Felicia did not make it to the gym today. She was dressed for the gym. She had planned on going to the gym, was ready will and able, but it didn't happen. She did, however, make it to the store. It was while she at the store she had a chance run in with a man who she had never met. It was through conversation with him, that she found out that they shared something in common the loss of a daughter. Through this conversation, Felicia realizes how much healing comes from speaking about Kamaiu, and Karega helps frame the experience through his experiences of loss and healing.

Finding joy, finding motivation, finding connection is fundamental to our existence. Both Karega and Felicia have been trying to find that balance of joy outside of the work they do daily. However, the music keeps pulling them in. Listen in as the couple describes how music, and specifically OUR music, has shaped their connection to self, and community. PLUS how it contributes to their practice of wellness.

Oftentimes, we find ourselves trying to piece together the pieces of ourselves. These pieces become more apparent when we see them reflected back at us through our children. Today, Felicia has her Mommy sitting in with her in reflection of not only her journey as a mother, but in parenting. How do all these pieces fall together, and what does the journey look like from the perspective of the person who gave you life? What do you see now that you are dealing with the tiny reflection of yourself? It is a beautiful conversation of gratitude, perseverance, and hope.

Grief can manifest itself in a many ways, especially when someone is taken from us too soon. Today, Karega and Felicia discuss how they spent their weekend with mothers who have lost their children too soon. What they discovered is that these strong black women, who have experienced such tragedies, still find a reason to be joyous even though they carry such pain everyday. Karega speaks on how he is in awe of these mothers, including his very own wife, because of the strength they have shown through so much adversity. He realizes that grief doesn't only have to be a weight around your neck, but can also be the very thing that saves you.

We all know that nothing lasts forever but, for a 2 year old like Kamali, you have nothing but time. Today Karega and Felicia discuss their recent trip with Kamali to Atlanta to visit close friends. While traveling, Karega experienced a series of moments with Kamali that caused him to reflect on the fact that even though Kamaili is only two, there are things, as she gets older and matures, that she won't ask him or Felicia to do any more. The great thing about Kamali, even though she is growing everyday, she always finds ways to bring Karega and Felicia in the present to remind them that while time doesn't stop, being present in the moment allows them to appreciate those times before they are gone.

Your thoughts and self talk can have very powerful effects on your mental and spiritual health. Karega and Felicia both reflect on what it means to slow down and take time for themselves. Karega, more specifically, speaks on how important it is to not only take care of his physical well being but his spiritual well being so he can be there for Felica, Kamali and others. Felicia and Karega also chat about motivating each other and how they can look to their community for inspiration in order to make sure they are feeding the mind, body and spirit.

The heavy rainy season has Karega thinking about seasons, restarts, harvests and what growth should look like. To go even deeper, what he thought his growth should look like after everything he went through. Seeds and fruit and even the trees have shown him that growth does not look the same and neither does our growth. Especially our growth through grief. Having patience for ourselves is key as we do not all grow the same way.

Kamali celebrated her second birthday last week ! and while there was much to celebrate, there was also a period of reflection. Felicia and Karega take a moment to discuss the parallels between those who came through for them in this period of celebration and those who were there for them during their period of grief. Perhaps just as important, how different it is to be in this specific moment with a child earthside versus being parents of a child in heaven.

Having a toddler is hard, and Kamali is not as respectful to the needs of rest as one would expect of a two year old. You might know this about Felicia, but she loves her sleep. Like, it is a high priority. And there is no room for reframing things when there is no rest! However, there is more to this situation than Kamali being a toddler and the lack of sleep. It is about what we had planned, especially through our grief journey. The vision for our lives, the lives we had planned for ourselves, did not come to fruition. Sometimes the reframe is hard when you're thinking about the what ifs.

Karega has released his new project Legacy Lounge Season 1 Legacy Talk Only into the universe and reflects on what it means on not only what it means to be an artist, but on what it means to use music and rap hiphop as a way of processing his grief. Specifically, as one has to navigate the grind of promoting and selling this art and legacy project which means more than just a commodity. Is there a way to find balance in trying to build something greater than the machine of promotion and follows and likes especially with something so important to the whole family unit?

