Mama's Message...

When I arrived at Bwejuu village I knew I was home...I knew it had been a place that had birth an ancient Ancestor of mine. It was if I had been this fish out of water - gasping for air yet surviving and when I placed my feet on the ground it was like being released into water- I could breathe again...

It did not take me long (I almost sprinted from the car) to walk up to the ocean's shores and greet the mother who gave birth to me. Immediately, we embraced - she was warm, nurturing and so gentle...I knew this energy, for it was inside of me...

Some people have deducted that most of us from the diaspora are from West Afrika - and perhaps there is evidence of this based on the European slave industry's operations BUT we should also know that Arabs and Europeans also dealt in the slave industry where ever they step foot on the continent. Zanzibar was an island that "processed" slaves. There is still evidence of a slave dungeon in the a Catholic Church in Stone Town. Really we could be from anywhere on the continent...

There was a gentleness and peacefulness that I encountered in the people of East Afrika that resonated with me. It is like when you have a friend and you finally meet their family and you realize they behave just like their family - same mannerisms, same quirks, same tone of voice, same way of relating...I was happy to make that connection with my people of Tanzania. I have also made similar connections with people of Northern Ghana- so who is to say what is what? What I got is that IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THOSE OF US IN THE DIASPORA TO GO TO THE CONTINENT - TO GO AND CONNECT AND SEE WITH OUR OWN HEART WHERE WE COME FROM...This experience is guaranteed to change you...You won't have the same eyes again.

Everyday I was in Bwejuu I would wake up just before sunrise. I would walk out my room to the edge of the ocean and meditate then talk to my mother. She shared a lot with me and really it was simple - she said to find joy, happiness, peace and love in my life. She said that when we are in this place of completeness then our lives will demonstrate it. Life is not a struggle and it should never be in lack, for her waters are abundant - she feeds all life that resides in her womb - she has never starved her children. She said life is very simple not complicated and full of rules and requirements -YOU SIMPLY FOLLOW YOUR HEART -every time it will tell you what to do.

From there we enjoyed each other's company every morning. I sat with her and the white crabs crawled around me - moving sideways and always keeping their eyes on me. Her fine white sand was warm beneath my feet.

At night the heavens of stars seemed close enough to touch. She offered them to me - Star Medicine Woman, Daughter of the Sea, Sistah Goddess of the Universe...