The feeling of “I’m not enough” emerged in my female psyche during my tender years, in part because my helpfulness received more praise than my ability to resolve problems or think independently. Little by little, my own agency was subtly undermined, until I felt insufficient and lacking. A sexual assault hammers that feeling home. With searing clarity, it reinforces the deeply embedded notion that women and children have less power and worth, that we don’t even have the right to defend the integrity of our bodies and minds.

But within each of us burn creative embers that we can breathe to life, just as our ancestors guarded and tended the coals that enabled sustenance and health. Each waking day we can say yes to ourselves and our own creative fire. We can say yes to our voices and our ability to connect and unite.

Today is a day to say YES to whatever your embers need in order to leap high and bright, one bonfire among many in the dark starry night.