that moment when you realize you and j. cole share the same controversial view of god

"See I believe if God is real, he'll never judge a manBecause he knows us all and therefore he would understand"

That's just a couple bars from J. Cole's latest album - 4 Your Eyez Only and I must say they are my favorite lines on the entire album. If you are a fan of his then you know he got plenty of bars to choose from but these few lyrics really resonate with me, not only because it is featured on one of my favorite songs, Change but also due to its deeper meaning. And when I heard this record for the first time, I realized that J. Cole and I share a very similar, if not the same, controversial view of God.

You see, there is a duality with everything in life. There's black and white, big and small, male and female, love and fear and I could go on and on with simple examples but I'm sure you get my point. There's even a duality with how we view God. Some people, who usually follow certain religious practices, view God as a vengeful being who will damn people to hell if they do not follow a certain righteous path. Others, like myself and J. Cole, believe in a more accepting God that loves unconditionally and would never judge any of his/her creation because he/she knows and understands all, even if we, mere mortals, have no idea why a person would do such a horrific action towards another. Granted, there is a lot of gray area in the middle but the majority of people have a tendency to lean towards one extreme or another. For J. Cole, he leans towards the second view of God, which ironically, is the more controversial belief in our society because it goes against many religious doctrines. In his new Eyez Documentary, that shows the making of his newest LP, Cole shows his strong alignment with this way of thinking, when someone tells him a crazy true story about a young man who, after a major blowup with his family, commits an unfathomable crime.

As you can see from the video clip, he truly follows the latter perspective of God, making him able to shift the scope, even in this extreme case, from the murderer being deemed as a "bad kid" to a "good kid" at heart who went down the wrong path due to issues and other major mishaps.  In addition, he believes everyone should really view others from this vantage point, no matter their race, which shows great compassion and unconditional love towards humanity. I also wouldn't be surprised, if this empathy stems from witnessing so many men and women who look like him being mistreated and prejudged due to a false narrative of being "bad" when really the narrative should've been about the institutional oppression that happens while being Black. If you think about it, this viewpoint could influence a positive shift in police brutality,  the prison system and mental health awareness. However, all of these drastic changes would have to start at the root - the Spirit and that may be the hardest aspect to change, leading us into a never-ending debate that will never get resolved anytime soon.

So in the meantime, I'll turn up J. Cole's song and remember that "Life is all about the evolution" and keep being open to the many layers of God, the Universe and what it all means, which leads me to you guys. Let's have a conversation about this. 

What are your thoughts on this duality with God? Is it possible to see a gray area? And how do you feel about J. Cole and I's stance on it all? Let's talk about it!

my sister & a sprig of rosemary: a funny story on the power of synchronicity

Have you ever planned a major meal and browsed through your local grocery store only to find out that a major ingredient is missing? Have you ever felt the heartbreak of such a tragic event when your entire menu seems to crumble into pieces even if you have all the other ingredients for everything else? You simply want to give up your chef’s hat and walk away in defeat but then, something miraculous happens and you know that God is on the look out for the cookout - literally.

Let me tell you the story about my sister and a sprig of rosemary. So this past weekend, my sister planned this elaborate meal for a belated Thanksgiving family celebration. Being the good sister I am, I met up with her the day before to help her prepare for the occasion, including grocery shopping. While going up and down the aisles, we both gathered the necessary items that were on our list with ease until something absolutely horrifying stopped us in our tracks -

There.

was.

no.

rosemary.

via GIPHY

We searched throughout the spice section in hopes to find any brand of rosemary but there was nada, nothing, zilch! I could see the anguish in my sister’s eyes and she told me that the chicken stock would not be the same without this key ingredient. After staring at the sparse section of seasonings, we eventually continued our shopping, a little more empty than we were when we arrived. There was a hole inside of us, especially my sister who was cooking the whole meal, that only that savory rosemary could fill.

To make ourselves feel somewhat better, we decided to put all the groceries away and go out to eat since cooking was out of the question at this point. Also, we love food a little too much. We went to a pretty fancy diner that really felt more like a cozy restaurant; and I immediately went towards the comfort food because the devastation was too much to bare without a warm dinner and a soothing drink. So my sister got her go-to dish - huevos rancheros. She was oddly in the mood for Mexican food. Hey, whatever makes you cope the best. For me, I got meatloaf, mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Now, this is when the hand of God was at work. My plate of food came out first and was placed right in front of me. My sister immediately noticed something magnificent at the center of my mashed potatoes -

A

sprig.

of.

rosemary.

via GIPHY

The way her eyes lit up, you would’ve thought she saw Mother Mary. Who knows? Perhaps, she had something to do with this incredible intervention from God. I mean really, what are the odds that a sprig of rosemary would be standing at attention in the middle of my mashed potatoes, like “Hey…you were looking for me”?

My sister quickly realized, more than ever before, the power of synchronicity and how awesome God can be during times of trouble. God can part the seas for a sprig of rosemary. God can put the thought in my head to get meatloaf (which I rarely get) in order to align everything just right for my sad sister. Her frown turned all the way up into a big smile and I turned into the best little sister ever by laughing at her excitement all the way home.

So let this story be a friendly reminder that when you are aligned with your purpose, God, the Universe, the All That Is, the Source will work with you to see it through, even if your purpose at the moment is cooking the best chicken stock that was hardly used.