Do You Believe in Signs?

Do you believe in signs? This might be an existential question to some, but last year, quite a few things happened to me that made me believe in signals from the universe.  While miraculous things happen every day (the human body is a marvel), there are those particular moments in time, where you encounter grace.  I’d like to share with you my experience.

It was two days before my wedding and I was sitting on my sofa.  I was working on my computer and I noticed something flying around in the kitchen.  Immediately I thought a flying water bug!  Terrifying!  But when I looked further, it was a monarch butterfly, fluttering in the kitchen. How it got in there to this day I still do not know, but I took that as a sign.  The days leading up to my wedding were a mixed bag of emotions, happiness and of course sadness. I was upset that my dad wasn’t alive to see me get married and just from that brief moment, I felt he was with me.  

I have an ample sized porch (for Brooklyn standards!) that houses roses, grapes, tomatoes and herbs during the spring and summer months.  The prior year I had a dill plant that seeded itself inside of our grape planter.  It spouted quite high.  One day, I saw eight bright green caterpillars eating away at it.  They started out small, but grew quite quickly.  They chomped their way through the entire dill plant and felt some sort of responsibility to feed them, so I bought them another plant.  They ate that one too.  If I was looking for a sign about transformations, this was a great place to start.  I was at a crossroads and felt I was on the cusp of a deep change. Each day they got bigger and bigger until one by one they started to disappear. I figured they were off to become something even more beautiful, a butterfly.    A week or two went by and I secretly hoped that one would stay around and build its cocoon. I looked around the area, but no luck.  A few days later, I was adjusting my curtains and I looked up and to my surprise, there was butterfly wrapped inside of silk just waiting to be freed.  I got that same sensation as the previous event. The next day, I looked at the cocoon and it was gone.  One morning, I was enjoying coffee and a butterfly was flying around me.  Seeing this, it made me feel such a level of comfort.  

My last signal that I experienced also has to deal with Mother Nature. It was a Saturday morning in August and my dog was on our porch.  She kept looking at the window, but there was a grill and large rose planter blocking it.  I wanted to go on our morning walk but she insisted on sniffing.  I immediately thought something had died – our time in Brooklyn we have nursed more birds than I can count.  I peeled back the curtain and there was a white dove just sitting on our window sill, peacefully.   White doves are synonymous with peace, love and connecting with a loved one that has passed.  At first I was worried that it was hurt, but a few minutes later it flew away.   Something about seeing that set me at ease and I knew things would be alright.

So tell me, do you believe in signs from the universe? If I were to tell a sceptic about these experiences they might just shake it off as coincidence, but I truly believe that the world was sending me signs that I badly needed to hear and see.  

Image via Ann Street Studio