cultivating the beautiful ordinary by sharing our tales and our tables
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Red Tent Living, we are featuring a monthly legacy post written by one of our regular contributors from the past decade. Dr. Natasha Stevens was one of the first women of color to say to yes to writing for us. She was a life-giving source of wisdom, encouragement,…
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This is not a eulogy. This is a wild ce-le-bra-tion. Lived out in staccato, fast breaths and clapped hands. This is a reverie of light that actively stomped the darkness. She was a determined, defiant dance. This is ce-le-bra-tion. She was coffee and cocoa-bean, sugar cane and deep earth. Caribbean and cradle of civilization. She was…
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“Your destiny is never tied to anyone that left you.” — Thomas D. Jakes Your destiny is important, though sometimes people can’t see it, so they overshadow you with their own ambition. They place you last. They never listen. Your ideas are only valuable as long as they benefit. Often deemed charming narcissistic personality types,…
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The truth is like a lion: let it loose and it will defend itself. —Saint Augustine Autumn leaves crunch under my feet like a forbidden Kit Kat bar. And yet I keep walking—far away from the noise of the day. I don’t want to hear. I don’t want to feel. I want to heal. Scars on…
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Sing it Kierra! “I don’t know if you have noticed, I’m doing me and I love it. I just ran through the fire. Please don’t judge me.” Piping in the background is my new theme song. The lyrics wrap around me like a veil.
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Somewhere between Kobe, Covid and Killings, we lost our ability to play. Sitting outside of a makeshift emergency room, I asked God,” Is this what we have been reduced to?” Question after question, and no answer came.
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As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:6 We met years ago, but we lost touch. Reconnecting with that one love you’ve always had is one of the most exhilarating experiences. I was suffocating and could barely breathe under the weight of…
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Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. —Joe Clark How do you help a friend who never asks for help? Women are incredibly strong and delicately resilient. We move through life like the well worn pages of our favorite chapter in the Bible, coupled with unique wrinkles, markings, and creases. Many of us glide…
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I am letting go of everything that no longer serves me. How many times have we whispered or even screamed into the pillow with hot tears strolling down our faces in full determination to do so? I lost track of the times. But this time, I meant it. Two of my life coaches are males…
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“So, how did it actually feel to have dinner with a serial killer?” my colleague at the law firm asked. Shuffling depositions between color tabbed manila folders, I quickly changed the topic to billable hours for a client. I’d avoided this topic for so many years. Even when an author asked permission to use the…
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