Finding Grace in What We Release

Our move required consolidating, which meant saying goodbye to crumbs of previous chapters when our needs were different than they are now. So, we spread them out on tables and invited neighbors over to take what they needed and say farewell. It was lovely, and I’ll definitely do it again.

This week, as neighbors walked away with fragments of our previous chapters – books that shaped us, dishes that fed us, treasures that once felt essential – I found myself thinking about the nature of change and what we choose to carry forward.

It was perfect timing for my conversation with

Gisela Sanders Alcántara

(12-time Emmy winner who is changing her career and personal narrative to more fully integrate a better understanding of herself at age 52) about how life's challenges reshape us. "Disability is not only this dark space," she shared, with the kind of authenticity that makes you lean in closer. "It's a potential."

Let that sink in for a moment.

She went on to explain something that feels especially relevant as I felt all the feelings that come with saying goodbye to our home of 15 years: "It's not black and white. In Spanish, we call them 'matices' – these levels of grace." (How beautiful is that phrase – levels of grace?)

Here's what's catching my breath about this perspective: Whether we're processing collective uncertainty (hello, post-election emotions) or letting go of what no longer serves us, there's always this temptation to categorize our experience as either loss or gain. But what if, instead, we looked for the 'matices' – those subtle shades of grace in the shifts?

Gisela shared another truth that hasn't left me since: "Just when I feel like I've got it and I'm settled, things change again." She referenced Octavia Butler's wisdom about change being the only lasting truth, and watching my past find new purpose in others' hands, I felt that differently than ever before.

What if our challenges – our moments of disability, displacement, or disruption – aren't obstacles to overcome but invitations to discover new potential? What if the very things we think we need to fix, hide, or hold onto are actually doorways to our most authentic next chapter?

With love and lighter shelves,

Aransas

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Your Next Uplifter

Our next episode of The Uplifters Podcast is headed your way on Thursday, featuring Regina Gwynn. Regina Gwynn is the co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech, the organization that aims to identify, support and encourage black women to build the next billion-dollar business. Black Women Talk Tech is the largest collective of black women tech founders that brings a unique understanding of the challenges Black women face and the advantages they offer to the tech industry.
Regina has been named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women by Entrepreneur Magazine and Top Ten Women in Tech by Essence Magazine. Her story is packed with wisdom for entrepreneurs, changemakers, and anyone who wants to do big, brave things!

Regina was nominated by

Kymme Williams

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