Ujima

Greetings Family
Reflecting on this third day of Kwanzaa, Ujima, the following thoughts emerged and I would like to share them with you, if okay.
In thinking of Ujima, collective work and responsibility, the appreciation of relationships again comes forth as seminal to our liberation and development. Faced with significant personal and collective challenge, the need for nourishing experiences becomes even more profound.
This nourishment can only be experienced by being present and truly appreciating the collective process, at work in our every moment of existence and I guess beyond.
That the workers and their families the multitude of other humans, who make it possible for us to soak away our worries in a warm bath, or produce this medium that we are now using, etc, etc., are all contributing, working collectively to produce with us this experience called life.
In that consciousness, it becomes possible to rise to and above the challenges of struggle and embrace to wonderful offerings of the universe.
Our very definition of achievement, of well being, of victory changes, e.g. finance capital, is no longer the "bottom line", the ultimate the determining factor, but again the quality of our engagement as we discharge our collective responsibilities. On the finance question, check out Mwalimu Julius Nyerere's comments on the role of money in our liberation.
Likewise we, even despite ourselves, contribute continuously to the lives of others, contributions that will linger, long after we have transcended this realm of existence.
The conscious experience of working for the human rights and dignity of our people is an opportunity not only to contribute and reap objective benefits, but in many ways to be present at that ever evolving circle of creation. Ujima therefore, is not only a wonderful productive process, but an affirmation of our the inherent creative potential, possible in our every encounter, every relationship.

Since tomorrow is Ujamaa, I think it would be useful to revisit, the work of Mwalimu, particularly the Arusha Declaration.

Peace