Can Lightning Really Strike Twice … ?

The last three posts have been about my sudden … and Universe-orchestrated … foray into finding and marrying another life partner after the death of my husband, Ron.

My last post recounted a series of events that left me … all of me … finally feeling truly free to do so.  I’d cleared the blocks to moving forward … the ones that kept bringing me to my knees … literally!

I’d received messages in two pivotal dreams that told me it was okay to take another life partner … and it appeared Greg was “the one.”

It felt totally right, but some would say (and, hmm, did say!) this had all happened awfully fast … maybe too fast?  After all, Ron had only been gone for two years when Greg and I decided we’d marry.  And this after having known each other for only three months.

I didn’t feel any doubt, but then I hadn’t been so in tune with what had been going on in my subconscious mind to this point!  I clearly needed ongoing reinforcement that I’d made the right choice … and Ron knew it.

Ron offers his opinion

A few weeks before the wedding, I went back to the psychic medium I mentioned previously … the one who’d told me about finding another loving partner and marrying within three years. 

Once again, Ron came through to share a very meaningful message …

“Ron loves your new relationship.  It’s not the same.  Greg and you have a deep friendship – deeper than with Ron.  You do more things together because you have more in common.  It’s right; it’s what you need now.” 

This was reassuring.  It made sense … in all aspects.

First, my friendship with Greg was deeper.  It’s not that Ron and I weren’t close friends, because truthfully, we lived life joined at the hip!  But communication with Greg was much easier and more open.  Unlike with Ron, I felt I could talk to Greg about almost anything.

Second, I too had realized there were lots of things Greg and I enjoyed doing together … he was more active than Ron had been for several years, and more social than Ron had ever been.  Greg brought many new experiences into my life, which was a welcome breath of fresh air. 

Lastly, and most important of all, was that Greg could support me in the new path unfolding in my life … my foray into discovering life’s most fundamental secret:

We are not humans having a spiritual experience … we are spirits having a human experience. 

Supporting me in this spiritual exploration was not something Ron could do … his childhood programming ran too deep for him to understand and accept that I was delving into this invisible realm of reality.

But, Greg?  I knew that he didn’t always understand or agree with what I was learning, but that was fine … each of us learns what we need to learn, when we need to learn it.  All I needed was for him to be open and be prepared to listen … and he was.

This new phase of my life was a total break from my years of traditional, left-brained, analytical, business-focused, materialistic thinking and being … yet it was clearly the path I was intended to follow.

So, yes, a partnership with Greg was exactly what I needed right now … and it was deeply meaningful for me to have Ron acknowledge this, too.

Ron’s support continues

To emphasize his message, Ron continued to offer signs of his approval and encouragement, using a technique I was very familiar with by then …

The day before our wedding, I glanced at the pile of things I had assembled to pack for our weekend trip.  Sitting right there?  A dime.  Nice.  I stowed it away.

The day after the wedding, we came home.  In the bedroom … in the same spot … I was astounded to glance over and find another dime.

A few days later, we went to a movie … this time it was Greg who spied it.  On the floor directly in front of us … a dime.

Ron was persistent in letting us know he supported what we were doing.

And he didn’t stop there …

A musical tribute

Our first real trip away, a few months later, was to Florida … it was kind of like a honeymoon.  It was the midst of winter for us, so getting away to the sun, warmth, and beaches of the southern U.S. was a special treat … a romantic adventure.

And Ron was with us in spades!

There were a variety of cool happenings, but one experience in particular stands out for me … still to this day. 

We’d been having a wonderful time and found ourselves in Bonito Springs for a couple of nights … a beautiful spot on the west coast of Florida. 

The first evening, after Greg headed up to the room, I stayed at the bar for a bit and ended up chatting with a couple.  During our discussion, they highly recommended a restaurant and encouraged us to check it out one night for dinner.  So, the next night, Greg and I followed their suggestion. 

(I thought nothing of this at the time … you know, people regularly recommend food and sightseeing spots to others.  But now that I’m reflecting on this experience, I wonder if this really was a “chance” meeting, in light of what happened next … )

When we left the restaurant after dinner, we walked into the warm night air and came upon two talented singers performing in the piazza for the gathered crowd.

They were just finishing a song as we arrived and proceeded to launch into an uninterrupted series of songs …

A playlist that absolutely hit me between the eyes, with a force that almost knocked me off my feet!  

The performance started, and the first song I heard was “Dream the Impossible Dream.”  This immediately brought me to a standstill. 

It was Ron’s and my wedding song. 

Having grabbed my attention so completely, I knew something might be afoot.  Ron, is that you?  I kept listening with rapt attention.

Next was a song I hadn’t heard before, but the refrain made its significance absolutely clear … “Up there, looking after you.”

On its heels came “Endless Love” … followed immediately by “My Heart Will Go On.”  The message was unmistakable … love never dies, and ours is eternal.

“Lara’s Theme” was up next … reinforcing this litany of love messages from Ron, this being his all-time favourite song.

