The Source of this story is really..... well - read on

Friday, May 14th, I was spending time on the road - again - driving to a client's office this time. Seems that driving has been a major pastime for the last - how long??? I usually spend this time, as I'm alone, in verbal communication with my team. For those not familiar with this personal term, it's what I call my spiritual guides, angels if you will, that are ever present and open to hear my thoughts, musings and requests, and of course that day the subject was my friend, Ed.

I thought I'd ask the team to keep an eye out for Ed and maybe - here's where it gets interesting - if possible just give me some kind of sign that he's there and everything is OK - but no - I quickly changed the request to give Patty some indication that Ed is in a better place, out of pain yet not out of touch. And that was it - I really do believe that once the request is made to the Universe, the next step is acceptance in belief.

Long trip to my destination and listening to CBC Radio 1 - thought the program was quite apropos in that it was dealing with a group of 4 people advanced in their years, where they had a strategy that allowed them to stay in their homes and avoid the eventual move to a nursing home.

Every morning they'd get up, open their blinds so each [they're all in eye sight of each other] could see that the others were OK, then get on the phone and do the rounds - so at the end they had verbal confirmation that the day was off to a good start. Not a bad strategy for those living on their own!

This particular episode was being narrated by one of the ladies in the group - her name was Marge and she is 88 years old. Her phone partner, Wally, always had a joke to tell - and Marge admitted they could be a tad off color - but not "too dirty" [her words - she was quite sweet, actually].

Recently Wally asked Marge why she - still vibrant at her age - didn't have a boyfriend. Laughing, she replied that she didn't need a boyfriend - she had her TV - gave her all the entertainment she needed, didn't talk back, and except for the odd "wack" on the side of the cabinet to straighten out the signal, was pretty low maintenance. As a matter of fact, she quite regularly referred to the TV as her boyfriend, to all - including her family - that knew her.

One day, her great-grandson is over visiting, Marge is in the living room watching TV - keeping it line with a few resounding smacks on the side of the cabinet - when a friend dropped by and asked the youngster if Marge was at home - to which he replied "Yes, she's in the living room, banging her boyfriend!"

Thought I was going to drive in to a ditch!

Now I’m not sure what was funnier - the actual punch line, delivered by the little lady, or the mental visual itself. The dilemma though, and the immediate accompanying sense of sadness, was the one person that I would shared this type of anecdote with, was Ed. He loved this stuff, and he had just as many, if not more, such stories to send out to his email list.

It stuck with me all day Friday and into Saturday, it just seemed to be that everyone I shared the experience with laughed, but it didn't resonate like it would have with Ed. I just felt it was so wrong that he was not here now to share this with.

Then I got it.

I really did forget that for a brief moment I asked for a sign for me, but quickly thought that it was Patty that needed reassurance. But this little vignette was a message to me - from Ed's spirit. It was exactly what he would have done - heard the program and sent it on to those who would have loved the humor.

So thank you to my team, and to the Universe – it really does works in unbelievably amazing ways.

And thank you to Ed. He has helped me to reflect and realize that even if we deal with serious matters in our day, we all need balance – and that comes from finding and embracing the funny stuff that comes across our desk or in our inbox, or sometimes – on the radio. And when we find that levity – or it finds us - we need to share it with those that we care about and know that they’d not only appreciate but possibly even need the lift at that moment.

Ed, I will continue to ask and watch for your messages of humor and goodwill and will pass it on to those I care about - with you in mind.