The Soft Life Isn't So Soft

I thought this was going to be the easier year.

I really thought I was getting to a point in my life where things were finally starting to make sense. Like I had done enough, healed enough, rested enough… to just live in it for a while.

I did the work. I stepped away from what was burning me out. I gave myself time to reset. I leaned into my faith. I built new rhythms.

So I didn't expect this year to feel this heavy.

Every year, I start the year with an annual fast with my church. It's something I genuinely look forward to — it helps me reset, hear God clearly, and set my disciplines for the year. And I'm not doing it alone. My husband does it with me, my friends do it too. There's something powerful about that kind of shared accountability.

I always come out of it feeling clear.

But this year… I came out of it, and the world still felt heavy. The economy feels unpredictable. The cost of everything keeps rising. And as a business owner, it hits differently when the cost to run your business keeps going up while people are understandably spending less.

And I don't blame them. I would probably do the same thing.

What's been hardest to watch is other businesses. Seeing beloved beauty and wellness brands Ami Colé and Spiked Wellness close really hurt. Watching brands like Hanifa, Anima Iris, and Adwoa Beauty have to reimagine just to survive — it's sobering.

Because behind every brand is a founder who believed in something.

And right now, it feels like the cost of building anything is just… higher. So I've scaled back. A lot. I'm focused on sustaining, not overextending. Moving with intention in a season that feels unpredictable.

But if I'm being honest, this season has made me pause.

Because just two years ago, I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I walked away from my corporate career after years of overextending myself — trying to do everything, be everything, and build Hueman Sol on the side.

The burnout got so bad my body started telling me in ways I couldn't ignore. My hair started falling out. I was diagnosed with alopecia areata.

That was my turning point.

So I left. And I spent the last two years resting, recharging, getting back to myself. And now… now that I'm finally ready to give my full energy to this business, the world feels like this.

Uncertain. Expensive. Shifting.

And I've had moments where I've asked myself if this is the right time.

But here's what I know. I didn't go through all of that just to stop now. God didn't give me this vision just for me to sit on it. And despite everything happening around me, the ideas haven't stopped. The desire to build hasn't stopped.

If anything, it's gotten louder. So I'm choosing to keep going. To keep building. To keep sharing. To keep it real while I do it.

Because this isn't just my story.

So many of you have been here from the beginning. This is your story too.

And if you're in a season where things feel heavier than you expected…

You're not alone.

We're just in a different kind of year.

One that requires a different kind of discipline. A different kind of faith. A different kind of self-care.

Not the aesthetic version.

The real version.

The kind that allows you to rest and still build.

The kind that meets you right where you are — somewhere in the middle.

And if you're there too…

Meet me there.

XO, Moriah

 

P.S. I write more about what's happening with Hueman Sol — behind the scenes, what we're working on, where the brand is going — over on the Hueman Sol blog. If you want to stay close to the build, that's where to find me.