This week the village named for its former resident Samuel Fox is rife with excitement as they celebrate their annual festival. The residences of this community are proud of their heritage and one hundred and sixty-nine years later they are still remembering their links to the past.
Fox Hill is one of the oldest communities on New Providence and boast of a distinctive relationship with slavery. This former slave village is very unique and still provides its visitors with feeling and sights from times gone by.ﾠ It remains one of the few communities, if not the only one, that has a special celebration in recognition of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1834, which gave slaves in the Bahamas their freedom.
Freedom that we, people of colour today take for granted. The emancipation of the slaves was not a gift given but a victory won through the blood, sweat, tears and struggle of our forefathers. It was a struggle that saw many of them die for what they believe, as the words of the old Negro spiritual “before I be a slave I’ll be buried in my grave” was real to them. This struggle started for most of them from the moment they were captured in their native African villages and continued all the way to the “new world.”
They believed that “all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which includes Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;” long before they became apart of the American declaration of independence – And so they struggled to change the injustices that were being meted out against them because of the colour of their skin!
Nothing changes until we make up our minds that we are no longer going to accept things as they are and begin to do something about it!
Emancipation is a word that has been relegated to usages that only relates to the Slavery experience but a review of its definition indicates it to mean – ” Liberation; to set free from bondage; which makes its usage more universal.
There are countless habits and materialist desires that we have allowed ourselves to become captured by and the worst of all may be mental slavery, because sometime we don’t realize that we are slaves.ﾠ We have sold ourselves short so many times because of what we believe and the attitudes that we have developed about how certain thing will affect our lives, that we have become enslaved!
Another plantation that we have allowed ourselves to fall victim to is “Waste.” We have allowed waste to capture our finance and Time. Because of this we are living lives that are of a lesser quality that we could if we just make up our mind to handle our finance and time differently. In words of Benjamin Franklinﾠ “Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do, and with them everything.”
The good thing is, we can change anything we want to no matter how pervasive it might be, we can defeat any strong hold with a made up mind but its up to us!ﾠ
So today don’t take your situation for granted, you deserve better and you can have better; you hold the key and must decide that you will emancipate yourself from whatever the chains are that may be enslaving you.
As with the emancipation of our forefathers, once you’ve made up your mind, it usually takes a team effort to help us to accomplish our goals. Serious athletes and actors all use personal coaches to help maximize their skills and abilities. Although these individual are accomplished professionals, yet they wouldn’t think of “going it alone.” Neither should you. Coaching is now providing the edge to countless individuals and maybe just what you need to finally get you freed.
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Coaching is a professional service providing you with feedback, insights, and guidance from an outside vantage point. The business of coaching is similar to the practice of a physician, attorney, or psychologist. The major difference is that coaching is an on-going collaborative partnership built on taking action. In this powerful alliance, you find yourself:
ﾷﾠDoing more than you would do on your own,
ﾷﾠTaking yourself more seriously,
ﾷﾠCreating momentum and consistency,
ﾷﾠTaking more effective and focused actions,
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A coach takes the time to find out what winning in life means to you and is your partner, helping you accomplishes your personal and professional dreams. A coach is someone to hold you accountable for your life, challenge and support you, and make sure you really do live up to your potential.
Now it’s up to you to make up your mind to emancipate yourself, because what you do now will determine whether you live in the grand house or the outhouse when you retire.
Glenn Ferguson is a financial planner who specializes in retirement coaching.
Email to: glen@coralwave.com Tel: 242-327-0854ﾠﾠ Fax: 242-327-0853
