Moody Monday: We

Here is a quote from the amazing Iyanla Vanzant that I just had to share for Moody Monday because I see a direct correlation between We and Pregnancy.  Our ancestors passed down tried traditions, beliefs, and ceremonies around pregnancy and birth.  As a people, we owe it to them to learn them, honor them, and pass on the things that strengthen the cycle and create positive birth experiences:

The following is an excerpt from the book, Tapping the Power Within, A Path to Self-Empowerment for Women, pages 26 - 28.

The Circle of Life

One powerful way to honor our ancestors is to embody the principles they taught and continue the traditions they live. African people are a “we” people. We, in a cultural sense, moves us beyond the shallow consciousness of “my life is only about me”. We encourage just to remember that everything I do is a reflection on everyone in my line. We motivates us to be better for those watching and those coming behind.

My sister understood this and lived it. She taught me things that had empowered her as a way of sharing, expanding, and evolving the traditions that sustained her. She taught me what our mother had taught her, what may, in fact, has been taught for generations. Of course, things change, times change; people lose track of stories in the people who passed them on. We can, however, still honor the lives of the ancestors by remembering what we can, practicing and passing on the positive traditions that have been passed on to us.

For example, I always washed and combed my daughter's hair on Sunday evenings. I was tickled when I saw one of them had continued that tradition with her own daughter. This is a profound and practical way to elevate the spiritual energy of the ancestors to do as they did in order to sustain the group. Without knowing it, many of us probably do it anyway. When, however, we can remember the name of the one who taught the practice, or lived the principle, we create a more intimate connection.

What I know now is that how I live my life either honors or dishonors my ancestors. I also know it is not important for me to dissect, evaluate or judge their behaviors and dysfunctions. My job, our job, is to respect the continuum of life. We must embrace and embody with reverence the good/positive qualities that our ancestors demonstrated because it was this essence of their lives that pave the way for us. They have set the example for how to live in family and community.

Dr. Betty Shabazz has always invoked a quote attributed to Alex Haley. "We must find the good and praise it."

Find the good your ancestors left behind and live your life as an expression of it. We carry the energy of our ancestors in our DNA. Therefore, living the best of who they were, what they taught and what they believed elevates their essence and advances our growth.

What I know now is that every life, every being that ever took a breath and the physical form, is an ancestor. What I know now is that all things fade into God. All things are neutralized, brought into equality, balance out in unity with Spirit.