PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER “GOODKNEWS” CARDWELL
Hey, Sis! As I peruse my mind in hopes of writing something inspirational, relatable, and worthy of your time, I have decided to share an inspiration talk that I shared at my First Annual “Mai’ Musings” Symposium. The title of this publication is “Something for the Sisters.” I conclude that the term “Sisters” is alluding to black women specifically and we as black women endure some experiences that are highly prevalent, specifically to us.
The thought and visualization of all of your beautiful faces is touching my heart in a profound way. From a young, shy, bullied girl, who grew up in poverty and domestic violence, to an entrepreneur, poet, speaker, hairstylist, author, and positive influencer of women, the most joyous aspect of who I am is being a Black Woman. We change the world, we give birth, we are the balance that gives this world life, hope and honor. It is through us that humanity is born and it is also through us that our lives will be uplifted as we recognize the divinity first within ourselves, and then in others.
So, as I write to you, I want to focus and interact with you through these pages by the synergizing of life, love, and purpose. What does it look to synergize life, love, and purpose? Well, let’s take a look at what Synergy means.
Synergy is the interaction or cooperation of two or more agents that produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. Isn’t that a profound definition? Let that simmer for a few minutes before you continue to read… now, let’s take a look at the word life. Life is a multi-dimensional expression of the way by which we actively live. We can be alive and lack the luster of living. Therefore, we can have a life, but we cannot live it without love. Ponder upon that for a moment…Love is the most powerful and the most subjective. Its meaning is different based upon an individual’s interpretation of its meaning. Therefore, love simply is. Next, let’s define purpose. Purpose is why we were born! We are here, on this planet, in this dimension, in this moment in time to fulfill our Divine purpose, which is to answer the calling of our souls by doing what we love to do and what we do best. In doing this, we contribute to the brilliance of humanity—And like our ancestors, their contributions to the world is infinite because we Re-present them and their legacy, whether in the form of another human, in the form of intangibles, or the way that we touched the lives of others. Our purpose and presence are infinite!
Life, Love, & Purpose…When we synergize all three, we possess an infinite capacity to live the highest vision and version of ourselves. Like Erykah Badu sings, “Oh, on and on and on and on…my cypher keeps moving like a rolling stone…”
How can we live as the expression of our highest and truest selves? We do this by removing the self-imposed limitations so that we can see ourselves as we truly are—which is a perfect emanation and expression of the Divine Presence of The Most High (or whatever name you call the God of your understanding). We do this by accepting that everything in our past cannot change and through this radical acceptance, we can end our suffering. Refrain from replaying the past like movies within our minds eye so that we can lovingly accept ourselves, and therefore, see the beauty within which correlates with how we love ourselves! Are y’all with me? Take a moment to process what you’ve read. I am with you!
Next, how do we (Black Women) perceive beauty. What does beauty look like? Is it tangible? Intangible? From whose lens do we define beauty? Is it aesthetic? Or is it unseen? How about both? Oxford dictionary defines beauty as “A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.
What do we do when we wake up in the morning? Do we look in the mirror and say “Hey gorgeous! Hey Beautiful! You are stunning! You are a unique way by which God expresses! You are pure love!” Or do we say, “Look at the dark circles under my eyes, my arms have gotten bigger, where is my waist trainer? Is that a new mole on my face? My stomach is big…etc. etc. Who’s guilty of some aspect of this?” I most certainly am!
There was a study done on water by Dr. Masaru Emoto who researched how water responds to words. In summary, what he discovered was that thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. By producing different focused intentions through written and spoken words and music to the same water samples, the water appeared to change the water’s expression and shape.
The water that responded to loving words crystalized into a beautiful array of shapes, similar to that of a kaleidoscope. The water sample that was subjected to mean words formed ugly shaped, similar to what disease looks like under a microscope.
Now, according to science, the human body is 60% water. Separately, the brain is composed of 73% water. So, let’s tie it back to “beauty-love and our self-messaging and the messages that we convey when we look at other women. When we speak words about ourselves that are not rooted in love, gratitude, and affirming acceptance, we are creating within our bodies dis-ease and dis-like. When we behave in the previously mentioned manner, we are dissing and dismissing the essence of who we are as Black Women! We are altering the Divine thoughts, beauty, and elegance that we were born with. Then, we transmute this dis-ease in our relationships and interactions with others. Even as adult women, we are continuously evolving, growing, and learning. And although I am writing this for you, my sista, I am absorbing these words with you!
So, what is beautiful? How do we define beauty? Through whose lens? Societal? Our significant other’s? Social media’s? The oxford dictionary’s definition? Or most importantly, can we define it for ourselves and in doing so, create an internal atmosphere that cultivates optimal health, joy, love, peace, elegance, creative intelligence, and perfect peace?
A few months ago, I told myself that my weight was a struggled until I spoke to a beautiful soul who changed my life with one conversation. I told her about my need to lose weight—that my tummy was big, that I gained weight when my mom lived with me while she battled cancer. She said to me, “Maisha, everything is for you and nothing is against you. What you have on your midsection are emotional molecules that buffered the heaviness that you faced during that time. Those emotional molecules were for your protection in that moment. Now, you can release them with love!” Just as we can release the emotional molecules with love, we can also do so with relationships that do not serve our highest good.
My Daddy is a domestic violence intervention specialist and he taught me some things about love and relationships. I want to begin by saying that any relationship that ends with someone leaving you, has absolutely nothing to do with you. Nothing. People have every right to change their minds, which is why we must cultivate such a radical love of self that even if he or she walks away, the crux and essence of who we are remains intact.
I challenge all of you who are reading this, including myself, to embrace all that we are—to speak love, life and light over our bodies, and to accept ourselves as we are in this moment, recognizing that change happens over time. Let’s love ourselves fully and completely as we evolve toward our greatest yet-to-be. Acceptance of what is, ends suffering.
Now that we have explored Life and Self-Love, it is time to visit purpose. What is your purpose? Let is simmer and really be intentional about your answer. Why are you here? What is the calling of your soul? It’s ok not to know the full answer because we are still living and becoming. However, we can speak to our purpose! Do you have dream and want to do something but are attached to a “what if” outcome? What if no one shows up? What if no one cares? What if? Why not say, “What if it’s a success? What if it’s a learning experience? What if— in the words of my business coach, Cheryl Grant, “Your ideas are your answered prayers?” Are your creative ideas sitting on your hearts shelf, waiting for you to pick it up? What do you love to do? What do you do best? I’m going to take you on a journey on non-resistance and dreams manifested.
One day, I spoke at an event. Someone shared video footage of said event. I receive an inbox from a young lady who asked, “I loved your video. When are you speaking again? I said, “Oh, The Autumn Rise Foundation has their Tea Time event every month. She said, “Thank you, but I would like to know when you are speaking again.” The next day, I started before I was ready. I began to look for venues. But even before that, I created the events page, with no budget, and no venue; but what I did have was a fearless mindset, because I knew that my ideas are my answered prayers.
Now, Let’s Synergize Life, Love & Purpose! We can do this! Let’s do it together!
I want to leave you with a tribute:
I Honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are one.
May every reader experience the richest of blessings in every are of your lives.
Love,
Maisha
