The other day I was streaming music from the seventies and eighties while baking banana bread for my boyfriend’s birthday. The music was so good, I started swaying and bopping while stirring and mixing. Then Spirits in the Material World by the Police came on, and I have to admit I full-on danced in my kitchen. I’ve always been a Police fanatic, but that day the song hit me deeper than it did when I was a teen, with its themes of authenticity and freedom. We’re spirits after all, in this physical world. Sometimes we can get distracted and forget the energy we’re made of, where we came from…and how magic is within our grasp all the time.
The other day I Zoomed with a friend and shared how I had been really sad and was deeply missing my friend Diana who passed last October. My friend reminded me how easy it is to hear from our loved ones on the other side: just ask. I talk about that all the time, but there I was, so needing that reminder. In grief it's so easy to focus on what we're lacking in the physical world...in a real humble moment I found it overshadowing what I know about energy and connection.
So after our chat, I asked Diana and my grandparents to talk to me and come through however they wanted (I like to cast a wide net). Then I let the expectations go, which is just as important as the asking part. When you let go, you bring yourself into the present which is the most balanced, centered place to be. When you let go, you accept that you’re supported and taken care of, and you trust.
Within two hours after I asked and let go, my grandmother showed me her house number twice, once in a price and once in a game score. (Her house number is always her go-to, and I get a burst of joy any time I randomly see it.)
The next day just as I walked out the front door of my building, a bright red cardinal flew in front of me to land in a shrub a few feet away. I couldn’t believe it. Diana always talked to me about a cardinal who’d visit her in her back yard, especially when she was relaxing, doing a moon ceremony, or just being in the zone with nature. I’d loved talking to her about him, and I’d even overheard him singing when we were on the phone once. I couldn’t remember ever seeing a cardinal in Brooklyn before. I’m sure they’re here, but this was my first. Then he flew in front of me again on his way to the tallest branch in the tallest tree. And I thanked my friend for her beautiful sign.
When I saw that cardinal, I got clear. We’re just as surrounded by spirit as we are spirit on the inside. When we remember ourselves, our essence, we connect more easily and deeply with the magic around us. That’s how we’re truly spirits in this material world—especially when we dance in our kitchens. ♥️