The motto in Jamaica, my mother’s motherland, is “Out of Many, One People”.
That is to say that really and truly, though there are 2.8 million people in Jamaica (JA), and even billions on this planet, we are all one.
Racism doesn’t exist in JA like it does in these (Dis)United States. Diversity is simply what it is– honored for its beauty. It’s the extra razzle to the dazzle. It adds to, and surely doesn’t take away. Exhibit A: Jamaican Chinese food is the greatest fusion, IMHO (in my humble opinion)!
For the thousands of repeat readers (welcome or welcome back!), you know by now that words matter to me. Words mean something because each word is true. And I want them to matter even more to you, too.
The tongue can bring death or life…
Proverbs 8:21 NLT
I thought that was the whole verse, but when I went to cite it, it turns out there’s more!:
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.
Proverbs 8:21 AMP
Out of One, Many People.
How we speak to others is a true reflection of how we speak to ourselves. After all, I can’t give you what I don’t have. That’s with money, with love, with kindness, with gentleness, too.
And how we speak to ourselves is a reflection of how we love. Of how we feel. Really and truly, how we speak is a reflection of who we are. How we speak– the words and tone and style and grace or shade or hate– reveals who we are at our very core:
…for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.
Luke 6:45
We often get so caught up in people wanting to align their actions with their words, but how often do we stop to analyze their words?! Are their– our!– words sweet like honey on the honeycomb or are they sour like vinegar?! Are they hate filled? Grace filled? Do words nourish and build up? Or do they destroy and tear down?
Out Of Many, One People.
Out Of Many, One.
How I speak to you and about others is a reflection of my heart.
I’m cautious and careful about what I consume, knowing that what I consume– food, social media, TV, music, books– is fertilizer to my soul. At my big age of nearly 42, I am still growing. And I promised myself long ago that I will always grow. And in true Jamaican fashion, mek me say this!: I’ll know I’m dead when I stop growing!
Will I grow myself by being in environments with loving words that affirm me? Or will I change my environment and be the loving affirmative voice that helps grow others? Sometimes I can’t change (read: leave) my environment, so I change (read: affect change in) it.
I refuse to tear myself down. So now, I refuse to tear other people down, too. I refuse to tear God’s people down. I refuse. I can’t. I won’t!
I’ve been torn down, misused and abused for long enough and it wasn’t until I began to change my words and speak lovingly to myself that I began to live and love and be so different.
I’ve seen for myself the power of words. The power of love!
This is my declaration:
Today, I honor Jamaica’s motto, Out Of Many, One People. Today, I continue to be a teabag and change my environment by infusing it with love and grace. Today, I am not the hot water, but the tea leaves. Today, I declare that I won’t be changed by my environment, but I will remain steadfast in hope, deeply rooted in love, and continue to shine like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Today, I choose to be who I am, letting my yes be yes and my no be no. Today, I declare that because of the God of I AM THAT I AM, I AM, TOO! Today, I declare to be fully myself and allow words of love to flow out of me like a calm river. Today, I declare that who I am is good because of the Good God in me. Today, I move forward boldly with grace, love, hope and know that only good is coming. Not because I said so, but because God keeps promises better than any man ever could. Today, I await with hopeful expectation and joyful anticipation that despite whatever bumps and growing pains are to be along the way, I am going to grow with grace from them and be a change agent. Today, I rest well knowing by being who I am– the child of I AM THAT I AM– means that I AM, TOO! And I AM everything that God is. Today, I rest in my divinity knowing that only good is coming because though weapons form against me, they can’t never prosper! Today, I walk boldly in faith, trusting that love, like water, always finds a way in my mind, in my heart, in my soul, and above all, in my words. And so it is. It is well and it is already well done. Amen.
