Brag? Really, Regena? Today of all days?
Are you freaking kidding me?

Yes, I know. I know.
It feels impossible.

America is waging war on itself.
There have been 45 mass shootings in the last month.
And as my friend Sarah Jones says, “We are too compromised by our own white supremicist capitalism to call a truce.”

A few days ago, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was killed by police in Chicago, on the heels of Daunte Wright’s murder during a traffic stop, mere miles from where the jury in the Derek Chauvin trial is now deliberating.

This is our world.
And here we are in the middle of a Brag challenge…
Wrecked by pain, exhausted by grief, and feeling like no action is enough.

Donations to Everytown for Gun Safety do not shift my chemistry. Nor lighten my despair.

How to reconcile these two seemingly disparate needs?
The need for grief, and the need for pleasure?
How can I find my way to be an honorable ancestor for the generations to come?

I breathe.

Then, I wonder: What if I love myself with so much ferocity, so much depth and breadth, so much passion and sacred delight, that it awakens something inside of you?

What if – despite my despair – I can reach down deep and find something in this holy universe to celebrate with my raw and raging heart and soul?

Perhaps, then, I will spread the virulent condition of radical, outrageous self-love to you.
And then you, yes you, will do the same.
And by spreading our radical outrageous self-love to one another, we will create a pandemic of love that, yes, is more powerful than all the fear and hate in the world.

Today I brag that deeply feeling pain is holy.

I brag that I grieve with my whole heart and soul.
I brag this grief will not turn to hatred inside of me.
I brag I will use this rage to turn myself on to the depth and breadth of my love for the gift of life itself.

Join me in bragging what you can – your anger, your despair, your darkness, and your light. 

To take part, simply tag me @mamagena on Instagram or Facebook, so I can witness and celebrate you exactly where you are.

With so much love and pleasure,

P.S. If you know a woman who could use a boost, use some connection to her feminine, please share this blog with her, or have her join our mailing list (scroll down the page till you see a heading that says “Put Yourself On the List”). There’s lots of fun happening on our Instagram and Facebook accounts, too!!

Regena is a feminist icon, a teacher, a speaker, a mother, a best-selling author, and creatrix and CEO of The School of Womanly Arts.