jAY miLLS 2007 rAsTa HeArT III

Please DO NOT KEEP this coin. This is not a trade item and its mission is to travel so please keep it moving so ALL may enjoy. Peace.

The coin and my Avatar (the Dread Locked Lion) were inspired by a trip to Jamaica my wife and I took a few years ago. We have been to Guatemala and Mexico also and are never ones to shy away from getting to know the culture, and Jamaica was no different. We jumped right in with both feet and stayed off the tourist track choosing instead to go out where the rubber meets the road as a manner of speaking to meet the natives and mingle in THEIR culture and on THEIR terms. After a couple of days and a few cultural hardships we were introduced to Rastafari when a Rasta named Ikoke came around selling his wood carving warez to us. We struck up a conversation and I expressed a genuine interest in his way of life (it never fails to surprise me how far that little courtesy of showing interest in someone else’s culture goes) and we hit it off. Through Ras Ikoke I got to know Rastafari in a new way far from the holy herb smoking bunch of ragamuffins that are typically depicted. We exchanged ideas, thoughts and philosophies about many things large and small that plague the human condition. For 2 weeks Ras Ikoke was more or less our personal guide and we grew surprising close during that short period of time. Everywhere we went with Ras Ikoke we were treated with respect as we mingled freely and were accepted us as one of their own. In fact by the time it was over Ras Ikoke jokingly stated that were now officially "Jamerican" and always had a home there. My new friend Ras Ikoke and others mentioned more than once that we were roots people and that we had a Rasta heart (hence the name on the coin as well as the dread locked lion which is a powerful symbol of Rastafari). It took a while after that trip to understand what he meant by roots people, and Rasta heart, but I think I understand now. It is difficult to put to words and is an over simplification to be sure, but I think it is simply about keeping it real and seeing Ras Ikoke's culture and way of life as they really are with an open mind and with a clarity unfettered by misinformation, bias, and prejudgments that Ras Ikoke found rare in most visitors to his country. It was about peace and getting along harmoniously with I and I (a reference to self and the god within) as well as a reference to you and I. This coin is to honor Ras Ikoke for taking the time and allowing us the opportunity to get to know him and his culture.