Becoming, human

 

Nit means person. Human. 

 

Nitei is an attribute. The quality of being human. 

Yet, it's also the recognition that being human doesn't always translate into being, human. 

 

The elders used to say: 

Nit niteiy garabam

To mean:

The cure of the human is to be human. 

Perhaps, in a plea to reclaim our fleeting humanity.

 

But what does something as profound as our humanity have to do with fragments stringed together on a page,

Words stacked on a tongue?

 

Well, words are like glitter. 

Feelings that just spread and stick to hearts. So hard to get rid of!

Words make our shared humanity so sparkly it outshines boundaries of otherness. 

 

Words don't have to be spoken to speak. They speak the silence of those whose voice has been stolen.

They speak the truth that their humanity can not be stolen. 

 

Words are like a mirror, but with a defect. 

They take our 'I dream of peace in the world for all of humanity' and reflect back 'I will make peace with myself first'. 

 

My words, are an adventure--not always a glamorous one.

A deep dive into myself. An exploration of my own humanity.

 

The elders said:

Nit niteiy garabam.

The cure of the human is to become human. 

 

If words can even help us begin to grapple with becoming human, again...

 

Then, let my words be my gift to myself, and to the world.