Don’t Believe The Hype

The latest trip, to Mali, West Africa, was the most revealing, engaging and fulfilling experience I’ve ever had. For some reason, this return to the Motherland, this reconnection to the root of my existence on this planet, has allowed me to learn more about myself, and about the world around me...in ways that are beyond physical, mental and emotional comprehension.

There is undoubtedly something magical about breathing air and living life on the actual land of my ancestors. My very presence there has energized and encouraged me to the point of looking beyond where I am right now, and seeing the larger picture of where I’m headed. It’s like I’ve been to the place where the very seed of my being was planted, and by simply being there have now received the blueprint of how to nourish the plant that I’ve become. It’s now been revealed to me that I am Africa, and am there, wherever I might be found, for the express purpose of representing my African essence.

Before my wife Nicole and I left for Mali, many of the people we spoke to mentioned the civil war that was taking place there, and tried to convince us that it was not safe to go at that time. Those of you who are aware of how we roll, already know that when we’re told that something we feel is positive shouldn’t or couldn’t be done, we’re only encouraged that much more to do it. So do it we did, and we’ve been blessed more than we realized we could as a result of having done so.

My sense of what we gained most from the experience, is that the second half of the idiom you should “believe half of what you see and nothing that you hear”, is right on point. You see our human experience does not allow us the luxury of going beyond our sensory perceptions, and delving deep into the realm of existence that speaks only to and from the heart. As humans we are so prone to responding to how good or bad we feel, and how to maintain or change that feeling, that we don’t stop for just a moment to realize that there’s a reason and a purpose for each of those feelings. Only by addressing them from a spiritual perspective can we have true peace of mind. So we don’t neglect or disavow what people say to us, but we go where we need to go, and do what we need to do, in order to find the truth about what it is that we’re hearing.

Let me give you an example. We’re walking about five miles from one village of Mali to another. I’m wearing a $100 pair of Air Jordans and suddenly I feel the thick sole of my left shoe tearing away from the lining. The right shoe follows suit and about 3 miles into the walk, I’ve taken the soles completely off and I’m walking on a paper thin lining. What happens is that I’m suddenly awakened to the fact that the soles of my feet, are in direct contact with the souls of the people who had walked that same path hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of years prior. I had lost the soles of American materialism, and connected with the soul of the African legacy. To top it off two young village boys are thrilled to receive those detached soles from me, because they are not yet caught up in consumerism, they are focused on resourcefulness and creativity. They are not concerned as much about what they don’t have, as they are with what to do with what is available to them.

The point I’m making is don’t believe the hype ya’ll. Buying designer stuff doesn’t really give you the biggest bang for your buck. Because the so called poor African children we see on television have runny noses and flies around their heads, does not mean that they are despondent and cannot make it without our help. You see everything is relative and the choices we make will determine our state of mind.  Detach yourself from the concept of not enough, and connect yourself to the realization that you already have everything you need, and now your only objective is to learn what to do with it. 

I'm gonna take some time to fully comprehend the depth of my African experience, and I know that what I’ve shared is only a snippet of what i’ve gained. Nonetheless, I’m going to continue to give, from the heart, what it is that I’ve gotten, and request that you at least consider doing the same.

I’ll holla…

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