Photo Credit: “[ existential ]” by Jesse Wright

Not having knowledge of self is like being homeless within your own body.”

I caught this tweet from a guy named @consciousskillz (Aqiyl Qasim) and I loved the idea of it.
Homelessness for many of would be the ultimate in separation from stuff, you know the material things we like to have around us that keep us on par with the Jones’. I liked the idea of one having a home while no amount of stuff ever gets rid of a sense of homelessness, anchorlessness. We can try to fill the void with stuff, but a knowledge of one’s self, of one’s own power and place in the world would decrease our desire for stuff.

That’s what it meant to me, but I asked Aqiyl Qasim to expand on what this statement meant to him below. ~Madam Toussaint

“Knowledge of self”; one of the most popular catch phrases within the Black community and of those who profess to be conscious individuals. If you were to ask 1000 people what this phrase meant to them, you would have as many different answers.

At it’s most basic, having knowledge of self has more to do with the understanding of the history and actual facts about his/her origin, the accomplishments of one’s ancestors, their spiritual and religious practices and the principles that were used to try to maintain a good and positive community base.

Often the principle of Sankofa is thrown into the mix because there is so much truth in the African principle of looking back so you know how to move forward. Over the centuries Africans that lived within the United States, and the Western hemisphere as a whole, have had to adapt to a more Eurocentric way of living, eating, thinking, worshiping. For some the assimilation has been seamless and easy.

Then there are those of us who weren’t dependent upon the schools to be educated about the truth and the proper information about our story. We see the confusion, we see the disparity, we see the division between those who may choose to live a more Afrocentric lifestyle and the rest.

Now, I want this point to be clear and concise. To live in this world one has to have a multidimensional approach to it, however, people seem to have a problem with anyone– not just Blacks, but anyone who really relishes their culture. A person with an understanding of the importance of staying connected to who they are and where they come from. I applaud that in anyone.

Still, the universe we exist in is made up of many cultures and learning about them makes one a more well rounded individual, but my problem is before you adapt something outside of you, first embrace that which is within you. It is for that reason that on Twitter I follow the people I do and those same people follow me. I am an advocate of universal thinking and individuality, but nothing beats that relationship that one begins and maintains with self, nothing.

What does “Not having knowledge of self is like being homeless within your own body” mean to you?

Follow Aqiyl Qasim on twitter at twitter.com/consciousskillz

Visit Aqiyl Qasim’s wesite aqiylsforum.blogspot.com

Follow me on twitter at twitter.com/madamtoussaint

Follow this website on twitter at twitter.com/sofreshsogreen

For more of photographer Jesse Wright’s work visit jessewrightphoto.com

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