SIGNS FROM THE UNIVERSE

    I don’t mention it to anyone except to my boyfriend, but the number 22 has a very special meaning in my life. For starters, my lovely mother, who passed away last year, always used to say that it was interesting that her birthday, mine, and my older sister all shared a birthday that fell on the 22^nd. It was something I had never thought about until she had mentioned it to me and since then, I realized the importance of this number to me.

    I believe that there is a hidden special force around all of us that we don’t realize is there guiding us in all we do. For the past few years, I have been working on developing my connection with my spiritual side and I can honestly say that when you add a bit of trust into the mix, something eye opening happens. As I learned to trust my intuition and all I don’t know and do, I began to notice things I wasn’t at first aware of.

    Prior to my mother passing, I mentioned to her a story of mine where my boyfriend and I were stuck in traffic. We had been in traffic for a good 30 minutes and we weren’t budging at all. I kept asking Dimitar to switch lanes since the lane beside us was moving, but he insisted that we stayed where we were. Annoyed, I finally told both of us to ask the Universe to help us get out of traffic sooner and we then waited.

Double rainbow

    After five minutes at least, I finally urged Dimitar to move into the moving lane beside us and he did. Before we knew it, we drove past all the traffic and were on our way home; yes, it happened just like that! I realized as we were driving that we were out of the traffic and it happened after we made an effort to ask for help when we needed it. This was only one of the moments that stuck with me that made me realize the hidden forces around us and when I shared this story with my mother, she was inspired right away.

    As I mentioned before, this was just the beginning of the hidden signs that I was picking up on. My mothers passing really hit me hard and left me feeling extremely lonely. I stopped reaching out to ask for help and ultimately felt hopeless. One day, I was having a good day where my spirits were encouraging and I asked my mom to show me a rainbow if she was happy and with me.

    I don’t remember how my day went after that, but that night I dreamt of the biggest rainbow ever and I was directly under it; as if my mom was the rainbow and she was watching over me. I was standing in a big green open field and as I followed the end of the rainbow, it took me to the end of the field where I could see the rainbow going down into the earth. I woke up crying, relieved of my mother's message to me, and thanked her for reaching out to me. Again, this was just the beginning of the signs and messages.

I always have a hunch that a "sun dog" is near

   I had also asked my mother to show me the number 22 whenever she was around me and instantly I started to see the numbers on my clock, in articles, on license plates, everywhere. Even in dreams, the numbers would come up and I would think to myself in my dreams that my mother was with me. It were events like this that led me to trust my intuition and to free myself from the pain I was in.

  Since then, rainbows and the number 22 have had a significant place in my heart. Just as I began to doubt the signs and question it all, I’d get another confirmation and it’d make me believe again. I remember I was walking in Tjmaxx one day, a department store in the USA that sells just about everything, and I was walking through the beauty section.

    I saw a big plush toy on the shelf that urged me to grab it. Clearly it didn’t belong there so I pulled it out to see what it was and to my surprise, it was a lion plush toy named Leo, with a rainbow mane. Not only was I a Leo, but the fact that it had a rainbow mane instantly made me buy it. It made me remember a dream I had where my mom was with me and she told me that she wanted to give me a gift but I had woken up too soon to see what it was. When I saw the toy, I knew it was her way of showing me her love.

Evening sky in VA

    With all that said, I always celebrate on the 22^nd of each month in honor of my lovely mother. I know death has such a heavy weight to it that we all fear or dread, but when you widen your beliefs, I have found that it has helped me adjust to such changes. I realized after studying a bit of philosophy, specifically stoicism, it dawned on me how time consuming it was to worry about things that I had no control over.

    So if you ever find yourself stuck, feeling confused, or ever in need of assistance, as weird as it may be - just ask for a sign. Faith is a gift that we will have forever that keeps us grounded - we may not understand it, but it's there to be used. So have faith that you're being looked after and that the best will come.  The Universe has your back.

Until the next time. xoxo - Sarah