This Brutiful Life

The Universe has been speaking to us lately in a variety of ways. Some of it seemed to be a warning, and we listened. Some of it seemed to be more about conspiring in our favor, and we listened then as well. Depending on where someone stands on the spiritual spectrum, these could be considered either coincidences or a form of synchronicity. The good news is that these stories are worth sharing regardless of spiritual and/or religious beliefs.

About a month ago, my husband was preparing to leave for his rescheduled solo trip to a neighboring state to go mountain biking and trail running. He was originally scheduled to go in early July, but my uncle passed away, so he postponed the trip for a few weeks. A few days before he was set to leave on the rescheduled trip, a married couple was randomly attacked and brutally murdered on a trail in a state park within 45 minutes of where my husband would be staying. We spent the next few days trying to determine if my husband should go ahead with the trip even though the suspect was still at large, or if he should cancel the solo trip once again. My husband waited until the day before he was supposed to leave, and the suspect still hadn’t been caught, so my husband canceled his trip once again. This time, we couldn’t get a refund, but we were willing to lose the money in order to make sure my husband was safe. We figured that the suspect had left the area by then, but something told my husband and me that he should not go. We decided that maybe the Universe was telling us that now was not a good time to go, so we listened. Thank you, Universe! The suspect was later apprehended approximately 20 minutes from where my husband would have been staying.

Then, last week, I was listening to a pop culture podcast episode for some light and airy programming. I was listening to the podcast hosts discuss a topic of very little importance, and I was enjoying the short break from reality. All of a sudden in the middle of the episode, one of the podcast hosts mentioned out of nowhere that she had been having issues with her hormones. She told the others that she went to see a functional medicine practitioner, and she found out that her hormone issues were a result of her liver struggling to function due to high levels of mold mycotoxins in her body. I froze. Did I really just hear what I thought I heard, or was I imagining it? I rewound the episode and listened to her words again, and she, in fact, said what I thought she said. She then went into a quick rundown of some of the details, and those details matched what my most recent practitioners have been saying to me. Now, she doesn’t seem to have all of the infections/pathogens that I have along with the mold mycotoxins, so her details are not exactly the same as mine, but many of the words she was saying were describing a situation similar to mine. I had not heard anyone speak about this topic in this way before, so I was intrigued. For the next 5 minutes, I listened to what her doctor was recommending for her given her results. Her toxin levels were so high, that her doctor didn’t think that the regular treatment for mold detoxification would work for her, so he was recommending a different treatment option. I took note of the treatment option and immediately told my husband about it when he got home from work. We will be discussing it with my doctor at my next appointment. What are the chances that I decide to listen to a random podcast episode about pop culture to take a quick break from reality and one of the hosts just so happens to bring up a topic that is very pertinent to my life? Thank you, Universe!

I might not be a candidate for this treatment option due to the extent of the damage to my organs and body, but it is worth the discussion. I am one of those people who is always open to learning new things. If something “randomly” comes across my path that seems relevant to my situation, I usually take note in case I can use that info at a later date. It is truly one of the reasons I am still alive today. I remain open and am always listening for new information that could be helpful on my journey. This is one of my greatest strengths, and the Universe often conspires in my favor in this way.

Finally, yesterday afternoon, my husband was going on a run, and he was planning on following his usual path near our house. However, something told him that he needed to go on a different path along a trail about 15 minutes from our house. While on the trail out in the middle of nowhere, someone from his past just happened to walk by. My husband called this person’s name, and they both stood there for a moment. My husband hasn’t had a relationship with this person for over 20 years due to some complicated relationship dynamics. My husband and I had heard (way after the fact) that this person’s wife had passed away a few years ago, but we didn’t know it at the time of her passing. This person apologized to my husband for some things from the past, and my husband expressed his condolences for the passing of his wife. They caught up with each other for a while and ended up having a deep conversation about what it is like to have your “person” be really ill and to feel powerless as the primary caregiver. It has been tough for my husband to find people (besides me) who are capable of sitting in the mud with him AND who also truly get what it is like to be in his situation, so this very unexpected conversation was a welcome relief. Like my husband, this person was also not supposed to be on this trail yesterday, but he decided to go at the last minute as well. What are the chances that my husband and this person (who doesn’t live near this trail) both decided to go on this trail in the middle of nowhere on the same day and at the exact same time? Thank you, Universe!

Unfortunately, what my husband and I usually experience on this health journey is people who don’t know how to help and then withdraw from our lives due to empathy fatigue.

In stark contrast, this person took the time yesterday to show my husband that he cared. He asked my husband how I was doing and indicated that he wanted the honest truth. It seemed like other people had updated this person along the way about our situation. This person had been through his own very tough situation with his wife’s passing, and even though the situations are not exactly the same, it was obvious that this person understood what it feels like to be in a similar situation to my husband. It is a club that no happily-married spouse wants to join, but when they are forced to join it, there is a shared understanding of our society’s limited capacity in this area. My husband was able to be candid about how things are going, and my husband felt safe to share his recent struggles with this person. This person was not exhibiting Toxic Positivity; he made it clear that he was capable of holding space for unpleasant emotions. He gave my husband the space to share, and my husband felt seen by him.

When it was time for my husband and this person to part ways, they traded contact information. By yesterday evening, this person had already reached out to my husband and reiterated how good it was to see my husband. He wanted to keep in touch, and he reminded my husband that he was available to talk whenever my husband needed a space to share his feelings. He showed my husband that he truly cared.