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Together


Summer 2018- “I have an idea,” Is probably one of my favorite sentences. Whitnie said it to me a few weeks back. She told me her idea and asked if I wanted to do it with her. 

I love new ventures more than anything. But the biggest reason why I didn’t hesitate to say yes was because of the idea itself. And where it came from. And what it means to her, to me, and hopefully…to others. 

 

Tupo pamoja was a phrase in Swahili  she learned when she was volunteering at an orphanage in Tanzania. The folks there say it. Translated loosely it means we are one. 

 

As we were brainstorming, Whitnie and I discussed the meaning at length. We are one doesn’t infer that we are the same, of course. But more so that we are different-and honor  each other because of our differences, not despite of them. Peace. Sacred. Unconditional. Understanding. Love-- are all written into the meaning of the phrase “we are one.” 

 

 

In the work that I do, it’s the language I already speak. Not Swahili as much (I know a  few words so far) ,…but the language about unified. It’s the definition of yoga itself. And meditation connects us to our inner self which connects us to the whole of it all. The breathe is a universal symbol of our connection to everything. Being in nature reminds us of our connection to the living and breathing planet. It’s about essence-the connection beyond the relationship titles that isn’t tainted with fears. The ones that you can feel whether you are across the room from someone, across town, or across the world.  Even whether you’ve actually ever met yet in this lifetime. 

 

 

So we are handmaking these necklaces, per Whitnie’s idea, in any language that this concept can be translated in, that reflects the language the wearer mostly identifies with or that the wearer traveled to. And each time someone wears one, it’s a tiny reminder to themselves (mostly) and to others, a little bit of what they believe in. That it’s a big vast world. And each one of us has our own story, our own struggles,  strengths. Beliefs and traditions. So we recognize and honor our own place and others’,  in the interwoven tapestry of the big story of the human-earthly condition. 


And that we are never alone. 

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