Felicia needs to make a change in her life. One that, on the surface level, is simple. She needs to cut her hair. Now, as Karega will tell you and show you Felicia has rocked every style under the sun. However, in this moment the impending change is different. As Felicia sits with it, she realizes that even something that she has done dozens of times before, now has a new association with it, and it ties into grief and Kamaiu. As grief is ever changing and evolving, Felicia and Karega reflect on how this moment is very much part of the experience of grief and just how the personal and individual each person's process is.

In their journey of grief, Karega and Felicia have each have had their own very individual processes in how they feel in sharing Kamaiu's story. Their truths vary as their experiences have varied. As the couple vulnerably shares, this ain't fair. None of it is fair and in all reality, no one would choose this path over having their loved one. Grief is wild that way. However, that is why Karega and Felicia create these tools of reference AND why the reframe is so important even for themselves because it is easy to fall into the trap of the what ifs and the not fairs as opposed to the living in the now.

What is present may not always be visible in the moment. At the right moment it will be seen. Its relevance requires its process and cannot be rushed. SOL Affirmations was once again nominated for an Ambie award which this time took them to Vegas. While in reflection, Karega and Felicia note how all of this, the podcast and the stories that they share in it, start with Kamaiu and the story that they never wanted to tell. Felicia never wanted anything to come from the loss of her first daughter, and yet through her sharing her story, the story of being Kamaiu's mother, they have created so much space for reference and for community.

Mass incarceration is a type of loss. It isn't often framed that way, but you know we are all about the reframe here. In the last interview in the series from the Kennedy Center, Karega and Felicia sit down with their friend Tony Lewis Jr., a DC community leader, reentry expert, and champion for children with mass incarcerated parents to discuss the community and specifically the youth of DC. Plus, the trio explore the concept of atrisk youth, and the grief, and loss experienced by those who have incarcerated parents.

Sometimes the art is showing up to the day differently than you've done before. As Karega and Felicia continued their stay in DC they knew that they needed to link up with their old friend Angel Gregorio. If you know DC, you know Angel. You know The Spice Suite, you know the work she does for the community and our people. What you probably don't know is how she has shown up for Karega and Felicia specifically in their grief. Listen in as Angel shares how her grief in losing her brothers to mass incarceration and her mother to drug addiction helped fuel her commitment to community, how she has more questions than answers, and how loss truly shapes us all.

While artists in residence at the Kennedy Center, Karega Felicia had the opportunity to sit down with their old friend husband, father, community leader, and licensed therapist Kier Gaines. In conversation they discuss not only how they have shown up for each other, but for community, and specifically the youth. It is a conversation about Black Love at it's core.

Felicia's desire for structure and Karega's desire to take the path of least resistance when it comes to parenting is looked at in depth within this episode. In this episode, both share honest thoughts about navigating through the journey of parenthood and the power struggles that come with it.

Some of you may or may not know but Karega is also an artist. His latest album, Legacy Lounge Season 1, features a song about Felicia one that she lowkey has been waiting for. However it is through Karega's words that Felicia has been allowed to learn how to process her own grief, and how it gave her the space to learn to love without judgment after loss.

As Felicia and Karega come to the end of 2022 they reflect on just what this second year of SOL Affirmations has meant for them and this community they have built. Thank you all for holding space for grief, reframing, discussion, vulnerability, and above all else love. Make sure you listen to the end to hear a special announcement from Karega and Felicia!

The holidays are a time of joy for most. It's when we come together with family and friends and celebrate. However when we have lost someone we have loved, the holidays are not JUST the holidays. Sometimes the grief feels like it is fighting with the joy of the season. Karega and Felicia share just what this third year holiday season without Kamaiu on this plane is like and how navigating it with a very joyous Kamali looks like. Plus how has it changed on the journey to here. Afterall, grief isn't linear. Just like the season it is full of changes, moments, and requires reflection.

There's just something special about being connected to your people. We all get to decide who those people are. Relatives, chosen family, and in this instance, Karega Felicia mean their fellow Hampton Alums. It was homecoming and the trip not only allowed them the room to explore what being around other Black people and going to an HBCU meant to them, but what that community has meant to them since graduating.

