I've often talked about my favorite book, Two Thousand Seasons by Ayei Kwei Armah. In it, Armah describes "The Way." I understand it to be an ancestral path that can lead us to be in greatest alignment with our most power self.
If' I'm honest with myself (and with you), I had strayed from the way in pursuit of someone else's walk. Rather than writing and learning about Diasporic African Spiritual Traditions and Black literacy traditions, I had started trying to write about Educational Philosophy from a mainstream perspective.I'd never suffered through so much writer's block as I have in all my life as I have in the last few years.
Moreover, I found myself in a relationship with someone who looked good for me "on paper" but who failed to satisfy my deepest cravings for intellectual intimacy and partnered growth and development.
All in all, I was walking on a path not my own and I felt STUCK!
Here's the thing about paths: they are made by those who've walked upon them.
Our ancestors have walked ahead of us on a journey. Then, we were born to them (deliberately given to them by the all-knowing Creator) as the fruit of their lineage. Their ways forward have already cleared a path for us. Through their efforts, victories,and sacrifices The Way has been cleared--our responsibility is to travel it.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that you do everything that your ancestors did. I believe that part of our purpose is to take what they've provided and build upon it by breaking generational curses and also manifesting generational legacies of greatness.
If you are like me and have been feeling "off" lately, my suggestion is that you get in touch with your People. Do some genealogy work. Read through the obituaries your grandmother has stashed away. Retrace your own history and allow yourself to reconnect with those things that bring you pleasure and joy.
Find a way to return to your own center, undistracted by someone else's definitions of joy, success, and love. The Way is the best thing to move you forward.
Always true,
Dr.Tip