In order to understand this proverb, we have to understand that for the Lucumí life and death are two halves of a single whole.  We can't talk about how you die without first talking about how you live.  Here, knowledge is not only the accumulation of information and skills that comes from formal instruction and training.  There are many ways to gain knowledge, especially when we think of knowledge as a broad and deep understanding of how the world works and the place of human beings in it.  People who sit quietly and observe, who reflect and generate ideas based on observation and experience, who pay attention to what's happening around them and interpret correctly what they see are people who "know" in the most profoundest sense of the word.  They understand why they and others do what they do, they know if it's right or wrong, and they can foresee the consequences of their actions and choices.  No one can know the future, but people who "know" themselves and the world around them have a pretty good idea of what the possibilities are, and they're prepared to deal with them as they develop.

Because they know, they can't use ignorance as an excuse for making the wrong choices or doing the wrong thing. They're conscious of their actions and motives, and they can't pretend otherwise.  They have a responsibility to live correctly, because they know the difference between right and wrong.  For example, if they steal money from the place they work,  they know it's wrong to steal, and they know what the likely outcome will be. When they're caught, they can't say they didn't "know" what they were doing.  They did know and, still, they made a bad choice.  This reflects a lack of good character and shows a behavioral flaw, and they lose people's respect because of their foolish choices.

Those who know also have a responsibility to share knowledge with those who don't know.  Children are the ones we're most responsible for teaching, but there are many adults who never developed the kind of awareness or consciousness that makes them thinking beings. They go through life in a fog, never putting their thoughts together in a coherent way to make sense out of things.  It's not a lack of intelligence but, rather, a lack of concentration and self-discipline that makes them ignorant.  They don't learn from past mistakes, they don't take responsibility for their actions, they don't see the consequences of their behavior.  They repeat the same error and never understand why it's wrong.  Often, these are the people who are the quickest to say "I know" when they don't know. They don't want to listen, they don't want to learn, they're convinced that they "know" and they dismiss people who could teach them something.  Their egos won't allow them to be humble and admit they might not know everything, or that someone else might know more than they do.  Their automatic defense when anyone challenges their thinking is to say "I know" and, in that way, they avoid an opportunity for learning.  Usually, they aren't aware of what they're doing, and don't understand why they're having problems.  They don't "know" what they need to know, and therefore, they can't live in a way that's really meaningful.

A person who knows will die in a way that's different from the person who doesn't know. Why?  Because the person who knows, who has gone through life with heightened awareness and understanding of the world and the people in it, has made sense of his life.  His life has had meaning, and his death is the natural conclusion to it, a fulfillment of the destiny he chose for himself in Arun (heaven) before he was born.  He can't avoid death, but he needn't fear it or dread it. It becomes part of a natural whole for him. Death comes at the time and in the way it's supposed to come; it will be the final fulfillment of his destiny.  The person who doesn't know, who doesn't understand life or his role on earth, will feel nothing but confusion when faced with death. If his life has been meaningless, so will his death be.   

This refran talks not only about the importance of knowing, or being aware, but also about the importance of being open to knowledge and wisdom others want to share with you. It talks about the responsibility of sharing what you know, and the responsibility of living in accordance with your beliefs, knowledge and experience. In other words, it requires you to be aware and let that awareness guide you through life, so you can walk on the right path and reach your final destiny at the time and place it awaits you.

This proverb is well known in the Spanish-speaking world and isn't linked only to the Lucumí  religion in Cuba.  It probably has its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition of medieval Spain, but it expresses an idea that is typical of the Lucumí worldview.  Irosun (4) talks about the inability to see what's in front of our eyes and the complex nature of human perception.  The way we interpret what we're seeing depends on what we're thinking and feeling at any given moment in time, on our life experience, our mindset, our belief system.   At a later date, especially with the benefit of hindsight, we might see the same thing in a different light and understand it in a new way.  Irosun reminds us that we can't see what lies beyond the horizon, or what has not come into being yet. We can only imagine it in our mind's eye, and we might be wrong, so we have to keep our eyes open and be prepared to rethink our vision of things if the need arises.  

Osa (9) speaks about change and transformation that comes into our life like a storm, clearing away all the things that once existed and creating a space for something new.  Most humans don't like sudden change, especially when it involves things totally out of our control.  When we're in the middle of a hurricane, we can't tell what's coming or going, what's up or down.  The force of change is overwhelming and often scary because it erases the familiar and substitutes it with the unknown.

Life goes in cycles and brings us both good and bad things.  We get hit with moments of loss, hardship, crisis, upheaval, and when we're in the middle of those things, it's hard to believe that anything good can come of it.  Of course it's overly simplistic to tell someone who's just lost his job that "something good will come of it."  For the person who's worried about how to pay the bills, or unsure when a new job might appear, or for the person who genuinely liked the old job and wanted to keep it, it's upsetting to experience this kind of loss.  Yet, very often a new job comes along that's better, or the person is prompted to change careers and do something more interesting or perhaps even move to a new location and meet new people, starting a whole new life elsewhere.  The end of something opens a space for the beginning of something else.  It's just a matter of shifting your perspective, to see the good when only the bad is staring you in the face.

Some hardships are especially difficult to bear, and they can linger much longer than we want them to.  The world is full of tragedy, sickness, loss, and death, and some of these events are devastating.  But, the people who live through them usually acquire great emotional, spiritual, even physical strength. They discover they're capable of bearing the pain, dealing with the difficult issues, surviving the loss, and they're still glad to be alive, despite the pain they suffered.  They go on to construct new lives.  They didn't want anything bad to happen, but they had to live through it because there was no other option. Coming out the other side allows people to shift their perspective, to find something new that inspires or uplifts them so they can anticipate a future that's brighter and gradually put the past behind them.

Lucumí tradition teaches us that good and bad are connected; if we weren't aware of the existence of one, we wouldn't be able to perceive the other. The contrast between the two is what gives both meaning.   The good isn't necessarily born from the bad, but passing through the bad first makes us appreciate and value the good that comes later.  Sometimes old words of wisdom are more than a cliché. They speak universal truths about the nature of human life.