On Beyoncé, the Resurrection, and Proclaiming My Limitlessness

I often have to remind myself that Beyoncé is a regular human like me. 

She has arms and legs, fingers and toes, fears and worries, anxiety and peace, grief and joy — just like the rest of us. The genius of her work is proof that she is in a league all her own, not because she is some beyond-human species that is above the rest of us, but because she put herself there. She is the definition of, “Why not me?” She exemplifies, “Just because they say I can’t, I will show them that I can.” She is the epitome of, “Taking up space is my birthright — it is our birthright.” She demands the entire world stop and look at her in a way that has never been done before, and she does so with the utmost grace, poise, and humility that has also never been done before. It is her demanding, yet gracious energy complete with the hardest, most intentional, and brilliant work that she permits every Black girl around the world to do the same. She reminds us that Black women are some of the most brilliant people to grace this Earth, which is exactly why we are the most cast aside and disregarded. Yet, it is in the world’s attempt to disregard us that we dig deeper into the element of our brilliance. It is the contempt for us that makes us all the more candescent, proving to the world that we have nothing to prove.

Every time Beyonce puts out a new of body of work, showcasing the true meaning of limitlessness, she reminds me that I, too, get to be limitless. To be limitless is to defy the boundaries, rules, and shackles that society works overtime to place on us. It is the exemplar of doing whatever it is our heart desires, without apology, no matter how much sense to others it does or doesn’t make. It is the model of doing purposeful work for the sake of impact and statement alone, caring little about the results because you know your genius will speak for itself, and it does. The only difference between Beyonce and the rest of us is that she made the unapologetic decision to be limitless, deciding that every barrier, fear, and anxiety will only propel her forward rather than hold her back, looking at every obstacle as an opportunity to challenge herself rather than defeat her. Most of us decide to be defined by our limits rather than see them as the magic of our humanity.

I have 12 days left of being 33. Is 34 considered mid-30s? Or, is 35 when you hit the “mid” part? Either way, the years stacking up on me and the silver strands that are sprouting from my scalp are reminding me that I am no longer in young adulthood. Time is equally moving at lightning speed and a snail’s pace. And, while I am always an advocate of moving at your own time and pace rather than society’s commanded timeline, I no longer want to live my life waiting for confidence and prowess to arrive before I decide I am worthy of taking up space and doing just that. Beyonce is the example of not waiting to take up space, but doing so from the beginning, allowing boundless evolvment and for her space to simply expand to accommodate her evolution. Society has conditioned us that we must wait until we have earned the right to take up space before we do so, conditioning us to believe we don’t deserve to do so until we have proven ourselves worthy. But, our humanity has always been worthy of taking up space and commanding to be seen as we do. We have never needed to prove ourselves. 

I am writing this on the day we celebrate the Ressurection of Christ — The One who’s death and ressurection was the only ever instant permission slip to all of us to step into our unearned worthiness. He freely gifts us the ultimate, never-ending permission to proclaim our worthiness every day, yet we have allowed society to take that permission slip and rip it up in front of our faces. Oh, how quickly I have been to ignore the freedom Christ offers me through His death and Ressurection by falling for the okie doke of society. It is through the freedom that Christ offers that we get to disrupt the oppresive status quo of society, whose goal it is to shame our humanity, shrinking us into robotic nothingness. Playing small has become our norm because our society has held our shame over our heads, using it to puppetize us as we unwittingly comply. 

Jesus did not die on the Cross for us to play small. Beyoncé merely demonstrates what it would look like for all of us to step into the freedom that Christ offers without apology or allowing our limits to define us. No, this is not comparing Christ to Beyoncé. This is not an idolozation of her. Christ is the only idol here. This is a recognition of what it looks like for one human, who is just like the rest of us, to choose to live her life the way Christ’s freedom permits us all to do. The result? Defying odds, trascending culture, re-writing history, breaking down barriers, and kicking down doors for following generations to glide through. If we were all to see our own beauty and worth the same way, our impact would be just as powerful. No, it wouldn’t look the same way, but it would be just as powerful, beautiful, and transcending. 

I’m choosing to proclaim that my 34th year will be about taking up the space that I have been too fearful to occupy — that I’ve spent years waiting to feel ready to occupy. 

There is no arrival at readiness, there is merely jumping into the pool and allowing the splash to prove that your readiness was always there.

I am choosing to proclaim that my 34th year will be my limitless year — refusing to be defined by who society says I’m supposed to be, only allowing the freedom of Christ and the passions, desires, and talent He placed within me to guide me. There is no such thing as a niche anymore — I am the niche. There is no such thing as a title anymore — I am the title. There is no such thing as a limit anymore — I am the limit.I am the niche, the title, and the limit because Christ’s freedom permits me, and all of us, to be. 

Doing so in His freedom will bear the fruit that glorifies Him. Period.

“Alexa, play Cowboy Carter!” Excuse me while I go bask in this album’s Black girl anthems that remind me of our beauty, power, and limitlessness. I invite you to do the same.