Protect Your Peace, So That...

Hello and welcome to the seventh edition of The Ferocity Letter, a softly fierce Sunday note for visionary women—and everyone who supports them.

My mission is to empower you to trust your intuition and communicate with presence, clarity, and resonance.

Every other week, I share field notes, practices, and words from women.

This week’s letter acknowledges the darkness present in our world right now, and invites a question: How are you protecting your peace?

The news out of Minnesota this week brought back a feeling I had several years ago. I was being forced to defend my Seattle floating home—my only significant asset, my entire life savings—in a years-long series of court battles against people who behaved with what my best friend simply described as “a darkness.”

Darkness was truly the most accurate descriptor.

You can sense darkness like that in the pit of your stomach. It has a cold, creepy quality to it. It feels inhuman somehow. Unsafe. Void of care. Sick. Transactional. Insatiable. Disconnected from heart.

And fighting it consumed me. I was angry at their shameless lies and grab for the home I had poured my heart and money into. I was scared because if I lost, I would be bankrupt. I was embarrassed to be in such a vulnerable situation at all—I am a responsible person with sound judgment and excellent credit. I was exhausted.

I had to appear in court three times; each time I would prevail, they would appeal.

As a sensitive introvert, I knew I might get overwhelmed without strong energetic preparation. I knew my presence in front of the judges mattered. I could not let anger, fear, or exhaustion sabotage the truth I was there to tell. I could not let my opponents’ greed win by crushing my spirit or making me sound crazy.

So every time we went to court, I intentionally carried a vision and three powerful mantras in my mind to protect my peace:

The vision was a cloud of tiny mirrors that surrounded me like a mirage so that my opponents would only see their own reflection when they looked at me. No gaze seeking to harm me could get through that cloud of mirrors. The truth, my heart, my peace and my body were safe.

The first mantra was the Heart Sutra: gaté gaté paragaté parasamgaté bohdi svaha. It is a central text in Buddhism that explains the concept of “emptiness” and reveals that everything is interconnected. It helps us find freedom from fear by realizing that what we fear is an illusion.

The second mantra was more of a simple request and honest blessing: May the truth be seen and may justice prevail.

The third mantra was a paradox, as reality always is. It helped me remember how I wanted to show up energetically: May I be softly fierce and fiercely soft.

***

Her last name was Good.

I do not believe that is mere coincidence.

When we look for the truth, it is there for us—recorded on multiple videos—plain as day.

Renee Nicole Good was softly fierce. The truth of what happened to her is being seen now, and it is time for justice to prevail.

This violence—the cold-blooded murder by a federal agent of an American citizen exercising her rights—is infuriating. All of the violence happening to human beings under this administration is infuriating. I am angry.

How do we shine light on this darkness?

It is important to remember that love is more powerful than fear.

“Truth may be vital, but without love it is unbearable.” -The Two Popes1

First, we need to be able to access our inner clarity.

This week, I asked women I met with, “How are you protecting your peace?”

It is so important that we do, so that we can get to clarity and communicate well. When we can speak truth with clarity and love—especially through anger—we lift the spirit and energy of everyone who encounters our words.

• One woman told me she is holding her center by not consuming bad news other than headlines and a few select articles like Heather Cox Richardson’s daily Letters from an American.

• Another woman told me she is protecting her peace by using a Brick device to lock her out of social media apps at night—freeing her mind from the addictive scroll.

• One woman told me she has been guarding her clarity by saying “no” to the energy suckers in her life and being more discerning with her energy than with her time. “It’s where my energy and attention go that matters. Time takes care of itself.”

• Another woman told me she has been tending to her inner strength and peace by “caring more about how my life feels to me, and less about whatever it might look like to anyone else.”

***

My legal battle ended in a settlement. I was able to avoid bankruptcy, and make a down payment on the home I have today. I am beyond grateful for my attorney and the loved ones who held and lifted me throughout that ordeal.

From that fight, I learned how to protect my peace.

My hope and wish for all of us in 2026 is that we can each protect our peace, so that we can speak truth clearly, with fierce love, and begin (again) to remake the world.

1. Name what is disrupting your peace.

   Write it out by hand, if you can. Then ask yourself: How am I actually feeling? What feels tender? What feels charged? When have I felt this before? What did I learn? What truth do I want to communicate to the people in my sphere?

2. Name where you want your attention go.

   Focus your energy—and 90% your communication—on what reveals truth, elevates, uplifts, supports, enlightens, strengthens.

3. Choose the state of mind you want to communicate from.

   Music can help set the tone. I wrote most of this letter while listening to The Heart Sutra2 by Wah, and the Heart Chakra3 by Beautiful Chorus. You might choose something entirely different. What matters is the state of mind you create before you communicate.

4. Consider a vision and a mantra

   It is hard to overstate the mental health value of a vision and a mantra for moments when we must face darkness head-on. No one else needs to know what it is, or even that you have one. But it gives your mind something to do that is the opposite of spinning into fear.

The quotes I want to share this week come from three women who hold defiance, steadiness, and tenderness in equal measure. Each, in her own way, reminds us that protecting our peace is how we stay rooted in love and purpose when the world is turbulent.

1. NIKITA GILL, Irish-Indian poet, writer, illustrator

The rage you’re feeling
comes from the same place
inside your heart as the love.4

Gill reminds us that our strongest emotions are not opposites but kin. Rage and love are drawn from the same source of deep care for one another and for our world.

2. BROOKE D. ANDERSON, President, Pivotal

“I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, but there are a few that Pivotal has no trouble committing to. In 2026, we will maintain our focus on expanding women’s economic and political power. We will prioritize the health and well-being of women and young people across the globe. We will continue to lift up bipartisan approaches, build alliances, and use every tool in our toolbox, from venture capital to charitable grantmaking to advocacy, to help remove the barriers that hold people back. No matter the headlines or headwinds that come our way, we will stand firm in our commitment to our partners and the steady pursuit of progress. If there is anything we resolve to do this year, let it be to never give up.”5

Anderson names a form of leadership that does not react to headlines but instead anchors itself in long-term commitment—protecting purpose so it can endure.

3. SULEIKA JAOUAD, American writer, advocate, motivational speaker

“The day before I was admitted to the bone marrow transplant unit for my second transplant, John was like, ‘Let’s get married. Let’s get married today. This is what you do in the face of these things. You double down on love.’

In the course of 24 hours, we threw together a tiny, little living room wedding. We ordered fried chicken sandwiches and had champagne and five people there. John rented a piano just for the night.

I walked into that bone marrow transplant the next day on cloud nine. I was the happiest I’ve ever been.

It really did feel to me like that forever lesson that I’m always learning of holding the brutal facts of life and the beautiful ones in the same open palm.”6

Jaouad shows us how choosing love is not naïve. Especially in moments of darkness, fear, illness, or uncertainty, it is quietly radical.

Together, these voices point to a shared truth: protecting our peace allows us to stay in relationship with reality without hardening, collapsing or turning away. It is how we remain capable of the kind of leadership this moment asks of us.

When women trust their ferocity, they remake the world.

And it is fierce to protect our peace.

Thank you for reading The Ferocity Letter.

I write these words to encourage and empower you—and because I need them, too.

May this letter remind you that protecting your peace is not the same as withdrawing from the fight. It is preparation for powerful truth-telling and the work that you are here to do.

Until next time, trust your ferocity.

— Laura

Laura Lowery is an advisor to visionary women. A communications strategist, writer, and founder of Light Advisors—she partners with purpose-driven leaders at threshold moments to give voice to your vision, elevate your presence, and empower you to communicate with clarity and resonance. Learn more: lightadvisors.co