The Power of Manifestation

Hula Hideaway, Maui, HI

Let the rest begin.

Words cannot fully express the depth of gratitude I feel being here—on sacred land, in sacred time—starting what I’ve longed for: 30 days of intentional rest. Rest not just for the body, but for the spirit, the mind, and the memory. A reset I once believed was impossible.

At the top of 2020, I spoke this rest into being. I said it out loud. I wrote it down. I prayed for it. And by October, I had manifested it: 30 days in Hawai’i, land of mana, ocean wisdom, and ancestral clarity. This was not a luxury—it was a spiritual necessity.

Let’s not forget the context. The world was—and still is—grieving.

We were in the heart of a global pandemic that exposed every fracture in our systems and souls. COVID-19 was ravaging communities, disproportionately harming Black, Indigenous, and poor communities. Simultaneously, we were experiencing a collective racial reckoning as the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and so many others pierced through the world’s consciousness. There were mass protests, burning cities, demands for abolition. And for those of us who are Black and Trans—living at the intersection of those compounding violences—we felt it in our bones.

Anti-trans violence was spiking. Mutual aid requests flooded in. Community leaders, myself included, were called on daily to hold space, to organize, to care, to protect, to protest, to stretch. I was working nonstop—carrying my community while trying not to crumble under the weight of grief, responsibility, and the haunting question: “Who’s holding me?”

So when the opportunity came to rest, I fought every barrier to say yes. Travel restrictions, pandemic protocols, limited funds, internal guilt—it all tried to stand in the way. But the divine had already moved. I had already said yes to myself. The time was now.

I want to be honest: choosing rest didn’t feel easy or light. It took unlearning. It took letting go of guilt that I wasn’t doing “enough” for the movement. It took reminding myself that my body is not disposable, that my joy is not optional, that my spirit deserves time to just be. And it took releasing the colonial idea that rest must be earned.

This is what the power of manifestation looks like. Not just wishful thinking—but claiming what you need, aligning your actions with faith, and allowing yourself to receive it when it arrives.

During these 30 days, I look forward to:

• Watching the sun melt into the ocean

• Waking up with the birds and the breeze

• Crying what needs to be cried

• Dancing what needs to be danced

• Laughing from my belly

• Singing with no performance

• Praying without punctuation

• Meeting Native siblings who simply want to build joy, not trauma

• And remembering that I am enough

This rest is my birthright. It is my resistance. It is my prayer.

Today’s Affirmation:
I deserve rest. I am worthy of peace. I will have joy. I am joy. I will have peace. I am peace.

Happy birthday to me.
I honor the version of me that knew I needed this before I had the words.
I honor the Divine that said, “Yes.”
And I honor every Black and Brown body who needs rest—not when the world says it's okay, but now.