The Unique View

Purpose – Nia – To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Today’s Kwanzaa reflection is fitting for this time of the year. With one day left in 2015, many are thinking and planning their next move going into 2016. Purpose. Are you living in the purpose and vision that God has given you? Are you currently in a place of employment where you no longer belong? Have you achieved your goals in any way? These are very important questions to ask yourself. Many are content and more complacent in their living, not listening or understanding the call of God to do more, to do His will, to come out of a land that He has said is dry and barren. Fear of the unknown will paralyze, but faith and assurance will drive you to the next level. Today is December 30, 2015. Will you remain focused on that which no longer serves you, or will you focus on God’s voice and rise up to the occasion of doin

Cooperative Economics – Ujamaa – To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. Statistics are showing that the black owned business is far, few and in between.  Many businesses have closed their doors due to the lack of support from their communities. Dreams deferred but surely not denied. You can walk around the neighborhood and see the success of the corner stores owned by families that have put their minds, money and physical abilities together. I have heard the conversations such as, why are those people coming over here and opening businesses? Those people? Before I educated myself on the dynamics, I too use to say those very same words. Those people are our Asian, Indian, Ethiopian and Sudanese brothers and sisters. Those people, are families who have banded together to create. They have stepped out of the box of just dreaming and talking, they are doing. Even if they did it and it failed, they did it and most likely w

UJIMA– Collective Work & Responsibility. To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers and sisters problems our problems and solve them. When I was growing up, all neighbors had a say in my well-being. If I got caught doing something I had no business, or was in a place I shouldn’t have been trust me, I got got. LOL. Then I was marched home if the offense was bad enough, and you know what that meant right? Yep! I got got again. This does not happen much today. As a child in the late 60’s and early 70’s, because of the relationship my parents built in the community, I was given notes to take to the corner store and whatever was on that note, I was given to take to my mother. One of the big stores was Safeway and the manager’s name was, Mr. Black. I remember because this was part of my upbringing and it taught me about relationship and trust. I watched my mother as she talked with those store managers and built relationships. My mother was trusted based o

Self-Determination – Kujichagulia – To define ourselves, name ourselves, to create ourselves, and speak for ourselves. Today’s reflection for Kwanzaa is, Self-Determination, in Swahili it is called Kujichagulia. Self determination to me is just like empowering self. Many wait on someone or something to get them in motion. Many wait for a word from someone, or wait on a devastating event to push them to do something they should have been doing all along. This type of mindset is stagnating and debilitating. Yes, there are countless ways to get motivation, but the best way to rise up is to be determined. We must continuously evaluate, remind, and speak into ourselves. We must pray for godly wisdom and direction. We must be humble enough to understand what God is saying to us, and to do what He has asked us to do. God has already ordered out steps. We must know where we are and know exactly where we desire to go. We must shed the weight of waiting. We must stop talking ourselves

Unity – Umoja – To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. Today is the first day of Kwanzaa. Many around the African American community are celebrating this beautiful time of reflection, preparing to get centered, and grounded in the principles that has created a living foundation of life and love. Today is a day of Unity in the English language, Umoja in the Swahili language. Merriam Webster defines unity as:  A quality or state of not being multiple: oneness. A condition of harmony: accord. A totality of related parts: an entity that is a complex or systematic whole. Unity. What is it? Looking back over the past 11 months of 2015, do we see unity? Can we look back even further and see this thing called unity? Do we see unity with the multiple killings of men, women, and children? Do we see unity when it appears that division is more powerful? Unity, how can we hold tight to this principle and really live it? Though many devastating eve

None of us are exempt from the consequences God will place before us for the disobedience we as His children walk in. For every action there is a consequence. We may suffer immediately or it may take years, but it will come back to us. We all have choices, but God desires that we seek Him fully and completely. As we give our lives to God, we have a daily chore to walk right, talk right, and think right. We are to do good things and point others to Him. How are we to do so good in a world full of hate and anger? Though we will find our fleshly selves getting involved in things that do not concern us out of passion, anger or even love, how do we discern what steps to take or not? Prayerfully and on purpose.   I have attended church, Sunday school, bible study, and many other events geared towards the edification of Christ like living.  I have spoken before woman, sharing what thus says the Lord. As of late, I have not been in fellowship as in going to church. I have been a member

For many years I have dreaded this time of the year. Christmas. Since 1979, December has been one of the most depressing months of all. December is the month in which my mother was called home. The month where all of my dreams were shattered. How can a 16 year old girl within 2 months of delivery of her own child grasp the magnitude of such a horrific crushing of the soul? The month I wanted to sleep away like a bear who makes its way into a cave for that great hibernation. No, I did not leap with joy for the Christmas season to begin, it was a month that I desired desperately to escape without notice. After much prayer and many tears, I have long since come out on the other side of that dread. I have long since learned to embrace this time as with all time, for no day is promised us. Though my flesh and selfish nature would rather have my mother here with me regardless of her state of being, I am thankful to know where she is and that I will one day see her again. On that glori