Kujichagulia = Self Determination

Open your eyes. Thank God/the Universe/Your-Prayed-To. Sit-ups (100). Push-ups (20+). Stretch (15 minutes). Do a dance (short 5 minuted/long 45+ minutes). Meditate (short – 5 minutes/long 90+ minutes). Personal bathroom care (toilet, shower/bath, towel down, lotion (remember to sing), rinse mouth, floss and brush teeth, rinse mouth again, sing some more, put on the things (underwear), look in the mirror (10 seconds), call your name (three times)). The day begins.

Kujichagulia/Self Determination: Rituals of self-care honoring yourself and Your-Prayed-To. Call Your Own Name. In the midst of a rock-and-a-hard-place, Call Your Own Name. Praise yourself, who you are, and what you are made of. Honor the artistry, strength, humor, beauty, brilliance, defiance, craftiness, of beyond survival in the face of 400+ years of relentless violence (physical, psychic, psychological, epistemic, emotional, social, mental, spiritual and more). Self-determination demands self knowledge, and self-learning. Learn what you come from, or these systems and their agents will dupe into believing you are something you are not (examples are abound). Self-determination and self-learning go hand-in-hand; partners in the art of living into the wholeness of yourself.