justified.
I had a moment the other day at Diani Beach in Mombasa, Kenya. As the waves crashed against my ankles and the aquatic blanket consumed my feet, I was troubled; the good trouble. In the moment, I couldn’t tell if I should laugh or cry. Euphoria. I then found myself fighting back tears and laughing hysterically…alone…as I stared into the gracious eyes of the cotton-candy-African sunset.
That time spent reminded me of a conversation I had with a man whom I did not know at the time. We met at the refreshments lounge on a train to Mombasa. At first, I was quietly working on a manuscript when one of my team members, Leissa, arrived at the lounge looking for me. She said she had a feeling to come and check on me because we were seated next to each other and I had been gone from my seat for quite a while (yes, my team is love like that). We discussed poetry for a few moments and talked about our troubles with creative expressions before the man sitting directly behind me chimed in and said, “don’t mean to eavesdrop but…”
The man, Raj, then when on to explain his thoughts on creativity, the alchemy of being at one with mother Africa, and expansions on travel locations. He suggested I go to Cape Town and visit Table Mountain (Maclear’s Beacon) because of the ways I may discover a deeper connection to the earth itself. Though I appreciate the suggestion (and will definitely visit), something else he said legitimately perplexed me. As I was digesting his comments related to feelings of connection and our agreement in having a weird feeling to speak to one another (it’s divine, I can’t explain it. IYKYK), I began an attempt to explain how I felt and why I was perplexed. What he said next is the genesis for this very exposition. He said,
“Don’t justify it. Don’t feel like you ever need to explain it. It is what it is and if you feel it, it’s real. That’s all to it. Like this conversation, things happen. We are brought together to do a job, share spirits and connections, help who we help, impact who we impact, and then we move on. That’s life. Just live it, love it, and enjoy it. No need to justify anything.”
Power. That one stopped me dead in my tracks (and I immediately ordered another bottle of wine; it was also Raj’s birthday). You see, he’s right. Not only are many things unexplainable, it would be helpful if we didn’t feel as if we need to justify everything we do. Some things just are. That’s all to it. As my momma always says, “sometimes, it just is what it is.”
Listen, I understand that life has meaning and explanations are important…but some things are just felt and quite honestly, they don’t always require an explanation. It just is what it is. We feel this way or that, and sometimes that’s all it needs to be. We feel as if we need to connect with certain people, but can’t explain why. We go to certain locations and feel more at home. Sometimes that can be related to the familiarity that we have with that location (a personal example: my grandparent’s house in Illinois), but other times…the feeling is unexplainably deep as soon as we arrive for the first time (a personal example: that day staring into the sunset at Diani Beach). Regardless, connections come and go and they do not always need to be justified. That is the circle of life. We live. We encounter. We move on.
Stay in touch…with yourself
You just never know where following your dreams will actually take you…
There are two points to be made here:
1) The time has come for us to stop feeling as if we need to ‘justify’ everything we do. Instead, we need to be doing whatever the hell our hearts desire. Who really cares what other people have to say about it. You want to be an entrepreneur? Be that. You don’t need to explain why. Those who know you best will know the answer to the why without you explaining it. You want to be an artist? Be that. You feel the urge to help people? Help them. You…feel…anything? Let it be what it is, explore it within, and allow it to grow naturally as you progress. Be present and trust that little voice in the back of your mind. It is there to lead us to the greatest of manifestations, so allow it to be what it is and have faith in the divine guidance. Believe me, it’s real.
2) We need to pay more attention to the things that draw us in. That is, we need to tap in to our deeper sense of self and take note of the times in which joy radiates through our eyes for no reason at all…other than an authentic connection with our surroundings. For some, that could be a place or person. For others, that could be a thing or an experience. Either way, pay attention. If it moves you, it is worth moving towards. The world waits for no one and the one thing we cannot get back is time…so let’s use our time wisely and take note of how we feel as we progress through this life.
I will leave you with this: I, along with my wonderful team, manifested our trip to Africa—and we did the damn thing. I’m here to unapologetically say, we did the hell out of this trip. It has been amazing for Siempre Africa, for our team, and for the people of Kenya…but I must also say: Savant has evolved since visiting the motherland. I feel the connection. I feel the grace. I feel…at home. Thank you to everyone who helped make this trip happen! It brings me great joy to be surrounded by such wonderful people. Congruently, my people are just love. No need to add anything else or justify why, they just are. You…are just amazing. That’s all to it.
Siempre,
Savant Lamont 🌹
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