🖤 June 13: A Sacred Pause Before the Fire

Men Feel Too! And today, we make space for that. There’s something sacred about the day before Friday the 13th. It’s the inhale before the world starts holding its breath. The last bit of calm before people start whispering “bad luck” like it’s a spell. But I don’t fear the fire anymore. I sit with it. I feed it.

I use this moment, June 13, to make space for the stories that rarely get told. The soft ache of men who never felt safe enough to cry. The weight of protection that Black men carry without complaint. The grief they never named. The fear they never admitted. The pressure to be unbreakable in a world that breaks them daily.

✨ What If We Held Space Instead of Holding Back?

I don’t need a holiday to honor the men I love. I just need a moment. A table. A story. A prayer. So today, I open the door a little wider. I speak gently. Iremember the quiet ones. The fathers who didn’t know how to show up, but wanted to. The sons who still don’t know how to say “I’m not okay.”

And I say this:

“You don’t have to be perfect to be protected.”

“You don’t have to be silent to be strong.”

Today, try this:

Light a candle for a man you’ve loved, in life or in memory.

Cook a small dish with tenderness (even toast or tea).

Whisper his name into the warmth Say: “You are remembered. You are not alone.”

There is no perfect way to honor our men. But there is a sacred way: with honesty, compassion, and intention. So if your heart feels full, or tender, or torn, that’s okay.

Today is a sacred pause.

A breath before the fire.

And you are held in it, too

Ase’