“Why you gotta be so deep all the time?” A question I have experienced time and time again throughout my life, specifically from my Black brothers and sisters. I was an inquisitive child who grew into an even more inquisitive adult, always seeking answers to questions my relatives could not or would not answer. I now realize that a large part of the reason they could not answer my questions about the world around us was simply due to lack of knowledge or access to knowledge, or disregard for the importance of knowledge. A large part of the reason they would not answer my questions seems to have been based on the unspoken code of allowing life to teach children through experience, and simply hoping for a good outcome at some point in their lives.

Life in the Matrix which we dwell leaves little room for concern about the deeper meaning of phenomena we experience in our lives or the events we see happening around us. Paying bills, raising children, habitual attendance to the church or mosque, and priority of employer over personal needs are just some of the impediments to cultivation of curiosity within our community, let alone the universe around us. We then pass on the same misplaced priorities to our children, as our previous generations of relatives were forced to do. Meanwhile, elite families teach and expose their offspring the knowledge meant for the African descendant to pass on to theirs. One need only look at their position in the hierarchy to understand the value of attaining such knowledge.

So why you need to be so deep? Because a deeper understanding of how the world operates is essential not just for your own expansion of awareness but more importantly to that of the generations who come after you. It isn’t enough to be able to engage in conversation about what we see broadcast on television or what we hear the preacher say; the survival and social elevation of our people is determined by the ability to analyze and apply the interpreted information. If your life circumstance doesn’t allow for, or you lack desire for curiosity and inquisition about the world around you, the least you can contribute to the Black community and your progeny is to encourage them to seek as much knowledge as their brains can store. What kind of knowledge? Any knowledge that causes them to think deeper than the official story given by talking heads, deeper than the superficial representations of reality, and beyond the daily monotony of living in the Matrix.

I believe that higher and deeper level thinking is the salvation of the Black community and the world at large. Right now it’s eat, work, sleep, pray, spend, and everything in between. Repeat until it’s time to move on from here. It isn’t enough to teach basic skills for survival with a few momentary highs. The elite mind thinks decades, even centuries in advance to secure its position and longevity, in spite of knowing whether such commitment to the cause will pan out. Our commitment at the least requires us to support thirst for knowledge and encouragement for those willing to attain and apply it.

Determine that you will do whatever it takes to be a part of consciousness expansion of any and every Black person in your network. Higher level thought coupled with our adept survival skills mastered through adversity will no doubt prepare us for whatever challenges we face in the coming years. The world is truly depending on us whether we know it or not. Those already tapped in know for certain, we are all we have and that is a great thing. Deeper knowledge is our weapon of choice for the battles ahead.