Three days ago, I shared a short reflection on TikTok about Elder Ruth, a character I created for the series “The Work of Freedom,” and the quiet power of building with our own two hands. I could not have imagined what Hurricane Melissa would bring to Jamaica, and especially to Westmoreland, where both my mother’s and my father’s families are from.

This morning, I sat again with Elder Ruth’s wisdom and thought about what it means to build in a world that does not always shelter us. Storms come. Some literal. Some spiritual. All of them test what we have rooted in ourselves long before the wind rises.

Marcus Garvey reminded us that strength grows in the places where we take responsibility for our lives and each other. “The ends you serve that are selfish will take you no further than yourself, but the ends you serve that are for all, in common, will take you even into eternity” (Garvey, Philosophy and Opinions, 1925).

Self-reliance has never meant standing alone. It means we build what we can with our own two hands, and we hold space for those whose hands are weary today. It means we remember who we are, who lifted us, and who we must lift in turn.

Wherever you are reading this, may your morning meet you gently. May you find one task you can finish with care. One memory that grounds you. One small act of service that turns worry into witness.

The hands that mend can also rebuild.

Walk good.

Get full access to The Garvey Classroom at geoffreyphilp.substack.com/subscribe