my fellow Cycle Breakers (almost 50 Black women and femmes) for taking the journey with me. We recommend the book to anyone and everyone who is ready and open.
This week’s line-up on The Show: Moon Child with Pam, Sesheta, Christine, and Qi Gong with Baba Kevin Greene.
I am now fully aware of the purpose of The Show so asé to God, my ancestors, guides, and protectors and Source.
- their teas are bangin!!!
