Founders letter - Cycles
Hey Babes!
Hoping you are all well and the summer has been kind to you.
The world still feels heavy. There is still a lot happening which feels like a constant weight on my heart and mind. Naming this first and foremost and praying for freedom, peace and sovereignty for The Congo, Sudan, and Palestine.
Cycles
It feels like life is in a constant cycle at times. The last quarter has felt like a process of acknowledging and working with these cycles rather than against them. Both professionally and personally, it seems like some things keep coming back.
One loud lesson I took away this last quarter and found as a recurring theme within our spaces is the idea of protecting capacity. The power of saying no to others and therefore yes to ourselves. For many of us, we are feelers, doers, proactive, caring, givers, the list goes on. That can make others rely on us or trust us to hold a lot, even when our hands are full. It can mean saying yes because we want to do the thing, then overloading our schedules because we also said yes to too many other things that are equally as important. In it all, often our wellbeing falls off the priority list and we chip away at ourselves to avoid disappointing others.
The results can vary, from a bit of tiredness and tight schedule to total burn out and exhaustion. The cost of saying no to myself became very expensive. I found myself sharing words of encouragement to babes to put themselves first, ‘you can support anyone if you aren’t okay’. The irony of saying the words out loud and realising I was in fact not practising what I preach was very humbling.
This lesson has landed (mostly). I’ve started accepting I simply won’t always be on top of things all the time. I’ve said no to things I want to do so I can do the things I am already doing softly. I have started protecting time to do nothing because doing nothing is indeed something. It’s been hard, but its helped. I feel like the cycle may return but I can see a shift. It helps me feel more honest when encouraging others to choose themselves, not as an ideal, but as lived experience.
As we come to the end of summer, a seasonal slowing down is due. Excitedly we will be slowing down while welcoming new additions to the team! We hope to introduce them soon so stay tuned for updates. We as a community are growing in a way that feels beautiful beyond words. With over 330 members and 3-5 sessions a week internationally there is so much to look forward to and appreciate right now.
So thank you. Thank you for being part of this journey in whichever capacity you have chosen to. Wishing you a shift into Autumn that holds capacity first. Compassion first, and kindness for all parts of yourself.
I wish you well until we speak again!
Lots of love
Vivienne x
Free Haiti - https://hopeforhaiti.com/
Free Congo - Tiktok & link to the petition
Free Palestine - Thread of ways to support
Free Sudan - Thread of ways to support
Suggestions of ways to support numerous causes, including Hawaii, Lebanon & Yemen
Make it stand out
About Vivienne
Vivienne Isebor is a Creative Social Entrepreneur & Womanist, blending community activism, advocacy, psychology, and the arts to drive social change. She is the founder of ADHD Babes, the UK’s only community organisation dedicated to supporting Black women and non-binary people with ADHD, and a qualified Clinical Associate in Psychology from UCL. Beyond her advocacy and psychological work, Vivienne is a combined performing artist, incorporating storytelling, music, poetry, spoken word, and performance to create immersive, community-driven experiences.