Freedom is a choice.
Each day I plan on consciously choosing it.
I choose it for those who had no choice. A long line of ancestors flowing before me who could only claim freedom if they were also willing to choose death. I choose freedom in my life so that they can experience freedom through me. As they live within me. From my hair to my blood. In each inhalation and exhalation. Their home is me. My body, an altar for them. I choose freedom not only for my past ancestors but the ones to be, so that the same essence of freedom can flow through the blood of those yet to come.
With each passing day I realize this life is equally for me to experience and equally not mine at all. I’m not here on this Earth solely for myself. Opening up to that realization, I can now recognize the uniqueness of this personalized journey and the interconnectedness all at the same time. The duality of it all. An interconnectedness that spans time and space. It reaches outwards not only to the folks of our present but of our pasts and futures. And I’m grateful to be part of all the inter-woven timelines.
During the pandemic, I claimed a new name for myself. My family still calls me by the name I grew up with which is comforting. I will always be Dionna to them. They are my roots. But as I grow more into the person I've always known I can be I claim a new name. To the outside world I am known as Zola and I'm proud of myself for making that change. It's so powerful to take ownership over oneself whether with a name, new lifestyle, healthy habits, whatever. I've been meditating on the idea of consciously giving name to oneself or someone else. Also during the pandemic, a friend of mine gave birth to a daughter she named Freida, nicknaming her, Free. All I could think was, what a gift to name a Black girl Free. What a birthright to live up to...Free. What a blessing to this young girl. Free. What an honor…Free.
What if we all claimed freedom as our birthright? How would you show up in the world? How would we love? Would we choose love over fear? Would you take the risk or make the move that you’ve been dreaming about? How would you move about this world if you carried freedom with you each moment? In every breath? Would you choose your own healing over your own destruction? Or action over your own complacency? For a few years I’ve been manifesting a life that is unbounded. But even then, I’m not sure what that even looks like. So my mission the remainder of this year is to live and find moments of freedom for myself. Breath them in. Sit a while. Cherish them. I can’t keep waiting to manifest a free life. It’s so easy to talk in circles around thing that you want but eventually life requires action.
So here we go.
This is
A freedom manifesto.
More to come soon. <3
- Zola Dee
