A Magical Story About My Granddad

When I was 10 years old, my granddad passed away. I've never had a super close connection to him, but I do remember noticing, even at a young age, that he had a huge presence, which was intimidating for my little shy self. He was very well known around my hometown, Philadelphia, for his activism in the 1960s and 70s. Also, he was pretty popular across the country for his social work. He was so well loved by the community that I vaguely remember Philadelphia's first poet laureate, Sonia Sanchez performing her signature spoken word at his funeral. Since then, I've thought about him sometimes, curious about his life and what he is up to on the other side. I've also talked to him while in prayer whenever a family problem occurred and I'd like to think he helped mend some brokenness in my extended family as a result. However, I never really knew if he was actually there for me until one magical night many years after his passing.

I was in my late twenties, going through the motions of life. On this particular night, I was extremely vulnerable and emotional, crying profusely and praying for a hug. After a long night, I went to bed and had a dream that I'll never forget.

my granddad :)

I was on a crowded bus with some people that I apparently knew but in real life, I didn't know at all. There were many conversations happening around me but I was quiet, looking around, trying to figure out where I was exactly. Soon after, I got off the bus, unsure if it was the right stop. I realized my friends weren't with me so it must've been the wrong one but I kept walking anyway down this winding road that led to the most beautiful pathway I've ever seen. It was kind of like a golden alleyway between two gorgeous buildings that were literally covered with flowers. The flowers were nothing like I've ever seen while on Earth and the colors were so vivid, even their hues were unnoticeable to my human self.  Once I walked down this short magical pathway, I ended up at a mall in the basement lobby area. It actually reminded me of an actual mall in Philly, The Liberty Place. When I opened the door, I was greeted by one of my older co-workers who I actually do know in this life. We made a little small talk and then in mid-conversation, I looked over to see my granddad.

He had on a long black trench coat and I believe he had on a matching top hat as well if I remember correctly. I wish I could fully articulate how I felt when I saw him. I guess the closest I could compare it to is when you are a kid and you think you are not getting any Christmas presents but then you come down on Christmas day and you see all the gifts you wanted for the holidays. It was like that times ten. My heart was filled with so much love and I was just so damn excited to see him after so many years. I went right back to my 10-year-old self and said "Granddad!!!" and immediately hugged him.

It was the warmest hug ever.

After our lovely embrace, he joked about how young he looked compared to the last time I saw him. I must admit - my granddad was looking good out here in these heavenly streets. He was slimmer, had darker hair and lost all his wrinkles from the last time I saw him, similar to the picture above. We both laughed at his funny joke and then suddenly, I woke up.

With my eyes barely open, my mind began to race with happy thoughts and I felt much better than I did the night before. I truly believe my granddad made a special visit to give me what I prayed for - a hug and I am so thankful for the love he showed when I needed it the most. So I am sharing this story to let you know that the power of prayer is real and you never know who could be listening to answer it for you.

Now, I am curious if any of you guys have had similar supernatural/spiritual experiences like mines. If so, please share! I love reading stories like these.

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!