Black men, it's time to get real with each other. Wellness, selflove, finance, nutrition these are just a few topics Black Love Inc General Manager David Wasicki will be bringing to the forefront in Man to Man A Black Love Wellness Series. Each week the topics will change, but the insights lessons gained from Black men of all walks of life will remain constant. Man to Man serves as a platform for men to get reallife insight directly from notable, successful men who lead with the honesty and vulnerability that Black Love is known for. Toxic masculinity. What is it? Is it really an issue or is it some buzzword? We brought in two brothers to have a conversation about masculinity in all forms, but especially centered around being Black men Karega Bailey, artist, educator, and angel father, and King Jay Barnett, author, speaker, and mental health therapist. Perhaps more important than the question of what is toxic masculinity is how do we acknowledge behavior that is toxic that seems to be consistently perpetrated by men? Honestly, there are so many questions and points asked that this is only one piece of the framework necessary for healing. But we have to start somewhere, and this is a great start with two phenomenal men.

As we move into the last quarter of the year Karega reflects on slowing down and finally allowing himself to feel all the things. It's easy to get caught up in time as you push through the front half of the year, but in this period it seems almost necessary to talk stock. More importantly, it is okay to allow ourselves to take those moments and actually pause and feel all the things we've put off to the side for the sake of moving forward. Listen in as the Baileys process in real time their very real emotions around felling and acknowledging their grief in real time, even as everything around them seems to be continuing on, and why we all deserve those moments to feel.

Grief is on going and ever changing. It is easy to get stuck in a very real fatigue of grief. There is this notion that going full force into will get you over it and Karega and Felicia have realized that such is not the case. Listen in as the couple processes the challenge of moving through grief as it shifts with time. What realizations have they arrived at in this point in year three of Kamaiu's double transition? Does it get easier?

Felicia and Karega reflect on how Kamaiu's 3rd birthday looked so much different than her first two. As a family trip gave room for not only reflection into what the family unit looks like now that Kamali is here, but in how they now acknowledge Kamaiu as she shows up differently than she had in the past. Angel parenthood is constantly changing and adjusting and there is always beauty in the reframe.

Angel parenthood comes to everyone differently, and everyone processes uniquely. Karega and Felicia first came to know of Heather and Demitri Wilson when they were invited to be guest speakers at their event, The Angel Ball. It was then that they came to know their story. Seven years after losing their daughter Kennedy on August 17, 2009, the idea of sewing burial gowns for infants came to Heather Wilsons mind. Kennedy didnt have an appropriate or properly fitted gown for her burial, but Heather hoped others didnt have to face the same problem. Dedicating herself to sewing angel gowns and together helping others in their time of grief is the best way the Wilsons keep the memory of Kennedy alive. Listen in as Heather and Demitri share not only what keeping Kennedy's memory alive does for their grief, but how they continue to process and honor her today and always.

On September 30th, 2019, Karega and Felicia became Angel Parents to a beautiful BabyBaileyGirl named Kamaiu SOL. Happy 3rd Birthday Kamaiu.

When trying to share how one is dealing or processing grief there is always the fear of misunderstanding. At least this has been true for Felicia. There was a fear that when she shared her story on Black Love Doc that folks wouldn't understand. There's the fear that when people hear short clips of the podcast people will jump to their own conclusions and misunderstand. It's a real fear that when paired with the weight of grief is overwhelming. This week, Felicia and Karega process in real time what those experiences have taught them, and how they have grown from them.

How does one find gratitude in loss? In the hardest of moments? Continuing their reflections in their month of miracles and wonder Karega and Felicia reflect on how the meaning of gratitude has shifted for them since Kamaiu's double transition and how they continue to find ways to experience it.

I honor my reality and the heart work it requires to embrace my truth. I do not have to escape my feelings or rise above them. They are true and I will let them be true. What happens when the disbelief of manifestation holds true? When one cannot honor the truth of what they have done because the grief will not allow them to embrace their truth? Felicia and Karega share what emotions from all directions look like and how creating room for love allows for true honoring of the heart work.

