Purpose & Ujima

 

Purpose & Ujima

Great Ujima:

First I want to apologize for the total mess up with the “Daily Toast”. I already shared that the sound was messed up for this week, but I found out that I posted it at 6:45am rather than 5:45am. Now I have to go back and listen to my commercial to check what time I stated was show time. I go through phases where I totally forget show times, and a bunch of other stuff, just ride the wave for this week and we will be back to normal next week. It’s crazy to think that I had a big accident during the week of purpose, but all things work together to bring balance. Enough of that!  Let's get to our discussion. Well we have made it to the magnificent principle of Ujima, and we are in the week of Nia, so let’s pull these super beings together and see what they can do.

“Ujima is a principle most people don’t know about because it’s a collective action that involves building community, but not in the way you think. Find out about it here!”

We know that Ujima means collective work, and responsibility, but how will we bring this into the realm of Nia. Yesterday we talked about defining your purpose. Today we want to talk about defining your collective’s purpose. Before we hit on the tribe, let’s go to your family. Just like individuals, have purpose (Nia) families have purpose. So here is the question that you have to deal with today. What is your family’s Nia? First take a look at the family name. What does that tell you?  For Black folks it usually tells the name of the family that owned us, but even in that something can be learned. Take some time and look at your family history and see if there are any themes that you can find. This means that you will have to pull on your family collective and start learning about your bloodline. This will be hard for many because you may be exposed to stories that may be painful, or meet with opposition. Because our bloodlines (Black folks globally) have been faced with some crazy opposition, and oppression, those that want to do this exercise may be cut off from the information necessary. If you can not go back in your family history and get a good idea, this is when you do what you were instructed to do with your personal name. You boldly create the Nia  of your family. This will be a powerful move for you and for the children coming behind you. 

“Together we must fight oppression through our collective family and individual purpose. “

The issue that we are battling with in the bloodline (family) is the very same issue that we are battling within our personal perception. The whole idea of a family being a group of people that were accidentally put together, living an accidental existence at the whim of the world & circumstance. This is dangerous for the whole group; it adds to the chaos that the individual faces growing up. Now just imagine a family that has boldly defined their purpose, and made it clear to each member. How would that change a young person growing up in this type of group? We can see this in action in pockets of our community. We have families that have certain rules and guidelines and produce achievers, and families that have a  structure as well but produce (for lack of a better word) underachievers. What is clear is that it would work to our advantage as a people if our family lines once again took time to establish their Nia.

“What our families need are people that are self-aware, and know their purpose.”

This can be a scary proposition for many, because they feel that they have no right to define the purpose for their bloodline, but we can take charge of our branch, and begin to build from where you are. You can instill these ideas in those that you have direct influence over, not just by talk but by your actions. The questions you can look at when you are researching (please ask elders in your family first, because your family/bloodline may have a purpose you may just not know of it), did your family have any sayings, are there lines of work that your family has traditionally been attracted to, what type of organizations were your family attracted to, and why, and lastly what type of services did your family participate in. If you can find no answers for this from the elders in your family then you can start answering these questions and start putting in the work. 

“It's time to take our bloodlines back from the oppressors!!!”

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The goal for us as a collective is to begin applying the concept of Nia in all of the places where we practice Ujima. Once we apply purpose in these spaces, they will become more productive, sustainable, and will help guide or inspire the members to pursue their personal purpose. These types of groups help bring an order to our families, tribes, villages, communities, etc., that has been missing for a very long time. Our people suffer for a lack of purpose both individually and as a group. We have allowed luck, and chaos to rule us for so long that it has become normal. In fact anyone trying to do what we are talking about will by many be declared to be crazy. In that case we need more crazy people in our community, people who will not lay down and let luck ruin their personal or group life.

“This is how we take Ujima to the next level.”

When we begin to look at Ujima from a personal space using Nia as a lens, we can once again take the practice internally by Identifying our place in the total scheme of things. We can demonstrate this to ourselves through a simple math problem. Let’s just ask this simple question, “If we looked at your family over the last 20 generations, how many people did it take being in the right palace at the right time for you to be sitting reading this article right now?” Seriously do the math so that you can amaze yourself, and realize that in order for you to exist certain things had to take place, and if you choose to you can look at it as if the Universe conspired in making you possible. Rather than clinging on to the accidental mindset that does not and has not served you. 

“What if you really were meant to be here, alive and thriving in this moment? It’s possible, but only if you begin to make it happen.”

This exercise is what we call the “family pyramid” rather than the family tree. We use the pyramid because it allows us to focus on you. You are at the peak of the pyramid, because at your birth you represent the highest point for your family. You are the culmination of the hopes, dreams, experience, and evolution of your bloodline, at least until you have your children. I put it like this not just to make you feel good, but to put a fire up under you. If you are the best that your family has ever produced, how are you representing that? Are you acting in a way that demonstrates the potential of your bloodline? Most are not, because their perspective tells them they do not matter, but I am trying to get you to see the truth. 

“You are at the apex of your family so you represent an opportunity to change the  trajectory of your bloodline.”

If we apply the idea of finding and/or defining our Nia, and then combine that with finding or defining the purpose of our family. If we continue pushing this up the line we will not only improve our lives, but assist in bringing victory to our groups. Tomorrow we will look at the resources with purpose, of course we will go through the hidden power of the “Family pyramid”.