by Weusi

I have been called many names. Some were nicknames. Names like … Why, Way, Biscuit, Lil Bill, Knowledge Knot, Boss, Schoolboy, Usi and Shy. Some were titles. Some were aliases. No, I’m not telling you those (I was using an alias for a reason!). Sometimes it was people mispronouncing my actual name. Some were adjectives. Some I embraced and accepted. Some I shunned and/or rebelled against. There are a few that I’ve done both with. One of those words is: SILLY.

As one that came up in a house where I took pride in being smart, the idea of being silly was awkward. But, since I also come from a perspective of creativity (Kuumba) and self empowerment (kujichagulia), I have reinterpreted the idea of what some may call silly as my blessing to be able to easily access the youthful energy that rests within me. SO …

This morning I picked up an old Laffy Taffy wrapper. I found one that I had tucked away in my sock drawer. What? Yes … Sometimes I save them because I like to see if I was just excited to get some candy or if it’s really funny. So …

How do you get water in the watermelon?
Plant it in the spring!
David L. from Glencoe, IL

Chuckle-Chuckle … but that wasn’t even the good one …

Why was the boy covered in gift wrap?
His mom told him to “live in the present.”
Jerome B. Norfolk, VA

HaHaHa … that was funny to me!

Ok … not laugh out loud funny, but … I liked the joke.

I know you are saying, “What does Laffy Taffy have to do with the cost of Shea butter in Ghana?” … Well … I am glad that you asked …

Ok, call me sensitive, an over-thinker or whatever you want, but honestly, the joke spoke to something deeper in me. I liked the fact that a corny joke reminded me to stay in the moment and sparked the idea that if we stay in the moment, we are the gifts. I am not sure if this was the original intent for Jerome B from Norfolk, VA, but I thank him for it. It felt like this was a reminder that these vessels, called bodies, that hold our spirits are the presents that we share with the world … while simultaneously our bodies are a gift that the universe has shared with us.

NOW, with that said …

Be you. Love you. Enjoy who you are. And by that I mean the gift that is the all natural you. The you that has been blessed with the gift of creativity and the choice to make changes. To bun or braid. To stay natural or relax. To rock with a curl or straight. None of it really matter on the outside unless it is a reflection/expression of your true spirit self on the inside. The truly natural you. So … do you … and do what you do …

SHiNE

Thank you Laffy Taffy wisdom … aka … I think too much … aka sometimes I make it deeper than it really is.