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News -> Do you Gari?

Be who you want to be without fears!

04/04/02
By: Jorge Garifuna
Have you ever felt intimidated? How about inferior to someone else? Without a doubt I can tell you that I have and if I were standing next to you, I would look at you straight in the eyes and firmly tell you that I have. Several times as a matter of fact. As awkward as it may sound, life wouldn't be life if I had not experienced this weird feeling as it has made me a stronger person today.

 

I don't know what your personal situation is, and you need not tell me, but in my case, the times that I have felt so low has been for lack of security, very low self-esteem and giving up too much control to others over my life. Now that you know what my problems were, let me tell you how I managed to work on them. Let me tell you what has kept me alive and happy today. Let me tell you how I have liberated myself and how you can do the same for you.

 

Disclaimer

 

Before I continue, I'd like to warn you that I am a very frank individual. Tell it like is kind of guy and you may find some of the following information offensive and at times contradictory to what you have learned in your life. If you get offended easily, please stop here and go watch TV, it might make you feel better, otherwise let's learn together how we can make this short life a much happier life for ourselves.

 

Lack of personal security

 

There was a point in my life when I felt completely dumb. To me every person I came in contact with was much smarter than me and that my friend!, made me feel very inferior. Keeping my mouth shut was not an option to me, it was a necessity of survival, so people wouldn't see how stupid I was. From this I learned two basic things.

 

I tried both of my learnings and got different results from each one. First I learned that staying quiet will satisfy me in the short term. I would say nothing and nothing would be known about me and my stupidity. This of course, had a flip side to it. The more I would keep things inside me, the sadder I would feel and at times very angry.

 

My other option would be to come out of the closet and let people laugh at me. In the short term this was not all that nice. In fact it was horrible!, but let me tell you the rewards of this for the long term. There's no one person that can hide their true self forever. Meaning the more you interact with a person the more you start to notice how much they are like you and at times worst. Have you ever seen another person do something dumb, and say to yourself, "Oh gotch, I thought I was the only one that did those things"? If you have, it just goes to show you that in this world everyone has this something that makes them human, regardless of their financial or educational position.

 

And the word becomes flesh

 

It just so happens that some of those with high education tend to think of themselves as the high crap and mostly everyone else believes it, but when you look deep inside them, they're just like you and I my friend. Don't let this scare you out. If they think they are "it" (whatever that is) and everyone else believes it, guess what? Think that you are it and you'll see how everyone else will believe it and more importantly you will start believing it too. That's what I did, and now everyone else believes it but I don't care about that. I know it in my heart that I am it and that, no one will take that away from me. Believe in yourself no matter how dumb you think you are, and your positive thoughts will turn into positive reality.

 

Take control of your life or else

 

It feels good to know someone else will do the work for you, doesn't it? Only to findout that you are hurt deeply when the work wasn't done for you. How about giving all your heart to your dear partner, only to findout that he/she cheated on you? These are scenarios of giving too much control over your life to other people that make mistakes just like you. Having said this, I expect anything and everything from anyone and everyone. This, somehow keeps me happy. When the unexpected happens, I already expect it and it doesn't hit me in the face. I believe in self-contained happiness and the rest should come as a bonus.

 

Be the happiest person on earth

 

Let me clarify on this for a minute. What I mean with this is that I'm always content within myself even when I'm alone. And say, when my parents or partner come along they do make me extra happy, however, as soon as they're gone I'm back to my normal self state of happiness. In other words, I could be happy with or without them. I've heard stories of a million guys being dumped by girls and a zillion girls being dumped by guys. If your heart has been broken before, you know how devastating this is. But now that you look back, don't you think your pain would have been smaller if you had depended on yourself for happiness and your partner's as a bonus or extra happiness? I think you might have, because taking that extra/bonus happiness away would've just returned you to your normal state of happiness, similar to what people do when stop receiving their bonus check from their job, they just cut back on spendings and they move on with their lives.

 

Give and you shall recieve

 

I'm sure you have friends that do not believe in giving, because they feel that giving will make them poorer or put them in a worse position. They're waiting to be millionaires so they can give a dollar to their parents and those others they care about. Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with this, but what if they never make it to the millions? Does this mean they will never give? It might, and it only means that they may never receive.

 

My experience tells me that the more I give the more I receive. This has work for me for many years. For example, last year, 2001, when I was going through a financial misery I would give $1 out of the $1.50 I had to my son Jimmy, and the next day, somehow I would make $100. Has this ever happened to you or is it just me and my silliness again? The same goes for the society we live in.

