OUR FAMILIES TAMSHI LA TAMBIKO

Out of Africa our first mother and father lived and died, their lives are a mystery to us, but without them we would not be here. Their their blood runs through our veins, their DNA builds our bodies and powers our cells with energy from mitochondria passed directly from our shared mother.

Over time our ancestors traveled far and wide, to the black land of the Nile river, the eastern country of the rising sun, the vast middle kingdom, the cold mountains, the land of the Svea, the islands of endless summer, the country of corn, and the land of the dollar bill.

Where we are now, we have never been before, it’s new land to know, live with, love, struggle and build upon in harmony with the land. At this place, sea people lived until the world became one world, now we live in a cosmopolitan society trying to get along. On this new earth we will raise our children in tenderness and patience, seeking a higher level of human awareness and unity until someday world peace is possible. Our eyes are the eagle, our strength is the elephant, and our courage is the lion. We remember and honor our ancestors and the legacy they left for as long as we have air in our lungs and love in our hearts.

For our people everywhere then: for all the just defenders of virtue of all times and races, for all those who spoke and speek for human rights and harmony with nature; for our children and the fuller and freer lives they will live because we struggle; for Kawaida and the Nguzo Saba, who founded Kwanzaa, for Mamoe Tanaoe who founded our family, for our own soul which revels to use our views and values which gives identity, purpose, and direction to our lives; for the new lives we struggle to build; And for the continuing struggle through which we all go to live our best lives possible according to our own needs, courage and wisdom.

OUR ROUTINE RIGHT NOW

Unity Day – I reflect on solidarity and comradery. I think about our family as a team, if we are, if we can do better. We watch the Might Ducks with the kids.

Self Determination – I ask the kids what name they would give themselves. We read a book about time management and goals, we think about if we used our time the way we wanted to that year and how our time becomes us and we become our time. We watch Cool Runnings.

Collective Work & Responsibility – I think about our farm/garden and our scout group and garden groups. We watch On Bak.

Cooperative Economics – I think about our non-profit scout group, if we have been using money in the best way possible. We will watch the Road Home.

Purpose – I think of my garden/farm and what I want to leave behind and if my priorities match my heart and soul. I try to think about when I felt at peace and alive, about what I enjoy, what fills my soul. We watch Ratatouille.

Creativity – I spend some time painting and helping my son paint, we celebrate my sister’s birthday and sing kareoke with friends and light fireworks at home. We will watch Sing.

Faith – I think about who I am, if I am who I say I am, and if I am doing all I can for the good of the world. We watch the Land Before Time and Kung Fu Panda.

DAILY RITUALS

We watch and sing the Kwanzaa song, and wear our special Kwanzaa clothes, we light the candles and we use DuoLingo to study Swahili and Zulu, for us we don’t use those except for Kwanzaa so it really marks that special time of the year for us.

I reflect a lot about who I once was, who I am now, my habits, what I think I can do in the next year, this Kwanzaa we had a break dancing class on Creativity Day and that was really cool to me, it was nice to see my son growing up in an environment that shelters his dance and his creativity and all the other dancers as well. That dance class contains so much of what I believe in, being able to pay the student teacher is Cooperative Economics, setting up together is Collective Work, dancing together becomes Unity, all the dancers share their Creativity, when other activities call on me and I choose that one it is Self Determination to choose that one that really feeds my soul and it’s a good use of my Purpose as kind of an organizer, I am a steward of creativity a bit more than everything else, it takes Faith to try to start each and every class, workshop or program we start as a group of friends or a scout group, it’s a work of the heart and I don’t want to say draining, but it is draining, to make a decision of what to prioritize more than to do the real work of what we choose. It feels like 10,000 ideas die for 1 to become a reality and it feels scary to decide what can move forward and what can’t, but it helps to look at others and know others are moving forward with you or dreaming with you, there are dreams you can’t carry and ones that you can make happen, but knowing which is which is for me the hardest part of life.

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