Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Colyn Wanjiru, more commonly known these days as Wani. I started my blog “Wani’s World”, back in 2015 to indulge my creativity and share my opinions on things I love like food, art, music, spiritual growth and culturally relevant events. I also knew that this was part of my purpose, writing to encourage others who could relate to my experiences.
I worked in telecom for over 20 years, both in the military and as a civilian. By 2010, I was absolutely miserable in that career so I prayed earnestly for a change. I asked God for a very obvious sign that He was moving me to the next part of my life’s journey. When my company announced an early retirement offer with a nice monetary bonus, I knew that was my sign and I jumped off the ship without a life jacket. I literally stepped out on faith and I never looked back.
Of course, my plans looked nothing like what God had in store for me. I thought I was going to be a vendor and food truck owner, selling my homemade seasonings and foods. However, during my prayer time I heard “healer”, “author” and “leader” but since I had no idea how these things would be achieved or even earn me a living, I ignored them. Since then, I have experienced such a spiritual and emotional awakening that I am looking forward to the next set of revelations that God has for me.
It’s crazy how the two things I spent a great part of my life being ashamed about are now being revealed as things I could never extricate myself from no matter how hard I tried because they are biologically part of my makeup, by God’s unique design; being gay and loving cannabis.
For years I would torture myself about being gay and smoking weed, but they were always meant to be part of my story. I always thought that God would use me as a tale of how I was “delivered from this sinful lifestyle” and that would be how He would use me, but to my surprise it has been quite the opposite. God’s design from the start was to have me serve others and flourish by being uniquely me, which includes loving women and weed. As God continues to prove to me, He is not ever to be boxed in and I will never understand His ways, I just need to completely trust in His outcome.
I had no idea God would show me how to marry my passions of healthy delicious food and cannabis as a business that would also serve to heal those struggling with chronic ailments.
As it turns out, all of the healing properties that I have been experiencing throughout my 40+ years of cannabis use are legitimate. Our bodies have a whole endocannabinoid system which is designed to receive the healing properties of cannabis, hemp and its byproduct CBD to achieve homeostasis.
CBD extract is currently one of the most popular products in the wellness community because it works, and there are no side effects or addiction worries as with opioid painkillers and other invasive medications. I have been my own experiment for years with my chronic inflammation and pain from arthritis and Sjogren’s disease. I also reap the benefits of keeping my eye pressures low since I have glaucoma. I experienced 2 heart attacks back in 2016 and can no longer take painkillers at all, so cannabis and CBD have been my only successful forms of relief for the past few years.
The final revelation that caused me to fully release the shame and stigma that I felt from being a cannabis enthusiast was reading Cedella Marley’s book “Cooking with Herb”. In her introduction, she reiterated how the “colonizers” have demonized the use of this natural healing herb although it is clearly a naturally occurring plant that has healed ailments globally for thousands of years before the colonizers tried to monetize it and keep it for themselves. I realized that although my natural inclination has been to be drawn to holistic healing, I was caught up in believing the stigma associated with cannabis in the US. It also dawned on me that if I was raised in the Caribbean or even another part of the world, this would just be part of my natural regimen. So, with this epiphany, I decided to completely embrace who I am, a cannabis advocate, herbal healer, and culinary caregiver. It turns out that my many years of cannabis experimentation and cooking has set me up to be a Subject Matter Expert in this growing area of wellness. Who knew? God knew.
With this revelation came the inspiration to create Zima 360º Wellness, where I provide CBD infused healthy organic Caribbean style food, drinks and seasoning blends. Wani’s World Blog and podcast will provide education for the growing community of wellness seekers about the benefits of various healing herbs, foods and encouragement for your spiritual growth. “Zima” is a Swahili word meaning “whole and without defect”, which is what we are promoting at Zima 360º Wellness, uplifting your body, mind and spirit. Wani’s World Blog is simply an extension of this mission. Thank you for reading and supporting my vision. Please subscribe to my page and share with all likeminded folks as you see fit.
Until next time, Be Abundantly Blessed!