NATURE

There was a time when I had a Beauty Salon, a very big beautiful one, In my lifetime I have had three and they were all successful, but as I had a bigger calling I could not keep them up and running forever because God had a very different plan for me, and so here I am Obara Meji. During the time of my fist shop, all was well in the beginning. The shop’s decor was gorgeous and I in my role as stylist was excellent, I am simply being honest not boastful. With success comes enemies and one of my biggest enemy was the wicked baby father’s equally wicked woman, a witch with a broom stick, with whom he had sneaked around with at the time of living with me and our children, we were a family then, and of course his equally, equally wicked mother supported all the evil done to me, as she was born with two horns and a pitch fork.

I was young and when I met this man who was to be my second baby father he was the one who chased me, by then I was afraid of men as I saw them as the big bad wolf. I had my daughter and here came this man who forced his way into my life, he meant to have me and he did, eventually. One of his promise to me before he went to do his time in Prison, he did one year, was that when he came out he would build me a big beautiful salon, and he did. Neither of these women, de new gal nor de wicked mumma was there when he made his promise to me, which was on his own and not under the influence of de wickedest slam, or Juju from me. However, after he came from prison and we settled down into our lives and into building our family, he decided to ‘step’ out of his family life with me and the children and ‘cheat’, with Jezebel’s evil twin and she ketch de belly, pon purpose (got pregnant), and from there the nightmare began for all of us, according to him it was to be a one slam, but de bitch and her broom had a different plan.

That woman made our lives a living hell with Juju, he changed, he was not the same man I had met, and she tormented us, our family by sending evil entities all the time to our house, which was aimed at getting him out and away from me and the children. My mother stepped up her game as a mother for me then, and she took me to some places for help and all the messages were that the only way to remove the bondage that this woman had placed on the children’s father was to hurt her, spiritually. I refused! Never in my life, I told myself would someone entice me into doing evil, and with all she did, I never did her anything.

However I lift my glass to her, because it was her and how she fought me with the wickedest obeah Imagined, it was all that she did which led me to meet the likes of Padrino and Mr Pierre, I lift my glass to her, she was one of my teachers, she lit the way, she may have used heavy explosives instead of a match, but the light led me far and deep into my destiny, I lift my glass! As fi de mumma, I am still on the fence with that one.

Well the shop was booming, I had all kinds of clientele, Doctors,Lawyers, Indians and Chiefs, and I had a large dance hall crowd. I loved dance hall and the life style and for a long time I was apart of the dance hall scene (parties), although not up in the videos, or visible on any dance floor, I kept it quiet, in the corner with my friends with a spliff and a champagne glass, keeping a steady meddy, mi full ah vibes, lol… (kidding, no champagne glass, lol).  The spiritual fight continued, and Juju was thrown at me from all angles, this stupid girl meant to have the children’s father, she was relentless (Ah doe know why he was no great flogger)!. The fight was plenty, I was getting it from every where, she would send people to my shop to do their hair and they drop this and drop that (juju/obeah) in my business place, but God, took care of me, even if I had no idea of the sneaky stuff going on around me in ways of Juju.

There came a time when the shop became slow, my customers were either missing appointments or not coming, I had let go some of my girls (stylist) and one effeminate guy who worked with me because of finding out that they were friends with the Jezebel. It was the wicked one who told me to get rid of them but it was not him who told me why. Things had become very slow and there were times when we would open up and if we had five customers for the day we had a lot, the change was drastic. We were coming from having almost a hundred bookings on the week ends (Friday’s and Saturday’s) this was per day not total foe the week end and near to that amount on the week days, each day.

One day a long standing customer named Nicey came to do her hair and when she saw how slow the shop was, she said “something is wrong Obara, something is wrong”, Nicey took me to a Botanica (spiritual shop) where I was given an Esu (Lucumi, Santeria style) with the instructions to take it to my shop and feed it with coffee and rum and honey every Monday and it would bring business back to my shop. I did and  followed the woman’s instructions exactly as was told. Two weeks after having the Eshu, I had a dream where a man, I never saw him but he always come to me in my visions and dreams and talk to me, he told me to get rid of the Eshu in the shop, but to do so respectfully. I was apprehensive and puzzled about the dream so I called the Botanica and spoke the diviner who worked with the woman who gave me the Eshu and owned the shop. The reader woman sounded worried about my dream and the message there, so she invited me to meet her at her house away from the shop so we could discuss it, all the while telling me in hushed tones that it wasn’t she.

