BeYOUtiFULLY

I’m grateful for the people in my life. They challenge me and push me to be better. My friend Lola always says to me as a ritual, “ÿou are destined for and capable of doing great things, but you have to hone your abilities”. It feels simple but I struggled for weeks, trying to understand it. I came close to an answer when I had a conversation with Dashia another friend of mine on a completely different topic. That conversation seemed to shine some light on my entangled thought on “Hone-rship”. Many times, our abilities can become disabilities if not honed.

True “Honership” as I would like to call it is deeply rooted in ownership. Absolute ownership and acceptance of who you are, how you are and what you have. At the root of any man’s inadequacy is a deep seated neglect of that which he owns and a covet for that which another owns.

For example, in the bible parable of the talents, the under performed servant who was declared inadequate and sentenced to imprisonment, was the same one who buried what he was given, in envy of that which the others were given.

The black race has for so long been looked upon as the least performing race for irreconcilable and illogical reasons. Just as an autoproducer never makes a white car perform any better than a black car, God never made the black skin any inferior to the white. Both have the same engine content, run the same speed, rev the same way, and basically are designed to do everything similarly. We have all been given equal potentials. What has for so long made the black to rank bottom of the racial food chain is the fact that we have refused to own ourselves. We have for so long wanted to own that which every other race possesses. Black people feel inferior at their type of hair and fix extensions to have free flowing silky hair, they show discontent at the color of their skin and attempt to bleach it out, to the African residing blacks, we strive to emulate the British or American accent. All of this we do because we see the way of the other race as far superior to ours and we lose ourselves. Defeat is often resident in perception. If you perceive another to be superior, you have submitted to him unconsciously.

This is the only consciousness that has kept us bound as a race. Recently I saw a blog post that canvassed 2017 most beautiful women in the World and funny enough, they were all white. Billboard and internet commercials use white women to epitomize beauty especially in the cosmetic industry. If you found a black woman there, it's either because the product is meant for black people or the black woman would have to in a way, have some white looking feature like free flowing silky hair.

Remember that the only way you can utilize potential is to hone it, and the only way to hone potential is to own potential. Use what you have! If looking or acting like someone is what you needed to be successful, God would have made you that someone in the first place. I wish everyone globally would understand that if only we would overcome our insecurities and perceive our uniqueness as a virtue and be at peace with our difference, then we would be strong. It’s not a competition for who is better, smarter or stronger, it’s a competition with ourselves to become the best versions of ourselves. So I would say to my black folks out there, shine that black sun kissed skin of yours, grow that locks, release that fro of yours, grow that beard, shawn that idea that a suit and tie is the globally accepted mode for corporate dressing, speak out with your own accent, never apologise for making errors when you speak english ( it's not your language) and allow yourself to be you! Be proud of you! Thats the original heritage....
It's no coincidence, black and beauty start with the same letter "B"