Contemplation on the Odu Oworin Odi

Not priest nor prophet,
Not shaman nor saint
can verify the Other.
So why is it that we listen
to so many that
pedal their wares of fear
and ignore those
who sell nothing
but only speak of love?
Is fear so great a motivator
that love can not conquer
its grip on our minds?
Faith
was once fallible
meant to be questioned
and only through careful investigation
could one truly maintain
faith
But fear has changed its definition
from something for the intelligent
to something that is followed
without question
blindly
ignorantly,
Isn’t faith really about
the confidence and trust
we place in something that
we have fully investigated
and continue to investigate?
and in that investigation
continually find the
truth
beauty
love
compassion
growth
and meaning
in what we believe?
Life is hard
do we need to make it harder
by putting our faith
in fear?
Love may not instantly solve our woes
but it will help set us on the right path.

-- Marcos Sanchez -- (Inspired listening to Yo Yo Ma playing the Bach Cello Suites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZn_VBgkPNY )

Contemplation on the Odu Iwori Ogunda (iwori aweda)

I wasn't inspired to write

not being sure if my words would have meaning

but I could not help myself

streams of thoughts pouring from my fingertips

waves crashing down

pounding words into sand

writing of the inequity of life

angrily recounting the war of

wants versus needs

why can they not reconcile their differences?

days, sometimes years pass

in a precarious detente of wills

yet so often skirmishes flare

unable to agree

it is the story of man

tribal warfare

of the soul

the battle raging within each of us

just underneath the surface

riptides threatening to pull us under

we can only hope

that someday we might find peace

with our circumstance

or the ability to change it.