Blooming Amazing!

Clara Brown

A few weeks ago, on one of our locally produced TV shows, there was a discussion with a group of brilliant students who will soon be entering secondary level schools. The host asked each of student to describe their feelings regarding the school at which they were placed. In Jamaica, we have a system that places students based on their grade at the final, Common Entrance, examinations.

The only girl on the panel of five, aged 12, declared excitedly that she was very happy and was looking forward to going to High School even though the school at which she was placed was not her first choice. This young lady said she believes one should always strive to "bloom where they are planted."

Soon after, I saw that my 'Champion Sister' (my nickname for Claudette), posted a similar message as this 12 year old had said that had me 'flabbergasted'. I was surprised, proud of her and her words at such a young age caused me to reflect and introspect.  

Have I always bloomed wherever I am planted? In my blooming, am I hurting others as I allow my blossoms to burst forth?

Seeking external motivation, I frequently listen to the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jnr. They are all favourites but one that resonates with me most is the "Street Sweeper" speech:

"If you cannot be a pine on the top of a hill be a scrub in the valley, but be the best little scrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be the sun, be a star. It isn't by size that you win or failBe the best at whatever you are."

Another excerpt that stands out with me is: "My friends, even if it falls your lot to be a Street Sweeper, go on out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures: sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music; sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry.  Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of Heaven and Earth will have to pause and say,"Here lived a great Street Sweeper who swept his job well.".

A lot of my friends  are not very comfortable with their status  right now.  They continuously  are seeking ways to get themselves out of their present situation with such a rush, hoping to make a 'better life'.  What challenges me however, is that they seldom spend enough time to study their lanes and run their best race.

Charlotte Beck said:

" Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need at every moment.  This includes every mosquito, every misfortune, , every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious Supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment of joy, or depression, every addiction, every piece of garbage, every breath-----every moment is a Teacher."

Life also has a way of putting a hold or pause button on our journey.  You can  either sweep your job well or frustrate yourself by cursing where you are and make plans to escape from the situation. Be warned, however, that if fate dictates that you stay in the 'holding' position, the escape plan will be an effort in futility.  It is best that you embrace and till the soil, bringing forth plants which bloom until the change comes along.

To bloom does not always have the same look.  A huge sunflower and a small daisy both bloom - different sizes but both bring so much pleasure and joy. Size does not alter the impact.

Sunflower, daisy or dandelion, bloom where you are planted, accept your present circumstances and make the best of the situation.  Accept that you cannot control everything and make the best of the situations you are presented with. There are many things in life we cannot change but it will be a much more pleasant experience if you keep a positive attitude.

This is my status on BBM and I am in no hurry to change it:

"Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people cannot take their eyes off you."

That, in my view, is blooming exactly where you are planted. Would you agree?

Share your blooming story with us, here or on our Facebook page and have a great rest of the week!

Are You A Survivor or Do You Have the Will to Thrive?

Claudette Esterine

"Claudette, you are a warrior, just like Nanny!"

That is what one of my Sistahs and close friends remarked when I responded to her query about our collective wellbeing.

In itself, the word "warrior," might have some negative connotations. I have certainly been accused of having "warrior-like" tendencies in the past and in the most negative sense of the word.

This time, however, my friend's use of the word and in particular her reference to "Nanny" was a compliment - one that I have completely embraced since she uttered it. 


 Who was Nanny?

 "Nanny was born c. 1686 in Ghana, Western Africa, into the Ashanti tribe, and was brought to Jamaica as a slave. It is believed that some of her family members were involved in intertribal conflict and her village was captured. Nanny and several relatives were sold as slaves and sent to Jamaica. Upon arrival in Jamaica, Nanny was likely sold to a plantation in Saint Thomas Parish, just outside the Port Royal area. Such plantations grew sugarcane as the main crop, and the slaves toiled under extremely harsh conditions.

As a child, Nanny was influenced by other slave leaders and maroons. She and her "brothers", Accompong, Cudjoe, Johnny and Quao ran away from their plantation and hid in the Blue Mountains area of northern Saint Thomas Parish. While in hiding, they split up to organize more Maroon communities across Jamaica: ...Nanny and Quao founded communities in Portland. 

By 1720, Nanny and Quao had settled and controlled an area in the Blue Mountains. It was given the name Nanny Town, and consisted of the 500 acres (2.4 km²) of land granted to the runaway slaves. Nanny Town had a strategic location as it overlooked Stony River via a 900 foot (270 m) ridge making a surprise attack by the British practically impossible. The Maroons at Nanny Town also organized look-outs for such an attack as well as designated warriors who could be summoned by the sound of a horn called an Abeng.

Nanny was very adept at organizing plans to free slaves. For over 30 years, Nanny freed more than 800 slaves, and helped them to resettle in the Maroon community." Source: Wikipedia

Yes, I am of African descent and proudly so, however, most of my life was spent in cities and urban areas. City girl that I am, nonetheless, should you drop me off in a wooded area, after a few hours of crying, my instincts would kick in and I would find food or someone to feed me.

I am a survivor.

Umbrella Palm (Image: msucares.com)

Now I am learning how to thrive. Another Sistah and Guest Author, Dr. Janice Chang, said to me just this past week as well that we "have to bloom where we are planted." Looking over my life, one could call me an umbrella palm.  

"The umbrella palm, known botanically as Cyperus alternifolius, is native to Madagascar. It is related to the well-known papyrus once used to make paper." This beautiful palm thrives anywhere and in whatever condition you plant it.

My transplantation has taken me from Jamaica, across Europe (East and West), back to the many islands of the Caribbean and throughout North America. Single, married, long term relationship, separated, not sure and every other permeation of "coupledom" you can imagine, I have experienced it.

For every stop, on every pause and in every mating my thought was "this is the one." As Nanny did, I strategically placed myself and went to battle for my relationship, marriage or life to work, to be perfect or at least not worse than the Jones's.

Heart break after heart break, financial loss to ruin, business failure and complete collapse, only once did I really thought and made an effort to give up. The survivor in me always broke through and "found food," fuel for the next leg of the journey.

"With every choice you create the life you’ll live; with every decision you design it." Molli Marti

Two days from the start of May 2014 and I have decided it is time to thrive!

No longer mindful of what anyone thinks, with no desire for bling or even a white picket fence, Love has become my eyes and my compass. Hardly realistic you might think, especially for a woman who has been betrayed, robbed, cheated, wounded by this thing called love.

Listening to my teachers this morning, the response to the cynicism that is certain to meet this decision came. "See the world through the eyes of Source (Love)" and only that can be my experience.

Yes, I accept the name "Nanny," but only if it means that moving forward, this life is no longer about fighting against anything or anyone. Thriving is my way forward, living in the fullness of my "greatest responsibility [which] is to live a life that nourishes your highest truth." That is my "battle," the hill that I am prepared to die on - to thrive as I be and become the fullest expression of Love.

Are you ready to thrive? Share your thoughts with me here or on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Do have a truth-filled rest of the day!

Claudette Esterine is the Founder of Daughters of Sheba Foundation and Editor of our blog. She is a Jamaican-Canadian and a Free Spirit.