This week I have found myself with hours that are somehow too short on minutes, but a life overflowing with blessings.

With the help of so many wonderful hands and hearts, Last Tagine in Paris, LLC was able to open its door at Studio 142, located right next door to our renovations at 144 S. Broadway. So because of this lack of minutes, including the loss of a complete hour, I wish to, for Cass Can, Inc. this week, share the philosophical heart message of my store: THE MESSAGE:

Life isn’t about accumulating stuff. It is about people and connection … agape love (unconditional). It therefore equates that when we do choose to add “stuff” to our life it should be something with intrinsic value. It should add beauty and joy but most of all it should connect us to the person who created it … their story, their life, their soul.

I find myself telling the artisans I work with, “That isn’t enough, you need to charge for your time.” They often reply, “I don›t know that someone will pay that amount for it.” They don’t say this because they think it isn’t worth it, they reply this way because it is an innate part of our culture that we should buy “stuff” and the cheaper it is, why, the more we can have. But, I say, “That paradigm needs to change and it starts with each and every one of us who choose to put our money into people, connection, and agape love.”

Agape love is the highest form of love, it is the unconditional love we should have for ourselves and for one another. It is the “Namaste” that states

“I honor the place in you where Spirit lives, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, of Peace, when you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, then we are One.”

It is saying that not only is art or a handcrafted item something I feel has value but it is compensating you for your talent and time. It is believing an artisan should make a decent living for their craft and not have to price their work for less than minimum wage.

Shame on us for having come this far in our world for people’s rights, yet still demand we purchase art and handcraft for a “steal.” We can do better and we can start this moment.

 

CeeCee Wilson is the organizer of Cass Can, Inc. and owner of Last Tagine in Paris, LLC. Find them on Facebook.