Then, “The Music of the Night” … the Phantom of the Opera theme song … a favourite musical of ours we had seen more than once.  And I’ve always thought that was the reason it was in this list … until just this minute. 

While writing this post, I was moved to look up the lyrics to this song.  Wow.  The first verse really says it all …

In sleep he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me and speaks my name
And do I dream again?

For now I find
The Phantom of the Opera is there
Inside my mind

• Andrew Lloyd Webber

Ron had come to me in a powerful dream, more than once.  I knew he had been with me during the nights early on.  He was telling me he will still always be there, whenever I need him … I just have to reach out to him in my thoughts.

And the final song that closed out the list … “Amazing Grace” … was the icing on the cake, bringing me full circle to the top of the playlist …  

Because this was the song Ron had most wanted to be our wedding song.

Seven songs in all … each one exceptionally meaningful … one right after the other.  I stood there transfixed, tears spilling down my face. 

It reminded me of fireworks … you know, that last burst that’s so intense and prolonged to signify the grand finale?  Yeah, it was like that … like Ron saying,

“It’s time to say farewell.  I love you. I will always love you and will be there whenever you need me.  And it’s okay … I’ll see you again, but I know you’re in good hands.  Trust you’re where you’re meant to be.”

Amazing … even now, many years later, I still feel the tears well up.

Ron continues to drop in from time to time

I haven’t heard from Ron as often since then, but he does still make his presence known periodically ….

Just over a year ago, Greg and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  Since we were in the midst of the second wave of Covid, we stayed around home, heading to a local hotel in downtown Victoria for a special dinner and overnight getaway.

The next morning, we checked out and walked across the hotel driveway toward our car.  In the middle of the road, right where we crossed? 

You guessed it!  A dime ….

Does lightning strike twice … ?

So, Ron … and Spirit … seemed quite adamant that this was the right thing for me to do … that Greg was indeed the person I was now meant to be with.

Were they right … ?

A year after I’d met Greg, I suddenly remembered the list of criteria I’d put out to the Universe as I enlisted the Law of Attraction to help find my new life partner. I’d filed it away and in the excitement of the preceding year, had forgotten all about it. 

So, I dug it out to see how he fared. 

Out of the 46 criteria I’d listed for a new partner?  Greg checked off 44 ….  Yup, forty-four!  Seriously!

And the other two?  Although not literally met, like his age, they were actually met in spirit … uh, so to speak.

Yes, it appears Greg was clearly who I was meant to spend the rest of this life with. 

Question asked … and answered

I then realized the answer to a question I’d asked myself early on … Why was it important that the Universe get me out to Fairwinds?  A seed it had planted years earlier … (as told in My Back Story Part 3).

This was a small community on the outer west coast of Canada, and it was a lot of disruption to get here, only to have Ron die a couple of months after arriving.  So seriously, why here?

But the answer was now abundantly clear … in addition to meeting my new spiritual and healing community through the Reiki-share group, I had come here to find Greg.

Spirit has our back … always

Early on, it just felt right when I opened my heart and let Greg in.  Then both Ron and Spirit made it clear this was a good move.

For sure, taking this step was a big decision.  I’d had a 21-year marriage to the love of my life, frequently describing myself as having been “struck by lightning” because the depth of love with Ron felt so rare, so special. 

Would this be a tough act to follow?  Uh, yeah, you could say that … if you were a master of understatement!

But you know what made all the difference for me in making this decision?  Realizing I wasn’t on my own to figure it out …. 

I had Ron’s help from the Other Side.  I drew on the Law of Attraction.  I paid attention to Spirit’s signs, messages, and nudges along the way. 

Together, it all paved the way for making this life-changing decision … well, frankly, easy. 

Spirit continues its support

And after these many years, in case I ever begin to doubt it, I recently had another reaffirming sign from Spirit.  It came from Iceland … meaningful because this is my ancestry, through Mom’s family.

Following a tip passed along from a friend of his … out of the blue … Greg found an unusual necklace made in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.  Partly as a nod to my lineage, he contacted the store to buy it and have it shipped here for me. 

But in addition to it coming from Iceland, the necklace was even more special because it conveyed a meaningful message …

The pendant on the chain is a stylized version of an Icelandic word … one that means “love, affection or devotion.” 

Beautiful.

This Icelandic word?  Ást. 

My husband’s name?  Ast.

Yes, the Universe works in mysterious ways.  And the more we know about them, the easier, less stressful, and more joyous life becomes. 

In all ways … including relationships …

You see, anyone who’s been in a relationship knows, regardless of how strong and deep it is, it is not always smooth sailing.  In fact, you could say “the seas were a little rough” around here as I embarked on writing this last series of posts. 

But the stories and experiences I resurrected to share with you became my lifeboat … reassurance that all is as it should be … filling me with peace, until the waters calmed, and the sun inevitably shone brightly once more.

So, for those of you who have lost the love of your life, I can tell you without a doubt in my heart, the answer is …

Yes, lightning really can strike twice ….