“F**k that job.” These are the words from Taraji P. Henson – aka one of the greatest actresses of our times – who is living her best life in Bali.
The Oscar-winning actress recently opened up about the need for a solo trip to find herself on Angie Martinez’ In Real Life podcast.
“I’m about to go to Bali for a month by myself. It’s my own spiritual journey,” Henson tells Martinez.
As Henson gives us a snippet of her sabbatical in Bali, it’s a reminder to us all – especially Black people – we need a reset.
“The journey to total freedom and happiness!” she said in a caption on Instagram while on the iconic Bali Swing. “When I say I love you, I am saying I love myself. God Is in everything and everyone. We are on this earth to spread God’s love in everything we do.”
Henson Is Putting Her Mental Health Before Her Career
If it’s one thing Henson continues to teach us, our relationship with ourselves is the most important.
Too often, we’re in a race to be good at all these things: a good spouse, mother, father, good at our jobs, good friends, and the list goes on.
But as Henson points out, you can’t fulfill your life’s purpose when you’re running on empty.
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“I have to be in control of me. I can lose myself giving it all to the industry [and I’m] doing things because I have a job to do,” she tells Martinez. “F**k that job. If I’m not m mentally well … if I’m not good, I won’t serve that role. I won’t service my fans. They will not get the best of me.”
A Mental Health Advocate
If you’ve been following Henson lately, you know she has been a huge mental health advocate for some time.
As the host of Peace of Mind, she was very candid about healing from suicidal thoughts of her own, especially during the pandemic.
In 2018, she founded the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation to honor her father. He was a Vietnam War Veteran who struggled with mental health issues.
“The Foundation exists to both normalize and improve access to mental health services for Black communities in hopes of eradicating the stigma around seeking help and support,” a statement on the foundation’s website reads.
We’re watching to see if this trip to Bali will convince Henson to move abroad or at least have another home.
Henson said she has considered moving abroad because she’s tired of fighting.
“I’m really considering getting up out of here, leaving and living in another country,” she stated on the People Every Day podcast when questioned about how she’s been coping with the complex political and social climate in America.
“I just don’t want to have to do another hashtag … I fought, chanted, and marched. I’m tired,” she adds. “That’s something that comes with 50. You get tired of fighting. I’m tired.”