Sango - Alaafin

Alaafin, ekun bu, a sa
Alaafin, (the king of Oyo) snarls like a leopard and the people run away
Eleyinju ogunna
One whose eyeballs glow like charcoal
Olukoso lalu
Olukoso, the famous one of the city
A ri igba ota, segun
One who uses hundreds of cartridges to win victory in war
Eyi ti o fi alapa segun ota re
One who used pieces of broken walls to defeat his enemies
Kabiyesi o - We honor you
Ase So be it

So I have an entire week to myself at home. The kids will be out of school in a few days to join me. I have no appointments but will not refuse them if they arise. I am looking forward to this. I am committing myself to a schedule of the following:

• Rest
• Artwork
• Reading
• Real Estate - minimal research at insuring next month's mortgage
• Research
• Exercise
• Cleaning - just enough to get by

I spent most of my midnight hours (11-3am) with my 10 year old daughter taking photographs. I let her sleep in another 15 minutes today to make up for it. Its just that we were addicted to images.

We have a shrine in our home. Sango is the Orisa that turns sand into gold. I created the shrine to celebrate Sango's presence and assistance in our destiny.

We had our family and friends over and we all danced together. The shrine will stay up until Thursday - his day. Until then, we are enjoying saluting daily and praying for the things that will make life most enjoyable.

Work, Play, Balance

And so we come to the end of the adventure when the girl known as Dorothy had completed her journey. She had matured over the course of traveling in the Land of Oz and realized what she had been seeking. Her quest to find home was a quest to find herself and she would have endured battle how ever many thousands of flying monkeys and evil witches to find the place that would give her balance.

"What have you learned," asked Glinda, the Good Witch.

"Well, if I ever go looking for my heart's desire, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, then I never really lost it to begin with. Is that right?" stated Dorothy with confidence.

"That's right," confirmed Glinda and with the click of her heels Dorothy and Toto were back at home.

Creativity comes from within. It is about seeing first the world that lives inside of us and giving outward expression to that world. That world is full of wonderful and powerful spirits who have traveled over the eons of time to be with us. Like the tree sentinels of the woods, these ancestral spirits watch over us and guide us. But they cannot guide alone. We must reach out to them and ask them for the path that is paved with yellow bricks and cowry shells. We must realize the journey through work and play. We must balance.

Drink in the world that exists in your own backyard--the world within. Dance with the ancestors, and drink in the spirit of life!

Sango is the Orisa that turns Sand into Gold!

It is my prayer that I fulfill my destiny, walking this road receiving what is for me.

I can see the future. If I just continue....

I walked through the woods

Almost 2 years ago my family and I purchased an old restored plantation house on 4 acres of land.

I had a friend stay over after a party because I live so far away from civilization.

She is also an artist - but she is an artist that I also admire as a mentor.

After many midnight hours of encouragement, she promised me that if I tossed away fears and thought, that I could create my much missed - much feared body of artwork.

So we got up this morning, ate our lumpy cream-a-wheat on the front porch, walked my burned-out weed infested yard with hope in our hearts of soon rejuvenating its beauty, and then took our walk with cameras through the woods.

I felt like I found myself back there.....