Date With The Library – A Letter From Nehanda
Thursday, September 12th, 2013
I wanted to share with you this letter from Nehanda who attended my book launch for 49 Ways To Write Yourself Well on 9 August.
I met Jackee in 2001 in my place of employment where she worked alongside a positive male trainer Omowale in Hammersmith and Fulham. It was an excellent combination. It was a period in my life when you know the right people showed up at the right time. This meeting in more ways than one turned out to be and will remain one of the most spiritually awakening, personal uplifting time in my life. I truly mean that.
Fast forward to 2013, 12 years since that time and I am sitting in Brixton Library in Lambeth, the borough of my birth and where so many positives have happened in my life. It is Friday 9th August in the evening and one would think what would you be doing in a library in the children’s section on a Friday night? when there are bars to go to; places to dance, theatre productions to view; any amount of entertainment. Here I was in a place that reminded me of my youthful years doing a summer vacation job; reading stories to children across the Libraries in Lambeth in the 80’s again how time flies.
I had after receiving Jackee’s newsletter in my email about this event wondered whether I really wanted to attend yet another workshop, book, launch. I have been to so many in the last couple of years and many where I would bump into Jackee either leading, contributing or just attending the event. It was not until two days before the event that I decided to send my confirmation that I would attend. I let spirit guide me and anyway I did not have that date signed up where I would put on my slinky dress and killer heels so I decided Brixton Library it was, minus the slinky dress but I wore my heels; interestingly Jackee mentioned how she did not wear heels usually (neither do I) but she wore a pair of beautiful textile, richly coloured heels and strutted onto the stage with confidence, style and an air of promising delight that confirmed for me that I had chosen the right (write) event tonight. Jackee was here to promote her new book “49 Ways to Write Yourself Well”
I looked at the title and I realised that I had started writing a blog in November. I was indeed writing myself well. I also realised that in the last few months that had been what I would say been unfulfilling” I had hit a writer’s block, the words that had flowed so easily in the first few months of starting my blog were now like stagnant water and were not flowing yet I had so much in my head that I wanted to write about.
The evening was introduced by Joy Francis, Journalist and Broadcaster with Malika Booker interviewer for Jackee; for me this was a showcase of talented women particularly African-Caribbean women in the U.K. I loved Malika’s poem “Pain” so much resonated with many of the women in the room , she got us joining in the poem to make the poem come alive.
Friday evening in Brixton Library, well who would have thought; probably more than 70 people in the room mainly African-Caribbean women but I was glad to see that an event like this has no ethnic, class, age, gender or disability divide, so I was glad to see the array of diverse people at this event. We all need to write ourselves well.
I did buy the book and I know it won’t be one of those that end up on my bookshelf gathering dust. Jackee always writes a personal dedication in her sign up for copies of her books with a very vibrant orange felt tip pen. It is the 2nd book I have bought of Jackee’s and signed this was How to become your own Life Coach, she has a first publication Soul Purpose which I knew of but have to admit I have never read.
In my signed copy Jackee wrote” Dear Nehanda close your eyes, open a page a write yourself well, with much love Jackee 09/08/13”
During the evening we participated in an NLP exercise from the book which was fun and very enlightening on beginning to understand the outer image we often portray and who we are in our inner world “the true self”
What I could see in Jackee on this night, a woman I have connected with on many occasions was her holding her own with such fun and joy in herself now that she is a woman in her 50’s.
It was inspiring for me a 50 something woman to see that she had made her own journeys as we all have in our own unique and special ways. I left the library quietly on a high and decided to take an hour long journey back to North London rather than take the tube with my new book, journal and pen in hand. I passed familiar places of my youth a South London Girl at heart I remembered my past and thought about my present a 50 plus mother of three and now grandmother sitting on a bus travelling through London writing herself well. I closed my eyes and opened up the page as Jackee had suggested and came to page 78 Way 24 Intuition your inner wisdom and I thought it was intuition that made me attend this event tonight and I was glad I followed it.
I have since used the book and this it has assisted me in writing this piece I am writing now. I opened up the page for the 2nd time and came to page 110 Way 37 – The F Word, which I rarely use I should add not the one you are thinking anyway. The F Word here was FAILURE which sometimes I do use and often feel.
Jackee I want to say thank you for this gift. After this exercise , tears flowed they had been waiting for a long time, the recent showers in London and across the country could not match the flow that was coming out of my body and soul; they were so healing and I did give myself a big hug in fact a massive hug. I had followed my intuition which I sometimes ignore to my detriment. I had walked the journey on my own to that event and felt totally inspired and full of gratitude for sharing the evening with such a wonderful group of souls. It was not just not another workshop or book launch; but an highly interactive programme of writing wellness into our lives.
Thank you again, Jackee you are well onto what you expressed is your desire to have a programme where people are fully engaged in writing themselves well. I wish you well on that journey. Be continually blessed in what you do. I feel blessed in the Journey I decided to take to Join others in Brixton Library on a Friday evening.
Love always Nehanda