Seven Principles by Dr. Maulana Karenga

Happy Sunday, Readers! Today we focus on the principle of self-determination, in honor of Kwanzaa which began yesterday and is celebrated until Friday, January 1.

This cultural celebration was created in 1966 and is based on African heritage and traditional African harvest festivals. Its name is from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which translates to "first fruits". 

Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but is a celebration of family, life, and unity. It has a similarity to Hanukkah, with the tradition of lighting candles over several nights. Each day of Kwanzaa highlights a different principle outlined by Dr Maulana Karenga:

Unity in family, community, nation, and race.

Self-determination 

Collective Work and Responsibility to build / maintain community and solve problems together.

Cooperative Economics to build /maintain businesses and to profit from them.

Purpose a collective vocation of building / developing community.

Creativity to always do as much as we can to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Faith to believe in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

What do you think of today's principle self-determination? This can be defined as the process by which a person controls their own life. Our ability to make choices and manage our own life impacts our psychological health and well-being (as well as how we contribute to our family and community). How do you define yourself? How do you create for yourself? How do you speak for yourself?

Changing your life starts with changing our thoughts. What you tell yourself defines who you are. Each of these principles are helpful to all of us in creating action and mantras for a better life.  Imagine what the best possible version of yourself is. Reaffirm your worth - that you are strong, capable, and your life will be filled with the joy. 

Each day this week, reflect on one of the principles and believe that you deserve wonderful things. Know that you can and will accomplish what you set out to do in life, after all, you are the master of your mind. 

Have a blessed week, and if you are interested to learn more about this beautiful celebration click: Kwanzaa - HISTORY

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

If you have a purpose in which you can believe, there’s no end to the amount of things you can accomplish. - Marian Anderson.

Christmas Week 2020

For those who celebrate Christmas, this week is filled with tradition, anticipation, and excitement.

I know it sure feels different in 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks that we keep plans to immediate household, this causes us to get very creative with online activities.

We cats are happy because there won't be lots of people visiting us, and ma is sure to stay in doing video calls or watching silly holiday movies. One thing I know she is excited about is baking and cooking. She is happy in the kitchen.  

Here is our year-end card this year - two versions were sent to a handful of loved ones in our world. Sharing here for all of you to see. We did not cooperate with the photo shoot so the photos aren't the best, but they certainly could be worse.     

                                        

Whatever you do this week, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, we do wish each of you peace, joy, and happiness.

Purr & Paw, 
-Stivali. 🐾 

May happy times decorate your holiday season. -Sunta.

Take Action Now to Prepare for 2021

It is the 51st week of this year, and today is the 348th day of the year. Today is the 4th day of Hanukkah for our Jewish Observers, and there are only 18 days left in 2020.

This has been the strangest year for us - mamma rarely goes out, and has been working from home on the kitchen table since March. She watches news programs more than I ever noticed before. The gift I find in this is that she cuddles with us more, and there is a bar on the bottom of the television which is fun for me to watch as it moves consistently. 

Our life is a journey of experiences filled with countless gifts. Sometimes problems overshadow the goodness that exists. It helps to be insightful to recognize love, forgiveness, and any light in the darkness. We are anchored by faith, and practice yoga with prayerful meditation to help heal from troubling times. 

This helps us relax in the present by letting go of doubt and fear so we can truly appreciate everything we are going through, even if it is not what we had planned.

Speaking of plans...

Do you follow our friend, Dr. James A Smith, Jr on Instagram or Facebook? He has a Challenge happening right now where each day he posts one word and asks how you would incorporate it in 2021. On the first day, the component was Authenticity, the second was Resilience, and the third, Grace. 

Intentional planning now for our upcoming year will help us balance our lives, don't you agree? 

Join his Challenge on either Instagram or Facebook or both. He is an energetic motivational speaker who mamma had the pleasure of meeting nearly 20 years ago. 😺 

It'll be fun to see our readers join mamma in the discussion and preparation of 2021. 

In other news, we are happy to report that our little feral, Grigio, has been spending more and more time on the deck as the weather has been getting colder here. 

Have a wonderful week, Dear Readers. 

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

Nobody is going to be at their best during a global pandemic. Just acknowledging this fact can be helpful and validating. We need to be compassionate with ourselves. - Dylan Gee, assistant professor of psychology at Yale University,

I am ten!

Today is a very important day! We celebrate my introduction to mamma and Stray Cat. 

Today marks ten years since they adopted me. We celebrate today as my birthday, too, since I was only a couple of weeks old when I met my mamma - so perhaps, I was born on Thanksgiving, I do not remember, I was too scared to realize what day it was.

🎈Mamma calls today, "You're Ours Day" but I like to call it, "I'm Yours Day!". Today is a good day. 🎂Hug the ones you love. 🐱

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

Don't just count your years, make your years count.- George Meredith.