Dear Mother Africa
By Naje Badu Love
(continued from Dear Mother)
Dear Mother Africa,
I have been tasked with the amazing opportunity to connect, to unite via words in a letter to you - my country of origin. Though you are a continent and not a country, I can only respectfully address the totality of you considering that I have no idea from where in your land my lineage is actually rooted. I am ashamed to say that, even as a spiritual being, this is the first time I have ever considered communing with you. Even still, a chance to connect with you for a moment makes my heart smile. It is with utmost humility and gratitude that I present myself to you, even in spite of the multitude of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are stirring within my heart. I first wish to thank you for being the origin of not only my lineage in particular, but the origin of mankind at large. I only wish that more people of the world respected such insight and wonder.
I would like to thank you for being a true example of perseverance, beauty, resilience, strength, and abundance. You are the symbol of pride - not the egotistical form of pride, but rather in a celebratory sense of splendor. Though you are the most misrepresented body of land on the planet, you sit among the Earth, regal and graceful, refusing to be bothered by the lies and the half-truths told of you and your children. Such a wonderful reminder you are of what it means to know, and then hold, an unwavering stance in your truth. You exemplify what it means to be bold in your unflinching offering of love, wisdom, and sacrifice.
A piece of me deeply yearns to return to your bosom. Though I am an African American, so I’ve been told, I can feel the spirits of my ancestors who were stolen from your arms and horrendously mistreated for centuries. The agony you must feel. The hope you must hold. The forgiveness you must maintain. I can only imagine. It is for that reason, I want to thank you for keeping the spirits of your stolen children, including me, close to your heart and never letting us go. I know this is true because of the longing for return that fills my heart at this moment is unyielding. I know you are waiting patiently. For me. For all of us.
Such a dynamic role you play in the world as the Mother of Humanity. If we could only realize the truth that it is your Spirit that flows through every man, woman, and child on this planet. If only we could respect this of you and in each other, we would see that beneath the layers of skin we are all the same. We are all connected. And it is your sweat, blood, and tear-drenched soil that unites us all in spirit.
I am ashamed to admit that I have neglected to do my part to learn more about who you really are beyond the wars, the famine, and the stolen resources. I feel the desire to know you beyond images and stories told of you. I desire to know you experientially. Thus, I pledge to learn more about the parts of you that hold my true history, the full version, the one that existed before African enslavement here in America.
As a Black woman in America,(can you believe in 2020 we are still the most devalued, unprotected, and unsupported group of people in this nation), I look to you as the definition of strength. I could not imagine being a mother who has had her children ripped from her arms, her most valuable assets plucked from her belly, and pieces of her body divided and sold off, all for the sake of greed. One thing I know is true: you are the epitome of forgiveness. Despite the lack of respect, your arms remain wide open and your heart stays welcoming.
I vow to do my part at being a connector and staying connected to the people - in my family, my community, and to the people in the world. I am coming to understand that the world’s survival requires that its people come together and unite. With that being said, I will also do my part to not only be a connector but to learn more about you as the Motherland. I desire to learn more about your spirit, your wisdom, and your many diasporas. I promise to make it across the waters so that my feet can touch the sand of your beautiful shores within my lifetime. I will return to you, through the Gate of No Return in Ghana before I depart this Earth, and I can’t wait to feel your embrace.
I thank you, Mother, for showing me what it means to be a strong, beautiful, abundant, and resilient woman,
Ase’
I hope somewhere in this message you find a spark of inspiration of your own. I pray I have managed to heighten your awareness of the possibility, as well as the opportunity for healing, uniting, and remembering as you take a moment to reflect on your ancestral journey. As this is a platform built to uplift everyone in TheRhyze! community, I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to look to the person to the right or left of you and consider their journey as well. Let us be reminded to see the humanity in every person on the planet. And if it helps to cultivate a deeper connection with your roots, I would concur that writing a letter to your country of origin is an amazing step. However, no matter the class, creed, race, or culture with which you identify, we all originate from the same place. We all come from Africa. Therefore, it is wise to consider our individual and collective pathologies, as well as the traumas that were passed down as we made our way to this very moment. Our history has everything to do with who we are today - again, individually and collectively. Wisdom compels us to see beyond the surface of everyone and everything that transpires in the world. When we expand our perspectives, we can have compassion and understanding. In that sense, we all have two choices we can make as we venture through whatever days we have left in this lifetime: we can rise in solidarity with one another to create, move, and uplift the less fortunate, or we can surrender to being captive to the oppressive thoughts, ideas, and beliefs that we did not inherit.
Which one do you choose?
I wish you peace and love.
STAY CONNECTED:
Naje Badu Love is the author of Let Go of Your But! A Woman’s Guide to Loving Herself to Full Potential and Possibility (purchase here). As an artist and illustrator, Naje founded Journal Up! (an organization designed to support people in their quest for true potential through journaling). to align her passion for writing, journaling and illustration as a means of connecting with and inspiring people around the globe. You are invited to reach out to her via Facebook and LinkedIn by following the social media details below:
Don’t forget to visit Journey-Up.com to learn more about our community objective, challenges, contests, and inspirational products.
Journey Up! Contact Information:
Phone | (323) 896 - 8000
Email | nagebadu@gmaill.com
Website | NajeLove.com
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Naje Love on Instagram: @NajeBaduLove
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