I’m standing in the heart of Old Delhi and people are everywhere. No really, like everywhere.
The street corner I’m currently occupying has to be the most densely populated street corner on the face of the earth. It’s complete chaos. Vendors are selling. Prayers are blaring. Vehicles are zipping. Everybody is yelling. But it’s completely chaotic in a totally harmonious way. Just Mother India doing Her thing. I dig it.
And here I am, a white-skinned, blue-eyed dot with his map out, camera around his neck, and tennis shoes on. In this scenario, let’s just call me “bait with a backpack.” Or as we’d say in college, I’m that guy. And that guy has twenty-five tuk-tuk drivers following every tennis-shoed move of his. Seriously, I’d be stalking me too.
But the thing is, I like to walk and don’t think I need a ride. The spots I’m hitting up I’ve been told are directly across the street. A street that I take two steps into and quickly realize that 1) I value my life, and 2) If I’m to continue said life, I undoubtedly need a guide to part the seas. Tuk-tuk!
My driver’s name is Raksha. Raksha is twenty-one years young, curious, and smooth.
“You are from USA?”
“Yep,” I respond.
“Let me guess, California?” I chuckle, because we’re clearly all from California, right?
“Nope, Missouri is home.”
Raksha doesn’t understand.
“Middle of country,” I add. Raksha nods.
As we cruise through the chaos, I GoPro the ride. Raksha is a master on three wheels, avoiding one wreck after another all while maintaining our speed. He’s like Dale Earnhardt on a rickshaw. He knows his stuff too. Building or temple, Raksha has the scoop.
After a five minute ride, we reach the destination – the Old Delhi spice market, the biggest wholesale spice market in all of Asia. Raksha parks to let me explore. The spices are so pure and so strong that they move me to sneezing… literally.
“Now I show you best view in city, this way!”
(I kind of wanted to enjoy the spicy goodness a bit longer, but what the hell, On with the view!).
So I trail Raksha close behind. As he passes the last vendor, a boy no more than eleven, they exchange sly smiles. A moment later, when I pass the boy, he shakes his head and gives me a very direct cut-throat gesture. Boy do I not get Indian humor.
I politely smile back and he resumes his business.
Within a minute or so, the crowds have all but disappeared, as Raksha and I turn left down a sunless alley, and then right towards a stone stairwell.
“Best view in city, this way!” Again, I continue to follow.
One flight of steps… Raksha points at something rather insignificant.
Two flights of steps…. Raksha is running low on words.
Two-and-a-half flights of steps…. the vibration has drastically simmered and a once confident Raksha can no longer look me in the eye.
Three flights of ste…. THE BOY!
“I’m ready to go now, Raksha,” I command.
“You can trust. View at very top, the best!”
“Nope, I’m good. I’ll see you back in the market,” and I quickly exit the vicinity.
(Word to the wise: when a guy’s first response mentions trust and you haven’t accused him of anything, he just told on himself. And if it also happens to be in an abandoned building, without a soul in sight, in one of the most populated cities in the world, get the hell out of there).
A little bit of logic can be a whole lot of divine. @tjolwig (Click to Tweet!)
What lied atop those stairs, I’ll never know for sure, but it certainly wasn’t a view. What I do know is that omens, signs, clues, Youniversal guidance, guardian angels, divine U-turns, they exist to assist.
Some have wings and a halo, or show up as a license plate or flat tire, sometimes they’re children… selling turmeric and cinnamon on an Old Delhi street corner.
How has your intuition guided you lately? Is your soul open, which keeps you in tune with the wisdom of the Youniverse? Share your story in the comments below!
T.J. Olwig is the writer and creator behind the blog Keepin’ It Light, what he calls an “opportunity to live consciously.” When he’s not writing, you can find him in a coffee shop, yoga studio or on the road. Currently, he’s traveling the country with his yellow lab Gus and Betty White (that’s his car). The goal? To play fetch in all 50 states. He calls it “Fetch in 50.” You can follow him on Twitter, IG or FB.
