woo hoo! or, Oya visits

Tigrette wrote me a great note saying:

It's just Mamaaaaaa Magic! Yes, It is!

I got a job. An incredible job. Doing good work. Making a difference, getting paid well and working with people who are smart, humble and earthy.

A strong part of me is sad that Cliffy didn't have the courage to wait for me, for this job to come through. But some foundation in me, some root is quivering with the good fortune that was given to me in not being with Cliffy now. Better now than to have waited for something horrible, like a family death or incredible illness, and find myself without support.

I have been writing my play, which circles around Oya, the orisha of wind, the guide for the newly dead, the woman warrior, the woman who survives hardships and is stronger for them.

Today I worked on the warnings she gives. While I didn't find a color code like the government's, I did develop, based on her stories, a list of warnings.

1st warning: Lightening that does not touch the sky. She is reminding us to look at our actions.

2nd warning: Strong wind before a storm, and the storm. She is more tangible, reminding us of the correct way to walk.

3rd warning: Tornado. She is walking the earth. Something on the earth needs her attention.

4th warning: Hurricanes, monsoons, tsunamis, other major water expressions. Watch out.

But in each destructive act, there is regrowth and development, a chance for true change.

Makes me think of Hurricane Katrina and how quickly people of color journalists and bloggers and community members were, despite the tragedy, hopeful that real change could be made - that life could be turned completely for the better. That, I see, takes hope too. Well, that and belief in the commitment and work needed to manifest hope.