Sunday, December 30, 2012

KWANZAA- NIA-PURPOSE- Sacrifice- Disciplina, Honor y Abnegacion


KWANZAA- NIA-PURPOSE- Sacrifice- Disciplina, Honor y Abnegacion

TO MAKE OUR COLLECTIVE VOCATION THE BUILDING AND DEVELOPING OUR COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO RESTORE OUR PEOPLE TO THEIR TRADITIONAL GREATNESS

 Greetings familia,

Have I told you all how much I love Sundays.  I love Sundays! I love the silence of it and  the gathering of thoughts. So it is with that energy that I sat and wrote today’s Kwanzaa blog with the principle of NIA-PURPOSE. 

Familia, I also have to share how surprised I have been with how the words have just moved on the paper with such ease. We were meant to celebrate/reflect on Kwanzaa togetherJ

“Sacrifice is the order of the day” that is the Ifa line that came to me as soon as I began writing. Purpose brings about sacrifice. Sacrifice brings clarity and grounding movement.

Once we have made that connection then we are fueled by NIA-PURPOSE.  This principle fuels my every movement. It fuels my ability to share with you, to remain on this journey that was handed to me and to LOVE.

I can’t help but think of one of my favorite quotes by Che, that you read at the end of all my emails, “Let me say, at the risk of sounding ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by feelings of LOVE.”

It is from that LOVE that I truly believe we can build our community and continue to be the great people that WE are.

Many have asked where it comes from. I cannot name a moment but I can say that it takes over in a way that does not make sense to most.

Today I want to highlight one of my most treasured examples of NIA-PURPOSE in my life and it comes from my father.

My father has been a volunteer firefighter and member of the Banda de Corneta y Tambores de Colon for 50+ years. I need to add that the Banda is the best Band in the country. I don’t think anyone who has heard “Los Bomberos de Colon” can argue against that statement.

My father recently became Mayor Modestin. We were so excited and moved by this recognition. Not only because of his dedication to this familia but also because of his love for this familia. He believes in their greatness and it has impacted all of us or anyone who has spent anytime seeing him march or heard him talk about “Los Bomberos.”

As my father gets older we love the things that fill up his cup and these three words do it, Disciplina, Honor y Abnegacion. Discipline, Honor and Abnegation or I would like to say, dedication and sacrifice. He is dedicated to this family, community that has spilled over and allows my sister, brother and I to see them as such.

My father’s NIA-PURPOSE to be a member of this community unconditionally feeds my commitment to each and every one of you in the best way that I can.

I believe in you, I believe in our greatness as a people and as a community. It is unbreakable because it is built on my LOVE for you, NIA-PURPOSE.  There is that saying that you can’t chose your family but you can chose your friends, as we move through the day, maybe we can all say, I chose US, our community through thick and thin.

The sacrifices to remain on this journey have been many yet there is no stopping it. I hope, no I want to say, Pray, that today’s words land on you in a peaceful way. I hope that my father’s dedication teaches us all something as it continues to do that for me. I hope that when you look at yourself in the mirror today that you see the grown that we carry naturally and that you hold onto to it as you move through your day.

Peace and Blessings my Kings and Queens!

 

In light,

Yvette

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