I went to her house that morning early and was met by her and told to sit at a table, after a while I saw a very tall strikingly handsome man come out of a room down the hall, as he walked toward me he had a smile on his face and he wore all white, this was my sweet Padrino. I was mesmerized by this 79 year old man who was to be in my life for a long time and one of the best teachers I have ever had. I told him my dream, and he told me that the woman was wrong in giving me the Eshu, he said what she did could have made things worse. He told me that I had to bring the Eshu to the river and give it to Orisha Osun, for her to have as a companion, if she accepted then all would be well. He then told me that I had to make something called acara which is like a fritter made from black eyes peas, soaked peeled and pureed, then fried in Lard, this is one of Orisha Osun’s favorite foods, (I had no idea at the time) he also told me what else to prepare and to bring some nickles with me as we were to take the Eshu to the river. I prepared everything he told me to and the next morning this wonderful man came and picked me up and took me to the river along with the stuff I prepared and the Eshu from the shop.

Before I go any further, let me tell you all this, a part of me fell in love with this elder when I saw him for the first time. Not in love like “head top and de wickedest slam”, but in love with his spirit. I met him at a time when I was in “hell” going through torture with these pack of she wolves and the worse man a woman could call a baby father, I did not have much support from family and I had no friends, and he showed me kindness and love and support, he showed me love, for someone who he did not know, he helped me and soothed me and comforted me, he hugged me when I needed to be hug, without asking for the hug, in a fatherly or grandfatherly way, how could I not love someone like that? and he asked for nothing in return, absolutely nothing. I will always love him, always!. Because of the things I went through, to this day, when I am met with kindness as in a person showing genuine love, care and concern for me, I am touched and humbled and there are times when I am alone and I remember the act of kindness from those who show it to me, I cry.

Padrino and I went to the river, and he began to pray, it was summer time so it was very hot and humid, but as he prayed the leaves around and on the trees began to lift up as a gust of wind picked up and began blowing all around us, it continued until he was finished and he said Osun accepted the Eshu which he placed at a tree beside the river and we left. From there, Padrino began to pick me up in his vehicle two or there times per week to go out into nature and do rituals and sacrifices. I looked forward to it and often times he would bring his daughter along.

Ifa/Orisha traditional practice is a tradition of nature worship and honoring nature. Orishas are all connected to elements of Nature, which simply means that they rule over certain aspects of nature. The earth is alive and it is it which feeds us and supports us and for that it deserves the greatest of respect.

In honoring Nature we celebrate the Earth and all it fullness. We are citizens of the world so we must all do our part in keeping our environment clean. As traditionalist, we do not litter, and we do as best as we can to live off the land. Whenever we pick herbs or plants or flowers, we whisper words of thanks to them and we pray and let them know that we are taking of them of which they give to assist us and others. It is never correct to pick a limb or a leaf without speaking to it beforehand as while you do so.

Every tree or plant has a spirit and we should honor that spirit. We often do not, and while there maybe some forgiveness given for those who do not know, the persons who knows to do this and does not honor that knowledge is at fault to the Universe which sees and knows everything.

If you can, when you wake in the mornings, open up your windows greet the day, then pray, it may sound weird to you, but when you do this it is received by what the eyes cannot see, before you sleep at nights gaze out at the moon and stars and tell them good night.

Never leave any garbage at the sea or river side, and at times when you can go out in nature, walk and let them know that you appreciate them.  When It rains and if you can go outside and let some of the rain water touch your body, this brings good things and prosperity, as rain water is also Orisha Osun.  When there is threat of a hurricane, go outside before it begins, find a big tree and pour a small amount of palm oil on the ground and call upon Orisha Oya to make you or your family not see any devastation. When you are anywhere and you hear thunder clap along with lightening stand and salute Orisha Shango, Hail him by saying Kabiyesi Sango! (hail to the KIng Sango!).

All in all, honoring nature is very important and there are postings I will do in the coming future in teaching you all how to honor different aspects of nature, however with this post you get the chance to ask all your questions.

Kì í ṣe gbogbo ajá tó ba ńgbó’ni lọ́jà la ńdá lóhùn. /
It is not all the dogs that bark at one in the marketplace that one responds to……Yoruba Proverb!

[Avoid distractions and maintain your focus; it is not all issues that should command one’s attention]

All religions are valid as long as it teaches peace and love….Obara Meji!

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Albert Einstein

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

John Ruskin

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

John Lubbock

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow