How The Signs Helped Us Navigate The Changes
Changes mean you get to grow your wings
The Changes
I could remember snippets of the dream I had just had. It was one of a series of intense dreams which were all pointing to big changes.
I’ve gone through a few big changes over the years but once my wife, Helaine, and I settled in California, stability became the norm — the same job, a happy marriage, and a lovely home in California for the last 25 years.
But in these dreams, I was moving from one part of the country to another, changing from one job to another and they were stirring something deep inside me.
They were telling me it was time for a change.
Change was coming. No, change was already here. Things were already shifting quickly on the inside it was only a matter of time before my outer life would catch up.
My wife and I had talked about moving before, but always as something we would do in the future or when we retire. But this time I wanted to start planning for it right away.
When I brought it up, she said what any good wife would say: “Absolutely not!”
I felt a pull towards these changes that I couldn’t deny, but I wasn’t going to deny my marriage. So I decided to let things be and turned it over to Spirit.
If it’s meant to be it will happen.
Life is a journey, and much of what happens to us is not in our control.
My wife was a teacher and teaching was something she truly enjoyed but the past year brought changes.
A new principal took over and reviewed her salary. “You’re making too much money. We’ll either need to cut your pay or give you more hours.”
This was unheard of, and Helaine decided it was time to move on.
There were plenty of teaching jobs posted and she applied to several but there was one school she had personal connections with and believed she would be hired.
She wasn’t.
Not a single application led to an interview, and this was at a time when there was a shortage of teachers.
Helaine’s job was ending, and with no new job presenting itself, she relented.
“Ok, we can move!”
It was meant to happen.
The Waking Dreams
We had upgraded our front yard and added some new plants and trees. One of the new additions was a cherry tree, rounding out the peach and nectarine trees that we’d had for many years.
This year the trees did something new.
Fruit trees are often grafted onto a rootstock of a different type of tree. The cherry tree sprouted a new branch from the roots that quickly grew tall, challenging the size of the original stem.
Come summer the cherry tree gave us two types of fruit — cherries, as expected — and plums from the stem that had sprung from the roots.
The nectarine which had been a dwarf variety always tried to make new shoots from the roots. We had diligently cut them back, as we had been instructed. But this year I decided to let them go and see what would happen.
As it turned out the nectarine was grafted onto a peach rootstock and the new shoots produced some delicious peaches.
This was a waking dream.
Two trees began to bear a new type of fruit at the same time.
Through the trees in our front yard, Helaine and I were shown that we had potential that had not been realized, and it was time to reach that potential. There was more than one kind of fruit we could produce and more than one kind of work we were capable of.
And the new work would be closer to our essence — the rootstock.
The Butterflies
As we began our journey from California to our new home state in Colorado, I noticed a peculiar thing: There were butterflies everywhere I looked. Real ones, yes, but also ornaments hanging from a car mirror, in a garden, or on posters.
Our road trip lasted about a week and butterflies showed up in one way or another every single day.
I soon realized this was another waking dream.
Butterflies are the result of a miraculous transformation. They start as caterpillars, then pupate, and eventually emerge as a new creature with giant wings.
How this works exactly is baffling.
During the pupa stage the caterpillar turns to mush, then the mush is somehow reassembled into a butterfly.
How?
One of nature’s miracles.
I got the message loud and clear. Our move was to facilitate a transformation. From caterpillar to butterfly. From a creature that crawls to one that flies.
We were about to enter our pupa stage. This is the uncomfortable period when you’re no longer a caterpillar, and not yet a butterfly. For us, it was trying to figure out what was next.
If you think it might be hard to become a butterfly you are right. It was. But what could we do?
If you are a caterpillar, it is your destiny to become a butterfly.
Spiritual changes mean you get to grow your wings, and then you fly.
The Right Track
Leaving the state we’d called home for more than a quarter century wasn’t easy. Before the move, we visited Colorado to look for a place to rent.
The internet showed many homes for rent but when we got there, nothing seemed to work. The first one was a dump and that was not a good sign.
Were we really making the right move?
Helaine was ready to call it off. Why not just stay in California? “If we are supposed to move I want a sign!” she let me know. More importantly, she let Spirit know too.
Then a few places looked like a possibility.
On the day we were flying back to California, we had one more home to look at. It was in great shape and was affordable. It was perfect and we were first in line to take it.
It was ours!
I thought that was a pretty good sign.
The Journey Home
After settling into our new place we noticed that above the fireplace in our living room, there was a quote written on the wall, in beautiful script:
Life takes you to unexpected places. Love brings you home.
Shortly after moving in we purchased a new book from one of our favorite authors on spirituality, Harold Klemp. My jaw dropped when I started reading the book. The first sentence of the first chapter read:
Life takes you to unexpected places. Love brings you home.
I was mindblown and I thought, “What are the chances?”
It made me look at the quote with different eyes. Why did we end up in this house with this quote?
I began to see a key significance that I had missed before.
The key
Life is a journey, and much of what happens to us is not under our control. The unexpected places are not just physical locations but also where we hang out in our emotional landscape. Life can test us dearly, bringing out anger, grief, distrust, greed, fear, and more.
But what is it all about?
Why does life take us to these places and through these emotions?
I believe it is to teach us a lesson about love. Not just love between two people, but a more universal love. Spiritual love towards all life — respect, kindness, and goodwill.
Love is what it takes to go home to God.
And that’s the key.