Peace good people! Karega, Felicia and Kamali and finishing up their month long vacation but didn't want to leave you hanging. As they travel back home they wanted to share their friend and fellow Black Love Podcast Network family member Charisse Sims' podcast Parenting for the Culture! Charisse is an educator, PBS Early Learning Champion, and a mama of six so she knows a thing or two about raising kids. Charisse is all about conscious parenting, and if you don't know what that is, well Parenting for the Culture is a good place to start!

There's something about grief that has a way of building connections. There is a community in grief as the process, while unique to each individual and situation is a universal concept. During Karega and Felicia's deepest period of grief they found the music of Rexx Life Raj . His lyrics connected to their experiences in a way that they couldn't necessarily find words for at the time. Nor did they think that others shared certain aspects of their grief experiences until they heard Rexx mention it. Today, Karega and Felicia sit down with Rexx Life Raj to discuss his music, grief, community, and all that comes with it.

This week Karega and Felicia discuss the grieving of the person you once were. Listen in as both share how so much loss and newness has allowed them to appreciate what the past has taught them and not needing to define what is next to come.

This week Karega and Felicia discuss the importance of rest. Listen in as both share how rest has forced them to acknowledge how important it is. Because ultimately, there is no affirmation that can replace rest.

This week Karega and Felicia celebrate their 10 year anniversary. Listen in as Karega shares how his difficulty with separating from Kamali, for an anniversary trip, ended up being a lesson on the importance of separation. While both express falling in love with one another all over again on this journey.

This week Karega and Felicia celebrate the life of Karega's brother Karim, after his passing 8 years ago. Listen in as Karega shares how acknowledging what getting better is has helped him surrender and further confront his feelings. While both share the lesson of there being no growth in the process of rushing grief.

Felicia and Karega share their feelings on the final season of Black Love Doc and how the series changed not only their lives but the lives of the community around them.

Karega and Felicia discuss the beauties of parenthood.

Karega and Felicia discuss how to make room for regular alignment.

Karega and Felicia welcome Damon Jamal Taylor, aka Dame Drummer, to discuss Black Daddy the Movie and the importance of Black fathers

Karega and Felicia answer some listener questions.

Karega and Felicia reflect on their Covid19 experience.

Karega and Felicia speak on finding happiness through grief.

Karega and Felicia have a conversation live from The Spice Suite.

Felicia and Karega reflect on Kamali's 1st birthday.

Felicia processes her feelings around Mother's Day and those who find it necessary to define her motherhood.

Felicia and Karega process their reactions to Kamali being hit by another child.

Felicia and Karega explore what it means to acknowledge the loss and how it has helped them experience the greatest love.

Felicia and Karega reflect on Kamali's upcoming 1st birthday.

Karega and Felicia reflect on the past year ! of podcasting and the importance of self work and sharing our stories.

Karega and Felicia reflect on how maintaining peace on the path is just as important as the destination.

Karega and Felicia reflect on what part affirmations play in their typical daily routines.

Lately, Felicia has been listening to the SOL Affirmations album and she keeps finding herself listening to one track in particular. How was this manifested in the daily work she is doing for herself and the work she does for others?

Karega and Felicia explore how community, connectedness, and selflove all intertwine in their daily lives.

Ever wonder just how affirmations work? Karega and Felicia and Kamali share how these words have manifested in their lives and the joys and struggles of recognizing them.

Karega and Felicia deep dive into their short documentary When the Waters Get Deep and dwell on the real time processing of watching something that hurt them so much.

Karega and Felicia deep dive into the practice of standing in your season of courage.

What does it look like to look inward and yet still find yourself looking back? How does one navigate the thoughts of selfdoubt when reflecting on things that could have gone differently? After all, what clearer vision is there than hindsight?

Felicia and Karega deep dive into the practice and manifestations of love.

Felicia and Kargea sit with the concept of grace through communication and why understanding the nuances involved can help build bridges with those who haven't been afforded such grace previously.

Karega and Felicia reflect not only on the year that has quickly come to pass, but the ability to look forward after grief

Karega and Felicia reflect on their time at the Black Love Summit and the black joy and happiness that surrounded the whole experience.

