From Suffering to Storytelling: What Ifá and Suassuna Teach Us
How the hardest moments in life become the deepest sources of wisdom.
Dear companions on the path,
Have you ever noticed that the stories we most need to tell are rarely the happiest ones?
The great Brazilian writer Ariano Suassuna once said:
“Everything good you live in life is bad to tell,
while everything bad you live in life is good to tell.”
At first glance, it sounds cynical. But what Suassuna reveals here is a deep truth not only about writing — but about living, healing, and understanding.
And surprisingly, this same truth flows through the sacred verses of Ifá.
What’s hard to live is rich to tell
In the sacred Odu Irosun Meji, we find a powerful Itan (myth) where Orunmila — the Orisha of wisdom and divination — is wrongfully imprisoned by Olofin along with other Babalawos. Imagine that: even Orunmila, the great seer, undergoes humiliation, powerlessness, and despair.
But from that painful experience, new revelations are born. It was not through peace and praise, but through trial and hardship that Orunmila taught us the enduring value of patience, justice, and self-restraint.
Pain becomes story. Story becomes wisdom. Wisdom becomes guidance. This is the cycle that Suassuna — a master griot in his own right — was speaking about.
Joy is lived, not explained. Pain is explained, then transformed.
There’s no great story in “everything went well.” You don’t stop someone on the street to tell them about a perfect day.
But the moment your heart breaks — or you fail, or you’re betrayed — that is when your soul starts crafting meaning. It’s when you sit down to write, pray, chant, cry. And something inside you starts to alchemize the pain into something else.
In the words of the Odu Otura Meji:
“The snake that does not crawl, does not learn the path.”
(Otura Meji)
If you don’t go through the difficult terrain, you don’t gain the wisdom to teach, to guide, to survive — or to help others do the same.
Storytelling as a Spiritual Act
Whether you are a writer, a spiritual seeker, a Babalawo, or simply a person carrying stories inside, remember this:
Your most difficult moments are not wasted.
They may one day save someone else.
They may help another person feel seen.
They may even help you reclaim the power of your own path.
This is not just literature. This is Ifá.
This is the legacy of Ọrúnmìlà.
Ask the Orisha...
Want to go deeper? Try asking the our personalized GPTs (supporting subscribers):
VOICE OF ORISHA: “How would Orunmila explain the importance of storytelling in healing?”
WISDOM OF IFÁ: “Which Odu teaches that our struggles shape our destiny?”
Stay blessed,
Ẹ ku iṣẹ́, ọmọ Àṣẹ.
May your wounds become wisdom, and your voice a vessel for truth.
Babá Tilo de Àjàgùnnà
DAILY IFÁ
Beautiful read 👏✨💚