PREPARING FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Christine Patton
Founder of Power Within | Elite Performance & Resilience Trainer | I help professionals perform optimally with sustained and lasting results
Although we are several weeks from Christmas, we are already knee deep in celebration season. I am writing this on Hanukkah, my U.S. friends have just celebrated Thanksgiving, and we Canadians celebrated the same over one month ago. My very best wishes are communicated here for all – to find connection, unity, peace, and happiness – within all traditions and occasions in which we celebrate one another.
But it was while researching the holy occasion of Kwanzaa that I was brought up short to a beautiful tradition that swims in the true meaning of unity and connection. I admit to having no familiarity with Kwanzaa prior to writing this piece, but I feel blessed to now know what it is about. Life has a way of showing us what we need, just when we need it.
To me, the seven principles of Kwanzaa shine with what many of us wish to emulate in our holiday traditions:
1) Unity: Umoja (oo–MO–jah)
To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
2) Self-determination: Kujichagulia (koo–gee–cha–goo–LEE–yah)
To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
3) Collective Work and Responsibility: Ujima (oo–GEE–mah)
To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
4) Cooperative Economics: Ujamaa (oo–JAH–mah)
To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
5) Purpose: Nia (nee–YAH)
To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6) Creativity: Kuumba (koo–OOM–bah)
领英推荐
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
7) Faith: Imani (ee–MAH–nee)
To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Wow! This is “drop the mic” stuff! If ever we needed a message of empowerment and faith – this is it!
How did we get so off course, as a society? Why was it so easy for a control message to slide in unnoticed and create such polarity?
I believe the answer is this: we forgot. We forgot what was important to a life well lived. We forgot who was necessary in our journey to self fulfilment. We forgot how to create the world we wanted on our own and began to follow the messages outside of us. And most important, we forgot about love – the true meaning of love.
Love is not just an energy between two people (lovers, parent/child). Love is a Universal energy that exists, whether we connect with it, or not. Love is a unifying energy that we feel when we pay attention to it, and when we connect intentionally.
Further, love is communicated in a variety of ways and no great relationship must ensue. Love can be a reason, a season or a lifetime.
Love is a smile to a passing stranger, money given to a homeless person, protecting a wounded animal, tending your plants and the daily care you extend to your family, clients, neighbours, and friends.
Love is also how you show up for yourself – the self respect necessary to prevent neglect and abuse by others, being in gratitude for everything in your life, being brave in a new situation, and being proud of the fruits of your labour.
In other words, love is how we care for ourselves, others, and the world at large – whether we feel any great emotion or not. Love just is.
What kind of world would we live in if all of us embraced and integrated the seven principles of Kwanzaa? I can only imagine and visualize such a place – and connect with the love that is present.
Now THAT is a holiday worth celebrating! I cannot wait!