"...Emancipate Yourself From Mental Slavery; None But Ourselves Can Free Our Minds..."<---These are the words song by the one and only, true legend, Mr. Bob Marley himself. As these words echo throughout my ears and penetrate my mind, I go into a deep session of thinking and wonder, what exactly does it mean...“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery?” How does one free their mind from the bondage it is in, simply because of the wrong doings of another towards their ancestors or themselves? How does one overcome the challenges and adversities that they face psychologically when living in such a trying and turbulent world? Hmmm...I’ve decided to break this statement down into two parts, granted the fact that it speaks upon two totally different yet still the same disciplines (affairs).
Emancipate Yourself From Mental Slavery:-
As a woman of color, there are many ways I can address this statement that would seem to be relevant and necessary to the trials that my people (blacks) have faced back in the day. However, I choose to be direct and tackle the obvious issue as oppose to going on about things that I personally did not witness or have to go through. The issue: Mental Slave-ry.
Mental: 1. Of or pertaining to the mind.
Slave: 2. One who is submissive or subject to a person or influence.
Slavery: 1. Bondage to a Master or household. 2. Suppression or addiction to a specified influence.
Mental slavery is the inability to view events, or one's self, differently from commonly held beliefs. Mental slavery cripples its victim, making them ineffective, self destructive, self hating, and dangerous. A mental slave will not investigate nor research history or current events. They have the habit of accepting and believing what is told to them, whether it's true or not. This goes back to my question, how does one free their mind from the bondage it is in, simply because of the wrong doings of another towards their ancestors or themselves? Well, here’s the thing, we are not nor do we represent our forefathers. We should not suffer or punish ourselves for the sufferings that they went through. Yes, they say the sins of the forefathers fall upon the children BUT, should we allow it to depict who we are, what we accept, and what we embody? NO!!! We must learn to rise above all that has been done to our ancestors and to us; knowing that it is only through freedom of the mind that we can achieve anything in this life. Should we forget? NO!!! However, we must not allow our minds and its recollections to hinder us from progression and cause us to be bound to the slavery of what we were taught and believe. Why? Well, according to what we are taught, that’s what we believe; how is it then that we support things that we, ourselves have not experienced, did not investigate or discover? Hmmm. How are we certain that these things have occurred or that what we believe is right, contrary to what others believe? Do we only accept what we are told and then therefore, never quite comprehend what it is we feed our minds? Mental slavery is bondage to the things we ourselves do not take time to examine, but rather accept because it’s then easier to follow; believing that all said by another is true.
None But Ourselves Can Free Our Minds:-
We must understand that in order for us to overcome and move forth, we must let go. No one can release our minds from the state of slavery that we, ourselves have it in. It is because we fail to inquire all that is taught to us, our minds are limited to what there is and what we believe. There can potentially be no right in wrong in certain matters, but how will we ever know if we subject ourselves to the conclusions of another. “No one can deliver us from the depths of mental slavery but ourselves”…I think that in itself is self explanatory. Nonetheless, I will break it down even further for you. If you choose to believe something regardless of who said it or how it occurred, then that’s what you choose to believe. How it is then that someone else can divert you from what you, yourself, choose to believe? The mind indeed is a powerful thing and if you do not cross examine what is being taken in, then you my friend are succumbing yourself to mental slavery. No one can do the work for you. You must go above and beyond to assure that you comprehend all that you believe, and all that you are taught.
“We are what we repeatedly do…” a statement like such, with much truth and power to it simply states that if we constantly accept all that is given to us, never once questioning or rejecting it, then we, ourselves are keeping our minds in slavery. How do we move forward if we constantly look back?.
“…Emancipate Yourself From Mental Slavery; None But Ourselves Can Free Our Minds.”
Authentically,
Akrizia ‘MaryAntonique’ Smith
