March 19, 2014
15 years ago did you know who you were? Did you know who was going to be a key part of your plan? Yeah, I didn’t either. I set out on this journey and haven’t looked back, I haven’t needed too because everything and everyone I need is right here and yet to be met.
I make a good part of my living from work on craigslist, and recently a client asked me how I felt about how we met. I don’t believe I have ever met anyone on accident or by coincidence. He was a film director and writer, who I later had a conversation with and found out he was from Morocco, went to school in France and came to Los Angeles to live the myth of making something from nothing. Coincidence?
My journey has led me to many people from all walks of life, to many different places and through many different challenges. You never know where this spiral will take you. When I was growing up every time I moved to a new city, I would walk up and down for blocks to miles so the people could see I was there with them. I didn’t even know what that meant at the time. When I got older I would smoke a blunt walking down the street like a peace offering, and I’ve met many a people I call brothers and sisters like that. I remember walking down Azusa Ave, smoking and freestyling, and across the street someone was freestyling and pouring their heart out damn near screaming. We both started to walk towards the island in the middle of the street and starting rapping together; building an energy I would later become very familiar with. I’ll never forget that night or that person.
As a youth I didn’t understand the things I was doing, but knew they were making me who I am today. Reading books like The Teachings of Don Juan led me to a path that felt like home. In a world where survival and self-preservation are the lessons of the day, one has to be a warrior. A warrior of heart, compassion, and discipline; and much more. We all walk our own path, and in this existence we don’t walk alone. It’s because of the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen that allow me to do what I was placed here to do. The next time your on the outside of four walls, take a look around. You’re not alone. 13 love family!
Joseph J.O. Cesena
@followJOmusic
