I Screamed "Fly Tiyi, Fly!" — A Dream About Remembering I Had Wings

A good friend — someone who always compliments me, always lifts me up — looked at me and said: "You look old. Your skin looks bad. Did you wash your face?"

I was shocked. He's never said anything like that. But I looked in the mirror and saw thick mud flaking off my face. Horrible. I touched it and it started to peel. I said, "I've got to wash this off." He nodded, confident like he knew it would work.

Then I was in houses. Marital problems. Family issues. In-laws. Chaos. I was quiet. Listening. The men spoke to me. The women couldn't see me. Like I was their spiritual advisor. Or a ghost.

Then I started falling into water.

Cliffs. Earth giving way. Pushing. Drowning. I can swim — but I fear deep water with currents. Icy cold. Muddy. Filled with glass. Roaring rapids.

I knew I was going to die.

I screamed: "NO NO NO! I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

I went under. Icy mud. Glass. Currents tossing me. I thought about death.

I must have passed out. Because next thing I knew, I was falling through the air — about to hit the ground.

And I screamed:

"FLY TIYI, FLY!"

I moved my arms like a bird. And I glided back up. Shocked. Relieved. I said it again and flew higher. Then I said: "Now land softly."

And I did. I woke up. Chaos over.

What I Woke Up Knowing

I need to deepen my spiritual journey. No wine. No marijuana. No shrooms. Deep prayer. Serve my clients. Focus.

If I focus after all this chaos, my home will be saved.

I have a stye on my eye. It came to a head. Crust this morning. Relief.

I'm sitting here. In bed. Typing this. And I feel the pull to go to my ancestor altar and just sit.

The Message

I was drowning. But I was never meant to drown.

I was falling. But I always had wings.

The mud was not my face. The chaos was not my home. The fear was not my truth.

I just forgot I could fly.

For Anyone Who Needs to Hear This

If you've been drowning in survival, in fear, in chaos — remember you have wings.

You don't have to fight the currents. You can rise above them.

Your power is in rising. Not in fighting.

Now Land Softly

Sit at your altar. Let your ancestors remind you who you are.

You have wings.

You always did.