“Love, Passion, and Community” an interview with Shindrea Chase!
Shindrea Chase, black and white headshot.
For those who may not know, a Doula is a trained professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to their client before, during and shortly after childbirth to help them achieve the healthiest, most satisfying experience possible.
You can learn more about Shindrea’s doula experience from her website: https://mpenzitundae.comand follow her on instagram: @mpenzitundae | @keepgoingdreWho are some of the most inspirational women of your life?
“My best friends! I'm surrounded by a phenomenal group of women. I have friends in my life from each part of my journey, from childhood to college, and we’re all friends with each other. I'm grateful that we are all able to share space together.” Dreia shares that her friend’s vast ability to live so fully in their own inner power both reflects and inspires her. “When I'm feeling down, one conversation, one phone call, or simply looking at our photos together, I’m quickly reminded of the love I’m surrounded by.”
How do you maintain such long lasting relationships?
“These are my most intimate relationships, we continually build a shared space for open communication, vulnerability, rawness, and accountability. That is the foundation for our relationships. Relationships are a choice. When you choose to do hard life together, you have to be honest for the betterment of each other and the relationship. My relationships have also taught me the value of consent, for example “Do you have space/time?” gives a sense of appreciation, respect, & safety for the other person. We also allow each other to see us at our lowest lows, which is actually now a requirement for my relationships— which isn’t to say that I ever want to see you down, but I want to know that we have a mutual understanding of “I can fully be myself here.”
Drea goes on to say how powerful communication and reciprocity are in maintaining any friendship.
“Even if we don’t know how to do something, or express something, we can figure that out together. It’s revitalizing being grounded by the people I surround myself with!”
How do you feel about fun/play? How important do you think it is to incorporate fun and play in our everyday lives? Why?
“It’s super important! I’m a very passionate person.” She explains how her and her friends are often the “can’t take anything serious” bunch when it comes to their ability to joke around and have fun, but when it comes to serious requirements of life, they know how to whip it into shape. “I also realized something about work and the human experience - there’s always going to be something hard or challenging that we’re asked to deal with, but the beauty of life is having the ability to find joy, even amongst those challenges. Being serious 24/7 is not for me. My friends and I have experienced a very real and sometimes very harsh life. From such a young age, we’ve been so focused on survival, now we see it like, "We might as well enjoy life with all of its challenges as much as we can, while we can.”
You literally operate as a life-changing support system for initiating new life on earth! How did you get called to this profession of being a Doula?
I wanted to be a Doula since I was 6 years old. I saw it on a maternity segment, on TLC. I’ve never really been into watching a lot of tv, but I found it fascinating; it caught my attention. It was something I could identify with. As the language developed for this particular work, the more I learned about the work and understood why I was so attracted to it. Since a child I’ve always been a caretaker.” She explains how she spent a lot of time in her youth looking after younger family members, she’s always felt a nurturing spirit yearning deep inside her. “The term Doula is such a buzz word now, but the actual work is very ancestral.” --and wildly impactful— “As a black woman from the city, I can attest that kids are oftentimes asked to grow up very early. When children begin to take care of their younger siblings, they automatically step into that caretaker role...”
Dreia deeply understands the struggles and outcomes that families, typically along the intersections of black, minimally resourced, and living in underserved communities, can sometimes face when they don’t have access to certain resources and the additional outside support they may need.
Throughout this conversation, it became clear to me that the work of a doula is an all encompassing role, and that community is not only powerful, but it is necessary.
Dreia continues…
“I love children, I was an educator for nine years, and I was also a behavioral analyst. So that plus the caretaking skills I gained from childhood, made aligning with this path second nature. One of the biggest themes of this work though, is that it’s not just beautiful, but it often comes from a healing place.”
What has being a Doula taught you about human connection & relationships?
