120th Earthstrong of Rastafari

"Rastafari is a cultural, religious, and revolutionary movement that began in Jamaica in the 1930s. Inspired by Biblical prophecy and the teachings of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, followers of Rastafari identify themselves as Africans seeking to return to the continent. Early Rastafari drew upon ideas of African pride and unity, coupling them with local Jamaican traditions to forge a unique way of life. Today the movement has spread around the world, empowering people of African descent and embracing people of all races"




Today we celebrate the birthday of Rastafari.

July 23, 1892. 120 years ago a baby was born. He was the 225th in an unbroken line of Ethiopian monarchs of the Solomonic Dynasty. This lineage was founded by King Solomon and Makeda(The Queen of Sheba).

In the bible it says in 1 King 10:13, "And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants."

The story goes that King Solomon invited the Queen of Sheba to a banquet, serving spicy food to induce her thirst, and inviting her to stay in his palace overnight. The Queen asked him to swear that he would not take her by force. He said ok as long as she would not take anything from his house by force. The Queen assured that she would not,she was rich and powerful after all. However, as she woke up in the middle of the night, she was very thirsty. She reache over an sipped the water.Just then King Solomon appeared, warning her that she was breaking her oath, water being the most valuable of all material possessions. So..because she rank the water, she set the king free from his promise and they spent the night together.

An he gave her his ROYAL BOUNTY...

We know that his "royal bounty" was his seed....She carried it back to Ethiopia with her. The story says that she gave birth by a stream to a royal child named Menelik.

That lineage continues thru Jesus Christ and then thru Haile Selassie I also known as Rastafari.

We(not all Rastas) believe that When Rastafari was coronated on Nov.2, 1930..a biblical prophecy was fufilled.
Psalm 87:4–6 is also interpreted as predicting the coronation of Haile Selassie I. During his coronation, Selassie was given many of the same titles used in the Bible: "King of Kings," "Elect of God," and "Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah the Author of Mankind," "the Power of Authority," etc., are just some of more than 38 titles and anointments placed on Selassie.

Our faith is a biblical faith that does not lend itself to reading books.
That is why people always think that Rastafari is a "black thing"...
It is not.

It is so FAR from a color thing. It has NOTHING to do with you skin color or your hairstyle.
It has to do with your HEART....an what is INSIDE.
It has to do with letting go of your PRE-CONCEIVED notions and being able to UN-WASH your mind of all things NOT of TRUE.

For me...there was a moment. THIS MOMENT.
A moment in time when my life changed.
All that was dark in my life was BRIGHTENED by the MOVEMENT of GOD in my heart.
My life was NEVER the same.
It was like I was touched by his hand and my life was no longer what it appeared to be.
I was different.
I was FRESH.
I was forgiven.
I was SAVED....by JAH(Which is short for Jahovia or GOD).
I was NEW.
I was at the beginning of my life...RIGHT THEN.
And my life
HAS
NEVER
BEEN
THE
SAME.



So on this day....we celebrate his birth. His life. An the life he has given US.
Rastafari!

Assumptions..... LOL

What a joke.

"Is RASTA right for you?"

Like those answers can be found in a book...

THOSE ANSWERS CANNOT be found in a BOOK.

Those answers can only come from searching your heart.

I am not saying that SOME answers can't be found in books.

FACTS come from books, and sometimes THOSE facts can lead you to THOSE ANSWERS.

But...as far as RASTAFARIANS-we are all different.

There are different types of Rastas..just like there are different types of Christians or Jews.

People find MANY different PATHS to faith.

I am not the JUDGE...
But-I find it funny that sometimes even people of FAITH judge their PEERS.

I used to. I used to do JUST that.

I am me. Rasta. Me.
The meaning of THAT has changed and shifted as my Faith has grown.
There was a time when I was the one who JUDGED.

I remember a time, early in my journey(10 years ago), that I was judgemental....I was the one.

There was one time when we were "hosting" a reggae artist form NYC and I had a SPECIFIC PRECONCEIVED notion about what a Rasta SHOULD BE.

To ME...A "REAL RASTA" would be certain things.
Ital was one of them.
"Ital" meaning: totally natural, vegatarian, NON-PROCESSED, NON-chemical.

lol

I spent days gathering incense, fruit,nuts, and natural soap, shampoo and ALL KINDS of NATURAL, ORGANIC fruits and snacks.

I made a basket for him.
I "knew" him...I mean - I had heard about him, heard his music, LOVED his music, and developed a whole OPINION...in my head.
I "knew" him.
I ASSUMED I knew WHO HE WAS.

Then he actually got here.
He was amazing..everything I thought he would be.
Smart.Wise.Funny.Rasta.
And he was appreciative of EVERYTHNG we did for him.
But-
One night when we went to the store he bought OREOS.

Processed, chemical-laden, food-colored..OREAS.

Off the shelf.
Not the Organic, health store immitation Oreos...but- OREAS.
I was SHOCKED ...to say the least.

I had built him UP in my head to be someone SUPER-HUMAN.
Someone who was DIFFERENT form us.
Somehow...DIFFERENT.

As I sit here..that makes me laugh.

So Niave.
So, so, so, naive.

It was such an eye opener.
Such a lesson for me.

A lesson in LIFE.

We are who we are....WHATEVER that is.
My theory is...All you can do today is TRY and do better than you did yesterday. And LOVE one another.
No matter who YOU think someone else is.

I have also learned this thru THIS blog.

I have been contacted by 100's of people thru THIS BLOG or because of our "WIFE SWAP" adventure...and I am sure that each and everyone one of you has a PRECONCIEVED NOTION of who I am.

Well...I am here to say that I am ME.

I am a Rastafarian.
I love Christ also.
(surprised? See?)

I am not a vegetarian.
I eat fish and chicken.
SO what?

I have a drink ever now and again.
Like maybe today.

I have 4 kids.
They are sweet, cute, and I love them.
But ...sometime I yell.
And sometimes ...they get spanked.

I homeschool them...
and they have a schedule, a chore chart, and responsibilities.

So...as you can see there is ALWAYS more to the picture than what you see.
Always more to the story.

Trust Me.

And next time you THINK you know...ASK.

Im open ...and everchanging.

It's better than assuming something False.

I don't havee ALL the answers...but I may have SOME.

Rastafari!

Just wanted to REMEMBER this…..

Seems Autobiography-ish…..One Love