Crossroads

“At the Crossroads of Life did he stand, upon the very spot where North met South, where East became West...But there was confusion within his heart as to the direction he should travel.” ~Author Unknown

Elegba is one of the religious figures I hold dearest to my heart. Otherwise known as St. Michael in other systems of belief, he is revered as the keeper of doors and crossroads. In the colorful pantheon of the Orishas (God’s aides in the Yoruba tradition), Elegba is depicted as a jolly old man bearing a cane and a straw hat, willing to show the wandering traveler the blessings at the end of each path in exchange for a few coins, a cigar or a sip of hard liquor.

Crossroads always resonate powerfully with me, probably because as humans we are ever confused as to what path is best to take on our journeys. We are, for the most part, blind to all that exists at the end of each roadway, and are often equally fearful and excited to discover what’s on the other side.

As we face the unknown – more so if the obvious appears ominous – we wish and fear tomorrow with the same fiery passion. We are anxious to let go of fear, and we eagerly anticipate our meeting with that which we dread as it puts us one step ahead toward freedom; yet, tomorrow is but a question mark and a part of us wishes we could postpone whatever it will bring forever.

Safely traversing a crossroad requires that we let go of our fears and hang on to our faith. The future is indeed a blank canvas, but as such it can be colored in the vibrant hues of hope. Although we are nudged by our human nature to expect the worst, when we stand in front of a major crossroad faith must take our hand and lead us to the other side. Else, we remain paralyzed and unable to move forward, frozen in place by fear.

At each crossroad, only one path is the right one for us at that specific moment – if we are willing to listen, our heart knows which way to go. Once we are ready to let go of our illusion of control, and are willing to allow destiny to unfold as it must, acceptance becomes our island of peace in the storm.

The next time you approach a crossroad, silently acknowledge Elegba being there and if you so feel inclined, leave him a coin and ask him to guide you safely across. The rest will be up to God.

A Treasure Buried Within

“Focus on your potential instead of your limitations” ~ Alan L. McGinnis


Although no one can assume what a dog might think, destiny didn’t look too good for Ace, a 4-year-old Dutch Shepherd whose family, fed up with his lack of obedience, had decided to take him to a local pound to be euthanized.

As luck would have it, at the last minute the family agreed to give him instead to Canadian dog handler Ray Lau, who took Ace in and trained him for his team of rescue dogs.

After two years of training, Ace went on his first rescue mission – a 55-year-old woman who had left home in Ancaster, Ontario, to go shopping during a blizzard. When her SUV got stuck in the snow, the woman got out of her vehicle to search for help; she became disoriented and fell down. For three days she remained covered in the snow, in sub-zero temperatures and fierce winds, until Ray Lau and Ace set out to search for her.

Suddenly – while walking in the field where the woman’s car had been found – Ace took off running and stopped about 75 yards from the trainer; he looked down and began to bark. Ace had found the woman alive.

Cases such as this always bring a smile to everyone’s face - It is always great to hear of someone or something beating the odds. One thing is for certain: The family who gave Ace away was entirely unaware of the potential hidden inside of him.

Similarly, most people are unaware of their own potential, and that of others. Each of us is designed individually according to a unique blueprint. Some of us are more aligned with societal standards, some are less. Regardless of that, all of us are able to shine a light of our own.

If given enough time to trim the edges, we can reach our potential and fulfill our purpose. On the other hand, if we become impatient or discouraged - or even worse we begin to feed doubtful about our self-worth - we sabotage our quest for personal realization.

Sadly, we wear our limitations like armor, and use their presence in our lives as a mean to justify our fear of moving forward, and our inability to deal with temporary failure. To fulfill our highest purpose, we must focus on our potential and nothing else.

There is virtually nothing we cannot be or do, if we are truly willing to put in the work necessary to get to destination.

Ready full story about Ace and his rescue.

Unconditional Prayers

“The only way of knowing a person is to love them without hope.” ~Walter Benjamin

A few days ago, my father informed me that my best friend of childhood recently lost her dad to throat cancer. While growing up, I saw through her eyes how trying living with an alcoholic can be.

I never quite understood why her mother put herself and the children through all they went through. She was financially self-sufficient and could have moved on to a better life, yet she never left - even after the kids were old enough to move out, she stuck by her vows.

When I called my friend to offer my belated condolences, her mother was at her house babysitting the grandchildren, so we talked for a while. She told me of the suffering her husband went through during the last few months, and was happy he was finally free of pain. There was so much peace and love in her words that I was speechless.

I told her how much I admired her strength and devotion through the years, although I doubt I could have done what she did, had I been in her place. Her reply was a simple one: “I loved him, and he wasn’t a bad man; he was only a sad man.” She went on to explain about his horrible childhood and the way he had changed and found peace in the last few years.

She loved him unconditionally, regardless of his demons. She knew she could not erase years of abuse, and had little hope of changing him, but always prayed that he would find inner healing. She told me that every time she prayed for him, she always did so for his higher good, and wished him to find his light. Not once had she asked to change who he was. Yet, he had changed. By embracing the hardship through her unconditional love she had confirmed something very important: Prayers should be sent for the highest good of the person we are praying for, not for our personal gain.

It is hard to wish well upon those who create strife in our lives, and when we do pray for them, we often ask that they change in ways that make them acceptable in our eyes, thus attempting one final time to control the unveiling of their destiny.

Try this today - whenever you see or think of a person you have issues with, just pray for them. Ask for their healing and nothing more; do so over and over again. By blessing them, you will indirectly bless and heal yourself.

Prayer changes things. It changes US. And our world will change as well, once we decide it is time to change ourselves.