Liberation Education Newsletter

Liberation Education Newsletter

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Liberation Education Newsletter
Nourishment Over Sacrifice
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Nourishment Over Sacrifice

Choosing thriving as an act of resistance against grind culture

Desireé B Stephens's avatar
Desireé B Stephens
May 16, 2025
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Liberation Education Newsletter
Liberation Education Newsletter
Nourishment Over Sacrifice
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🌬️ Before We Begin… Come Home to Your Body

Find stillness—just for a moment.
Let your body exhale the weight it’s been holding.
Place your hand over your heart, belly, or womb space. Breathe in.

Inhale — I am not here to be consumed.
Exhale — I choose nourishment over sacrifice.
Inhale — My thriving is a revolutionary act.
Exhale — I get to live, not just survive.

Say to yourself, gently but firmly:
“I am not a machine. I am a miracle. And I will no longer abandon myself for systems that were never built for me.”

Now, let’s begin.


This Week’s Focus: O = Observe

(R.O.O.T.S. Method™) Reflect, Observe, Own, Tether, Set

This week, the air has been thick with commentary about the newly released footage of Sean "Diddy" Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura—a public confirmation of what she, like so many survivors, had already told the world in court documents.

And yet, the most common question that emerged—again, predictably—was not “How do we hold him accountable?”
It was: “Why did she stay?”

Let’s be clear: this question is not innocent.

It is a deflection, a tool of supremacy culture, and a trap.
Because it places the burden of abuse on the survivor instead of the abuser.
Because it ignores the conditions that groom all of us—from early childhood—to tolerate harm.

I shared a video and a post this week (linked Video and Post ) breaking this down. And I want to bring that conversation into this sacred space, because it’s not separate from our work. It is the work.

Because if you’ve ever:

  • Smiled through harm to “keep the peace”

  • Stayed in a job that was slowly killing your spirit

  • Said “thank you” for crumbs of decency

  • Hugged someone that made you feel unsafe because a grown-up said to

  • Or kept silent because you were taught your discomfort was less important than someone else’s authority…

Then you know.

Cassie’s story is not just her story. It’s a mirror.


Abuse Is the Blueprint

Supremacy culture doesn’t just allow abuse…it requires it to sustain itself.

From the very beginning, we are taught to betray our own signals:

  • Hug your uncle. He’s family.

  • Be quiet. Don’t be rude.

  • Smile and say thank you, even if you’re scared, confused, or angry.

  • Perform niceness to avoid punishment.

And as we grow up, the systems scale up:

  • Show up to that toxic job, because your rent depends on it.

  • Smile at your boss, because your survival is tied to their mood.

  • Perform gratitude in spaces that harm you, because access is always conditional.

We don’t just “stay” in abusive relationships.
We stay in workplaces, movements, institutions, contracts, platforms, and partnerships because we have been trained (indoctrinated) to normalize and even justify harm as part of being a “good worker,” a “good partner,” a “strong person,” or a “real activist.”

That is not strength.
That is survival under extraction.


Let’s Observe, Without Shame

So this week, as we move through O = Observe in the R.O.O.T.S. Method™,
I’m asking us not just to observe our labor habits or our tiredness.

I’m asking us to observe where abuse has been normalized in our daily lives.

Not just in intimate partnerships, but:

  • In professional dynamics that demand your silence.

  • In family systems that confuse control for care.

  • In movement spaces that valorize burnout and call it “dedication.”

  • In social agreements that expect your constant availability.

This is not about blame.
This is about exposure.
This is about witnessing the architecture of abuse, not just the moments of violence.

Because once we see it, we can name it.
And once we name it, we can begin to dismantle it.


Let’s Keep Digging — Beyond Reflection, Into Reclamation

If you’re still here… breathing slower, blinking back tears, or feeling the subtle ache of recognition, I want to honor that.

Because this moment right here?
It’s not just about understanding grind culture.
It’s about deciding you’re no longer available for it.

This isn’t a Liberation Lesson.
It’s a deep remembering. A spirit activation. A wake-up call to every part of you that has survived depletion and is now ready to reclaim nourishment as your birthright.

What lives beyond this paywall is not extra content—it’s a practice of return:

  • A somatic ritual to soften your nervous system and remind your body it is not a machine.

  • Practical ways to embody this truth across your Self, Home, and Work.

  • A curated soundtrack to sweeten your spirit and disrupt the grind with joy.

  • Journal prompts that move you from knowing to naming, from naming to shifting.
    A reminder that your joy is not a luxury—it’s a nutrient.

If you’re tired of being tired…
If you’re no longer willing to starve in the name of service…
If you’re ready to feed your life, not just your labor—

Then come inside. Root deeper.
This space was made for your healing.

$8/month | $80/year | $120 equity partner
Scholarships always available: Scholarships@DesireeBStephens.com

Let’s remember this together:
We are not here to be simply be emptied.
We are here to be fed.

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