DEFINING LOVE IN THE AGE OF AFRICAN REBIRTH/RENAISSANCE

This is a Dedication to My Friend, Lover, and Soulmate in Life and Beyond!!
In our quest as African People, during this period of African Rebirth/Renaissance, to redefine our reality in our own image and interest, we rename this day, February 14, as Black Lover's Day. We do this as a matter of Self Determination, as a matter of empowerment, based on the second Principle of Kwanzaa, Kujichagulia (Self Determination). In this act of renaming, we also commit to redefining this day according to Africana values which reflect the kind and quality of life we seek to bring into existence for ourselves, our children, and those which honor and give reverence to our Ancestors. Therefore, we suggest and promote at least several value considerations which this day represents in the Black/Africana Community.

1. In the Kawaida tradition, Love is defined by several key elements; Attention, Appreciation, Care, Concern, Respect, Understanding, and Reverence.

2. Love, first, for our Ancestors, many of whom sacrificed, that we may be here today, and for the foundation of institution and community building they left for us to rebuild a New African World, inhabited by a New African Man and Woman. We express our Love for them by pouring Libation in their honor, as a show of Appreciation, Respect, and Reverence for the Cycle of Love they created in the beginning of human existence and have sustained until the current Era. Temple

3. The next Circle of Love is for Divine Essence and the Sacred Virtues which our Ancestors have passed on to us, giving the foundation to shape and guide our quality of Life, and which provide a Path for us to achieve Self Mastery, and navigate the Journey to Restore Our African Personality on a personal and collective level.

4. The next Circle of Love is for the Self, recognizing and showing Respect for and to OUr Body Temple. OUr Body Temple is the vessel through which we engage Divinity in this human cycle, as we seek to make a more perfect world for our children to inhabit, as our parents and ancestors did for us. Divinity is achieved by our collectively, creating a Realm of Righteousness by Restoring Truth, Justice, Balance, Harmony, Order, Propriety and Reciprocity on Earth. In this manner, we also, create the context to not only Worship our Body Temple, but all that we hold Sacred around us.

5. Thus, the next Circle of Love is for our Significant Others and our families, with whom we share life on Earth, and seek to make it meaningful and elevating as we Journey towards Self Mastery together. This love binds us together as Community as we build Monuments and Institutions above the ground which reflect our Divine and Sacred Love. The quality of this Circle of Love is determined by the depth of its sharing and its striving for a dynamic state of oneness and symbiosis. Love,which is not shared becomes stagnated and wilts like the fruit on the vines. When one finds a lover or mate worthy of sharing your Body Temple with, you are then prepared to climb the steps to Heaven. Amen, Ase'.

6. The next Circle of Love is for Community, as this circle houses all aspirations, hopes, desires, and vision of the World we seek to bring into existence, and which we have promised to our Ancestors and Children. Community is the Path by which we achieve this goal, and is why it is our most Sacred institution. Without Community we are just a wind on the ocean. With Community we are like the marriage between the Mountains and the Sky, the Sun and the Earth, and the Stars twinkling in the Darkness of Night.

7. The last, but not least Circle of Love, is the love affair we have with Nature, before the coming of the alien, and after. We are the protectors and stewards of Nature, just as Nature provides for our nourishment and healing when our Body Temples enter a state of disharmony. Nature provides the sustainance to bring balance and harmony back into our Body Temples, thus re-establishing Order within, and in the Community.

By celebrating Black/Africana Lovers Day, we, at the same time, celebrate the best within OUrselves and Elevate the Quality of Sharing Love on Earth. May your Lovers Day be filled with Rejoicing, Happiness, Peace, and the beauty of Journeying into a State of Oneness and Symbiosis with your Lover, Mate, Family, Community and Nature. Blessings without number, and all Good things, without End. Ase' 11417 MK