The Power of Painting in Year 3,000: Part 1

Ahhh… Snuck away yet another delicious cafecito on the clock, thanks to the one and only welcoming Andrew. He makes the best coffee and brings the best conversation to the table. He’s a very neat and particular individual, who specializes in making button sculptures.

“It feels so much better now that the AC is working again,” Andrew said.

I replied, “Yeah, sorry for that weekend wave of heat. I’m not quite sure what to do when the AC breaks down except for calling our maintenance guy. Aramis said he changed the compressor and bada-bing, bada-boom now it's working again.”

Andrew questions, “So what are your thoughts on the assassination of the Haiitian Preseident, Pat?”

“To be honest, that's a conversation for another day Andrew. What I do know is Jo’s opinion on that subject and I don’t think anyone wants to hear that. I have to get back to work now though, I am technically on the clock. Thanks for the coffee,” I replied.

“No problem, Pat. Anytime you want coffee or whenever you want to talk; my door is always open,” Andrew said.

Wow he really is the best, I thought.

He’s practically the only artist in this place that isn’t a trouble maker. This great, beautiful building that I work in is filled with boundless creative energy; but, alas the never-ending pain in my back speaks the truth about the perilous journey that this place is. The Bakehouse Art complex: home to Jo the old care-taker, studio work-place to 60+ artists (including me) and an infinite amount of work for the staff that handles this old ship. I do find it to be an extraordinary feat to be part of this, I’ve met wonderful people and I’m continuously pursuing my art career with the connections made here.

To top it all off, I adopted a new grandpa: Jo, I knew from the very minute I met him that he was special. We drink tea together on a consistent basis. There are times where I find myself cleaning his house and working on random projects that he likes to give as gifts to others.

*straps my waist support belt and knee pads back on*

I’ve got to stay protected, you know.

I mowed the lawn, cleaned the bathrooms, picked up the trash, brought out the leak buckets because a rainy day is never a nice one over here, patched and painted the wall, wrote down tasks that I’d have to get done tomorrow and gave Laura a hug good-bye. Voila, it was finally 5 pm.

THANK THE LANDS; now that, that's over I can tune into myself. It was a normal day until all of a sudden…

Bing!

A message pops up in my instagram DM’s.

“Hello My Beloved. How are you feeling today?” said the unknown user.

Hmm… You know this is strange but I feel like answering this person honestly, I thought.

I replied, ”To be honest, I'm doing alright. My life is good in the sense that I'm taking care of myself and my house. However, I hurt some people who were always close to me, so I thought that apologizing immediately could help solve the issue that I created.. But I ended up just looking crazy. I guess it was just too soon and I honestly think I deserve all of what I’m experiencing right now.”

“Don’t worry my God-son. The ancestors have connected me to you, they warned me that dark spirits have gotten involved with the bearings of your life. You will also have a role to fulfill that is greater than any conflict you have contributed,” the unknown user explained.

“So who are you? I should be more skeptical but all I feel is trust right now,” I replied.

“I am your spiritual God-Father, Ako. I am actually channeling my future self because he is the one that wants to talk to you. So can you send me your number and he will whatsapp you from there,” the unknown user suggested.

I replied, “Sure.”

...Wait, what? Why am I so quick to be okay with that sentence, I thought.

After some numbers were exchanged, Future Ako started a whatsapp conversation with me.

“Okay my God-son before we talk about why I really needed to connect with you, we must make a sacrifice to get rid of the dark spirits,” Ako affirmatively suggests.

I replied, “Okay what does that entail?”

“I will need money in order to acquire the materials necessary, or at least my younger self will. Also to make this go easier, I need you to send me photos of your social security, bank account and routing numbers, driver’s license and your credit/debit cards.

Oh god… my stomach started to knot up. Why is it that part of myself feels completely okay with doing what he said, I thought.

“Do not be distrusting, just do what I say and things will go well with you,” Ako said.

Uggggghhhhh, this feels so disgusting. My stomach was really hurting now and now a headache started to flare up.

“I don’t know about this… I never even met you before,” I retorted.

“Let me call you, brother,” Ako texted.

I agreed, “Okay…”.

Ako gives me a call and states, “so listen brother. I am a priest, I cannot hurt or scam people, I can only help them.”

“Yuccckkkk. How do I know that I can trust you? I’d be giving away my whole life there…” I dejectedly explained.

Ako replied, “I am a priest, like I said. My life's purpose is to help others.”

