IN THE CONTINUUM: Where Are You In The Journey?

I’ve been thinking lots about lineage lately. We’re coming to the end of Black History Month in the states, my birthday is this week, and I recently spent some time with a couple of new babies in addition to my usual work with kids. And not to mention seeing Spike Jonze's latest film, "Her", if you want to talk about the future on another level. So naturally there’s been lots of reflection on past and future.

A friend of mine says that in a village, the most important members are the children and the elders because these groups are both closer to Spirit; further, the job of all the middle aged people in the middle is just to support the children and the elders however we can. The reasoning makes sense, but I’ve never really been sure if I agree with him until recently. For one, what does “closer to Spirit” mean? If we are all one with the Source, the universe, the Divine, God, if you will, how can some of us be “closer” than others? And what do you mean that my “job in the village” is to support the children and elders? I’m pretty sure I have better things to do…like…say, support myself?

With the voices of the ancestors ringing loudly in my ears, with their faces swarming around in my dreams and in my thoughts, little by little I am beginning to understand the amount of perspective that this idea of “supporting the children and elders” brings. For me, this idea is more or less about both laying the ground work for the children to understand the work that must be done in the world, and being a person that allows the elders to transition from this world in peace, somehow knowing that when they leave the work they have done will not have been in vain. Here’s who’s been with me: Audre Lorde, June Jordan, Nina Simone, Gil Scott Heron, and (probably most importantly) my paternal grandmother.

This perspective places me on a continuum. I am grateful for what it tells me about where I am in relation to past and future, and for what it tells me about where I am on my journey.

There are so many things that I have yet to figure out. Not sure if you realized that I haven’t written a blog post in over a month. Giving advice on “joy” hasn’t really seemed quite my speed lately. Every day I know without a doubt how little I know.

That may sound negative, but this acknowledgement has allowed me quite a release. The past few months have been filled with the joy of connection, with both friends and family, deeper intimacy with my husband, and greater acquaintance with my capacity to reach my goals. I am excitedly planning my wedding (yes I’m marrying my husband again-this time in front of friends and family), re-routing my physical health, and looking forward to pursuing a new career path.

Yay for me, but what’s this got to do with you, right? So here’s my joyful finding:

I believe that to experience joy we have to be rooted in a journey. I know many people generally acknowledge that life is a journey, and they usually feel like they’re “going somewhere.” But if you are “going somewhere” that must mean that you are a part of a past and a future, i.e. a continuum.

So that implies there must be others ahead of you and those behind you.

What do you have to offer them? Where are you on your journey? Take a moment (or many moments over time) to put your life in this perspective. Start with the people in your “village” and then widen your scope to think of all the people you don’t know or have yet to meet. What do you have to offer them? How will your spirit greet them?

We all know we won’t be here forever. Wherever you are, be gentle and let joy be a part of your gift.