Karega and Felicia process through a realtime challenge that has the couple reflecting on how to lean into love during the difficult times.

How does one navigate grief and gratitude? Karega and Felicia process what that looks like during the holidays and how it has changed for them.

Karega and Felicia dive into the topic of effective communication and what that looks like in the workplace.

Felicia and Karega explore how grief has changed them and how they no longer walk through their lives as they did before. What does one do to continue after loss?

Felicia and Karega reflect on an affirmation from Karega's text that they both have been avoiding while they processed their grief.

Karega and Felicia talk about how memories can help with grief and how they contribute to growth.

Felicia and Karega reflect on their experience filming Black Love and how sharing their story helped opened a space to connect not only with each other but anyone who has experienced grief.

Felicia and Karega reflect on how Kamali's second birthday went, and how the events of the day affirmed her continued impact on their lives and the lives of others.

Karega and Felicia process gratitude while looking ahead to Kamaiu's second birthday.

Felicia and Karega reflect on Karega opening for Erykah Badu and how love has brought them both to this place in their journey.

Karega and Felicia explore the difficulties they experience with social media and the need to compare themselves to others.

Karega and Felicia process what filling your cup after grief looks like.

When the day didn't go as planned Felicia finds herself referencing an affirmation about practicing patience.

Karega and Felicia reflect on their live podcast and art instillation at The Brickhouse Art Gallery Complex in Sacramento, CA, and how their community has always found a way to show up for them.

SOL Affirmations LIVE from The Brickhouse Art Gallery Complex in Sacramento, CA

Felicia and Karega discuss how being present can be one of the most difficult spaces to occupy.

Felicia and Karega discuss how to find beauty on the hards days, and how their journey through loss shifted their outlook on pain.

Felicia and Karega discuss how days of travel as parents, creates the practice of patience on the road to happiness.

Felicia and Karega discuss shifting through the emotions of pregnancy after loss, Felicia's birth plan the second time, and how it all came to be a beautiful journey.

Felicia and Karega discuss Felicia's latest project, Mother's investigating Grief's Process and how it came about as they navigated their grief.

Felicia and Karega reflect on the joy and grief that overwhelmed Felicia's 34th birthday.

Felicia and Karega explore the differences in parenting Kamaiu and Kamali.

Karega and Felicia reflect on their 9 years of marriage and how they have made it through what on the outside might have looked like a nontraditional partnership.

Felicia and Karega and supervisor Kamali reflect on this past Father's Day.

Karega and Felicia are joined by longtime friend Yusha Assad in the studio to discuss the time all three of them spent in DC, and the intersection of teaching and fatherhood.

Felicia and Karega discuss Karega's latest project, Prayers of an Angel Father and how it came about as they navigated their grief.

Felicia and Karega have a special announcement and share how they've managed to navigate the waters through it all.

Karega and Felicia discuss how time effects love and grief.

This week Karega and Felicia get further into the depths of love by discussing love's validity and the moments where they had to come face to face with their own misconceptions about love.

Karega and Felicia discuss how do we love what challenges us and makes us question if someone is truly deserving of love.

In this episode Karega and Felicia discuss how one can take inventory about the things occupying love's territory?

Karega and Felicia want to acknowledge the latest developments in their lives.

Karega and Felicia discuss the grief that came after gun violence and how love helped them through it.

Karega and Felicia recount their time in Southeast DC where Karega met his first mentors in grief, and how to build trust amongst communities.

Today Felicia and Karega discuss the conflict of loss, artificial grief, and how to retain one's gentleness after tragedy.

You might know Karega and Felicia Bailey from Black Love Doc Season 4 Episode 5, Stand By Me but that isn't their entire story. Felicia and Karega explain why they wanted to do this podcast, how they hold space, and who exactly they are. Listen as we hear about how the two first met in Sacramento, their journey together at Hampton University, their work in education spaces, and how they've learned to embrace their identities as Angel Parents.

Every week SOL Affirmations with Karega Bailey and Felicia GangloffBailey will honor the stories of those experiencing grief, and will act as a space to radically connect to the deepest parts of our humanity.