“Love is a communal effort. The human experience is not meant to be had alone. The idea of human connection and how we interact with each other is a practice of healing and growth. I started a black mom support group in November of 2022, and I was able to bring together a group of mothers, doula clients and loved ones, some of whom I’ve manifested children with, who were able to become a community for each other. The way they love and heal each other brings me to tears. With this support system these mothers get to leave labels at the door and find help with mental health, marriage, motherhood, etc. they get to experience pure love and support, the children get to find friendships amongst each other. It makes you believe in the power of community. In today's world, everyone is so isolated and a true community can be hard to find. The mom’s group reminds me that the duality of life, both hardship and ease, is so real but possible.”
What advice would you give a multidisciplinary artist who may struggle with embracing & pursuing not just one, but several of their gifts?
“When you naturally encompass so many abilities, it’s especially difficult to live in a world that tries to put you in a box by telling you that you gotta be this ‘one thing’. Since I was a child I knew I wanted to be so many things; a creative director, a doula, a nanny, a stylist… I’d tell anyone it’s okay to be any and everything you want to be. The idea of survivalism and scarcity may occasionally set in; but you have to have a great support system, (even if for a moment that’s just you) and when you do put yourself around people, you have to be with people who see your spirit for what it really is. Society also makes us think we have to have certain things to be successful, but we are simply meant to live and experience our own paths. So when those negative kinds of ideas get to me, I remember I must stay authentic to my spirit. It would be a slap in the face to God or the universe to not act on these gifts and talents bestowed in you. Someone else needs your gifts, not just you. If you leave this earth today, what artifacts will be left behind to tell your story, your whole story? I want all my thoughts and ideas to be expressed before I leave. I want to leave this planet as empty as possible, in the best of ways. My parents were visionaries and artists, my dad has told me that he wished he would have followed all of his dreams and gotten the art he dreamed of out, before his body began to age out of the ability to create it.”
“So I would say, just do the thing. Surrender to things if they fall apart, because at some point they will, but no matter what, if the power is in you , you can make it happen.”
What is one lesson that you’re really happy you learned? How do you or did you feel about its timing?
“I am relearning the gift of discernment, trust your gut and your intuition, and tune into spirit. Know who you are and stand firm in that. Although the pain in maneuvering life can be real, I'm grateful for the lessons and required relearning. I didn’t grasp it the first time and that alone is teaching me that you have to make space for yourself, before you can make space for others. In time of need my grounding forces continue to be love, passion, & community.”
“I've been going through a hard time recently & I felt like I was going crazy, like my reality wasn’t my reality, everything had completely changed overnight— the lesson there was to reground myself.”
She continues to explain how lessons are often guiding forces that teach us what we need to know or focus on, expounding on how lucky she feels to have the ability to make something very difficult happening in her life into a beautiful learning experience, while being simultaneously reminded, in many other areas of her life, the rewards and results from sticking the healing through and being true to herself. One reward being the community she is continually so inspired by.
“There’s nothing better than being poured into by a community that pours into themselves as well as you. Their authenticity and resilience reminds me that I can do anything.” It’s so helpful having a community that will hold you to a standard. Community is meant to be a reflection of ourselves, a constant reminder that we can put in this work even when life is hard. “
What kind of things make you feel confident that you are exactly
where you should be in life?
“When showing up as my full authentic self, provides me with my community. I don’t plan out my motivational content, it just happens. I don’t write into a script saying like “and in this clip you’re going to start crying” but do I roll with it? Yes. These emotions I feel are very real and I wouldn't be doing anyone, especially myself, any service by hiding or pretending that they’re not. When you step into your innate capacity to be raw, and you’re not scared to share it with the world, you get the recognition from the community who is needing your words and perspective.”
What is your biggest life goal? Has it changed since you were little?
“Hasn’t changed, it’s always been freedom. Mental freedom, the freedom of expression, the freedom to explore; traveling and exploring all of what God has to offer. I’ve always dreamt about expanding and building community and a legacy. I want to live my wildest dreams, to make life easier for those around me, with resources, care, and understanding.”
What are some of your favorite books?
All About Love New Visions - Bell Hooks — “I have yet to finish, but this is definitely one of those books you have to prepare to read”
The Stars and the Blackness Between Them - Junauda Petrus
The Awkward Black Girl - Issa Rae — “Reading this book feels like reading about myself.”
Dare to Lead - Brennea Brown “She gon drag you!”