Distraction Control

Knowing thyself, knowing who we are, knowing our history can guide our daily decisions and thoughts.

Photo by Julian Myles on Unsplash

Grand Rising Family!

It is my wish that this issue finds you and your loved ones well and spiritually sound.

In light of all the interesting media coverage taking place at this time, it leads me to once again to return to the source of knowledge one needs to have to not be surprised at current events. It is said that nothing is new under the sun, and that for sure is true without hearing it from me, we can simply just look around us. A deja vue feeling perhaps, but not really. Knowing history can tell us what is going on right now.

I have been taking liberties by using social media judiciously (mainly Instagram), “studying” the platform in how and what content is being posted. The recent racist talk attack on one of our communities has escalated, but I am also seeing an aspect of what our community is saying about this attack. There is the urgency reminding people to vote now for your rights. (This was also said during the VMA award show the other day, from clips I have seen) Once again, knowing history of where you live, as we don’t drop from out of the sky, or maybe we do? Knowing how things work in one’s community and learning about it’s history, should you choose to reside there, is very important for what is about to happen there, or not. Voting has to happen all of the time, at the ballots, in all elections, in our daily decisions and thoughts of what we choose. We also need to fully participate in the civics process, which of course is not told to us in schools, but perhaps some of us learn through our families. If there is a civic group near you, join it. If none exists, form one.

A case in point on the urgency of deciding how to think in this world, martial artists train for being present every second of their lives, trained to make life or death decisions. An athlete does not. I am thinking that, as Afrikan people, we need, considering who and where we are and how we got to this place in history today, we need appropriate response to what we are experiencing and how we decide to create our destiny in practicing Sankofa.