 

You are just a pawn in the chess board

 

 

I have come to the realization that in this world there's no one person that is superior than any other person. For as long as you may want to argue this, there's no magic to it. Look around you, do you think that one person alone could have made everything you see around you? Think no more, the correct answer is NO WAY. It was done with the contribution of many people. Think of it this way and you'll be a happier person. Everyone in this society has a position within the society itself, somewhat like a chess board. There's no one person that is so important nor indespensable. NOT ONE. Do you think the world will end once president Bush is no longer president? What about me? Do you think the world will end when I'm gone? Let's think about you and your parents and your boss and anyone else you come in contact with. Do you think the world will end then?

 

Can humbleness play a part here?

 

It just so happens that some people are full of it, thinking that a well paying job defines them as superiors, but what are they doing to better the community we live in? More importantly what are doing for you? Are they making you a better person or they're just looking down on you like if you were inferior to them?

If you take your place in this society, you will see how you directly impact the lives of other people. You contribute your piece and in return you get happiness and lots of satisfaction and if the money comes along, that should be taken as a bonus, but it should keep you humble. have you ever came across people that say they don't have time to do anything? Whenever I hear that, I know that person is working extremely hard everyday so that one day they can become millionaires. My prayers go to them and I hope they make it there soon. If they don't make it, I'm sure they will return and think about giving to the society more, so that maybe they can receive more.

 

Throw your hands up and be proud!

 

I'm constantly bragging about my Garifuna culture, but more importantly I take action and contribute to make the future Garinagu (plural for Garifuna) the big swinging generation of the future. Do you recognize the value of your culture? If you do, then you know how much respect people will have for you and if you don't then you also know, how inferior that makes you feel.

 

Remember I said that everyone has a place in this society? Take your place and watch your lane so you can be happy. I greatly appreciate you as a person, but I'm not gonna do it for you. Your friends are cool and all, but they're not gonna do it for you. Your parents love you dearly, but they're not gonna do it for you. Do you have a choice now?

 

The next big thing that will make history!

 

I invite you to participate in of the biggest community projects that I have ever worked on. To me this is one the projects I would like for my son Jimmy and my future kids to brag about. They will have fun doing it and at the same time it will make them stronger everytime they let the world know how proud they are of bieng Garifuna. If you are a Garifuna, have migrated to the United States and have had kids in this country, like myself, you know the great influence there is in those schools here, public and private equally.

What would you give to have your life and your kids' life influenced by some type of Universal Garifuna School? Are you just going to sit there and wait to be a millionaire? The Online Garifuna School project will change your life forever. It will only make you a happier person. It will increase your personal security, self-esteem and it'll put you in control of your own life. Check it out at: garischool.com and let me know what you think by email at: jcacho01@yahoo.com.

 

Jorge Garifuna
Garifuna Community Facilitator
April 2002

Other Articles By Jorge Garifuna
02/01/07 Paul Nabor performance, Ricaman Interview and more on GariTV
01/12/07 Garifuna youngster mysteriously gets into Super Mario Game/New Music video and first GariTV commercial
12/25/06 Merry Christmas, new video on GariTV with pleasant surprise ending
11/08/06 New Yurumein Music Video by Rhode on GariTV.com
10/22/06 Introducing GariTV.com, Garifuna Online Television
04/20/06 Over 800 photos of Garifuna Street Fest 2006
03/16/06 Radio on demand for GarifunaLink.com
03/16/06 News Automation for GarifunaLink.com
03/14/06 Garifuna Forum Photos & GEM New Website
03/13/06 Garifuna`s Weekend in review, March 12, 2006
02/02/06 Tu Ritmo Records launches new website
02/01/06 Jorge Garifuna reveals the secret of his favorite Punta Music!
01/30/06 Garinet has launched OpenFanClub.com
01/20/06 The Garifuna Websites Directory has been launched
01/20/06 How to eliminate your debt faster - Part 1
01/14/06 Are there currently any Garifuna artists, breaking barriers?
01/13/06 How much money should you save to live comfortably?
01/11/06 Find out what Jorge Garifuna is up to at Jgari.com
12/24/05 Happy Holidays, Celebrate with the Garifuna Calendar 2006
12/16/05 How do you feel about people that damage the Garifuna Community?
11/18/05 Garifuna New Generation (GNG) Album, The Struggle, gets five drums at PuntaMusic.com
11/16/05 Garinet launches GarifunaCommunity.com & GariChat.com
11/10/05 The next generation of Garifuna movement will be lead by Garinet Global
09/14/05 Garifuna, Ecolastico Arzu, burned in crash and jumped off NY Bridge
07/29/05 Garinet.com turns 6 years old - brief history since 1999
07/01/05 Bringing old school punta music back to life
06/30/05 The new product bar: It Rolls and it scrolls, but you are in Control
06/29/05 New development for the Garifuna Women
06/28/05 The Garinet Forum gets a new Facelift
06/27/05 You select your ``artist of the month``, not Mr. Bias and Associates






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