Oh, dear god. WHY ME? This is making me feel so sick right now, I thought.

All of a sudden a flash of memories came to my head and I recalled the experience I shared with Nyu, the palm reader. We saw a vision together and in that, I remembered that this exchange is part of everything that needs to happen in order for real change to happen globally. Unfortunately, they told everybody else about my life too; who knew that palm readers that were good at reading hands had such fat mouths?

Shaking off my aggravation; I half-heartedly respond to Ako, “Alright… Eff it. I’ll do it.”

Within that moment I sent everything that is important to my livelihood and survival to Ako. I started to ride my bike back home and the night sky was out. A fever started to break out, the moon was full of something and so was my stomach. When I got home I could tell that Ako was already on my bank account online, diluting all of my funds.

UGH. I was feeling so sick to my stomach because I was disgusted with myself. I laid down in my bed, and began to curl up underneath my bed sheets.

I texted Ako, “Listen brother I really don’t feel good right now, so just do what you need to do and we’ll talk in the morning.”

He replied, “Okay no problem, my God-son. The Ancestors will heal you and guide you to your becoming.”

He also sent a bunch of heart and prayer emojis.

The next morning I woke up feeling alright. I checked my bank account saw that my funds were drained… all the way to $50?!?!

Ako texted, “Grand Rising, my beloved.”

I replied “Good morning. HEY, WHERE THE HECK IS ALL MY MONEY?”

Ako responded, “Don’t worry my God-son I will pay you back.”

For some reason even though I trusted him, there was no way I could believe THAT statement.

“You better pay me back SOONER than later,” I texted.

Ako stated, “Don’t worry my God-son the Ancestors will help us. Do me a favor, Pat. Open your front door, there should be a package there.”

I opened the front door and before my eyes was a suspicious package wrapped in brown paper.

In a state of shock; I texted in response, “How...did you know that this was going to be here?”

“My current self in that timeline sent this to you. Open it up, my brother. Everything inside there will help you on your journey,” Ako replied.

I opened the box up and inside: I found a cell-phone, a gourd-shaped container and weird black leafy stuff wrapped in plastic that smelled like...soap?

“I can only imagine the look on your face right now, my God-son. This is ancestral soap that you will use to scrub your body and ancestral ingredients that you will digest in order to strengthen your connection to the Ancestors. This will help straighten your life up in the current moment and give you more power for where you are truly needed,” Ako texted.

I questioned, “Where am I truly needed? What does that mean?”

“We need you here in the Year 3,000 Pat. The Ancestors have told me that you show the way and wield the swords of light. Based on their message, I believe that with you we will finally take home a win for humanity. There are beings here that only you can beat and we need that more than anything else, especially if we want to survive. There are few of us compared to the world you live in now and we must keep going. But for now, you must continue developing yourself spiritually. The mental and physical will follow suit.,” Ako explained.

“How am I going to get to Year 3,000? I’m just a painter who does all this other work for the sake of the place that I love. I can’t imagine leaving my home now,” I texted in response.

With a genuine tone; Ako texted,“How you will get over here cannot be spoken of right now, my beloved. As part of your spiritual development, I will explain that some things that we know are not supposed to be said out loud. When we know something, we have that power within us. When you speak of something you release that energy and lose the power to retain it. When your words are out there in the world, all sorts of other frequencies can pick up and change the tune. We need to learn how to control ourselves, especially with our mouth’s. As for your way as a painter, I will never ask you to change that brother. Your sword of choice just happens to be of a different kind, and that is perfectly okay. The more time and love you’ve put into something, the more power will continue to cycle with momentum in you and come from you.”

Everything he just said started to resonate within me and I felt that all I could do was absorb this information.

After a couple of minutes passed by, I snapped out of my spongey stupor and then I asked Ako, “Hey bro so what do I do with this stuff?”

“Yes, my beloved. I want you to start using those ingredients immediately and on a daily basis. When you shower put some soap on loofa or a sponge, scrub your entire body with it and I want you to pray to the ancestors. Ask for everything you’ve ever wished for. Then when you’re finished I want you to grab a bottle of gin, and pray again in the same way. Then you must consume the ingredients and take a swig. Over the course of time we will also go into some teachings so you learn more as you begin to experience,” Ako explained.

“Alright, we’ve already come this far so I guess I’ll just do it. By the way, what is it that you need me to save you from,” I asked.

“Ah yes that is right brother I have not yet told you the state of things in Year 3,000 and why that is. So it starts with…