Stop Running From Your Destiny

One leg of water
One leg of mound
Cast divination for Saasoni omo Oore l'otun
When he was vulnerable in the world
This year, he will overcome difficulties hanging on his neck
He was asked to offer the cutlass in his hand
He heard about the offering and performed it
There is a palm tree in his farm that has difficulty around its neck
If the difficulty is not on top of it, it will be on the bottom
He should go there and pour it away completely
When he arrived and cleared the palm tree,
He decided to climb it to obtain some palm seeds
He saw a woman on the ground, who is the eldest wife of Olofin
She was carrying a covered calabash
She hid it inside a mound and quickly ran away
Saasoni came down to check on what was hidden
He was surprised to see it was a newborn baby
He thought about it for a while: What should I do?
Finally, he took the baby to Olofin 
- Holy Odu IreteOtura

Here is the story of the baby:
We gave a beautiful young lady to Olofin to marry. Olofin gave the young lady to his eldest wife to take care of. The eldest wife employed the young lady as a maid. Until she reached maturity. The eldest wife did not like to discuss this young maid with Olofin. One day, soldier ants entered the eldest wife's room so she could not sleep there. She commanded the maid to sweep out the soldier ants. The young lady worked on this through the middle of the night until she fell asleep in the hallway of the room. As Olofin came to meet his eldest wife he did not see her. Instead he saw the young lady in the hallway. In short time, the young lady had a beautiful child. The eldest wife became envious. She decided not to tell Olofin the young lady gave birth to a male child. 

The eldest wife blindfolded the young lady during her labor. She exchanged the baby for a red grinding stone. She took the red stone to Olofin. They investigated the matter but the eldest wife stuck to her story. She claimed the young lady birthed the grinding stone. It was this new born baby the eldest wife covered in a calabash and hid in the mound. Saasoni omo Oore l'otun saw this and brought the child to the king. Olofin gave him plenty of property and kept this a secret. He gave the child to someone to take care of for four years. One day, the king had a feast and called all his chiefs. The chiefs dressed extravagantly. But the king wore rags. He authorized the young lady to wear rags as well. When they all sat down. They brought out a child with brass on his leg who plodded through the crowd. The child then walked between the chiefs and stopped in front of Olofin and his mother. 

They say that you will run into your destiny in the process of trying to escape it.  Some things are inevitable.  The king must perpetuate his lineage. The queen must support the king. The maiden must introduce a bright, new future.  Child must continue what his father started.  The Babalawo must relate what Ifá has said.  All that remains is for the seeker to complete the sacrifice in full. 

In this instance, the catalyst was a total under dog. He was merely trying to remove his burden. But in the process of complying with the directives of Ifá, he rescued the entire kingdom.  You too have the capacity to perform small acts that have huge impact on your life and the lives of the people you're destined to serve.  The key is to practice wisdom over cleverness, discipline over indulgence and patience over hastiness.  Live the medicine. 

Obafemi Origunwa, | www. ObafemiO. com