I have a business phone and a personal phone. I had the personal phone the longest. Had the phone number for 14 years (I’ll get another phone so I ain’t tripping on the number), and I had the phone for about 6-7 years. A few days ago, it just stopped turning on. Didn’t drop it or nothing. It just died. Did all the troubleshooting and hard resets but nothing. Guess the ancestors want my full attention.
A day or two before it dropped, I’d just announced on @KrakTeet on Instagram that I was taking a break until June 22nd. Shit was feeling hectic, my emotions were all over the place, to-do was long as hell, dreams were crazy as hell. Looked up what was going on astrologically, and realized Mercury retrograding.
Saw that the retrograde ends on the 22nd, which is why I chose that date to end my break. I went to mark it in my calendar and saw that the 22nd is also the birthday of Katherine Dunham and Octavia Butler. (Certain people I keep track of their birth/death date to honor and share. They were two of my people.)
I bought two of Katherine’s books for research. In Island Possessed, she wrote: “It was June, the summer rainy season and the season for honoring ancestors.”
It was the fist few days of June when I read that, and it was hella rainy, which had a lot to do with my emotions being all over the place. I honor the ancestors regularly, so I took that as a cue to go beyond my usual way of honoring. I didn’t have to come up with nothing per se; it showed up. I went walking one morning, which I haven’t in a while. Turned on GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp podcast while walking and saw an episode on Katherine Dunham.
It hit me while listening that walking/running everyday in June while listening to GirlTrek’s BHB should be my way of honoring the ancestors. Yesterday, I re-listened to the episode about Eartha Kitt, who was once a student of Katherine Dunham’s dance class. (That’s really how she got started in show business.)
Learning about how all of these black women maneuvered in the world and crossed paths with one another is inspiring the shit out of me. Business is good, so good that I’ve had to bring aboard two more writers and an editor. But I get really excited and super passionate and hella inspired when I’m doing stuff like:
- watching Eartha Kitt interviews on YouTube ’til I pass out
- realizing how much I have in common in with ancestors like Katherine, Eartha, Zora, Lorraine, Octavia, etc.
- a lotta just looking in the mirror, noticing what’s new and what’s been
- talking to friends about the crazy “coincidences” we’ve been experiencing
- writing those coincidences down and reading old journals about similar experiences I’ve had in the past
- taking a break from strategizing to chill with elders, children, animals, plants, and my damn self
- daydreaming big, scary ass ideas about what to do next
- re-defining “rest” and learning how to do it in everything I do; chilling is a big part of my reparations
This season for honoring ancestors will be a good one for me, despite Mercury Retrograde and whatever else. It’s all working together for my/our greatest good. As Octavia Butler said best, “So be it, see to it.”
Read my blog post about how everything ain’t/is always a sign.