Remembering the Blessings!

I am posting this blog on January 16th, 2020. This is a message for me, from me, AND for YOU. Eight years ago today, at 8:20 AM, my Bride, Barbara, transitioned from this life. I am Blessed for all of the lessons she has taught me. In fact, I would not be writing this blog or working to create the Masters of the Journey community without this direct influence. Please, DO NOT think or Feel, “Poor John”. I am not a victim! I am a soul, just like you, struggling with life’s amazing challenges. Most of us have experienced the loss of the loved one, a friend, or a relationship. If you have walked this Earth in this life, for any amount of human time, you know how life can change. Times of change are often the most important times of growth and learning.

My Bride transitioned 8 years ago after our 30 years of relationship and after 8 1/2 years of living with Ovarian Cancer. The brutal struggle was filled with Joy and Growth. We grew closer. Our Love seemed to delve into the darkest places of anger, pain, and frustration, yet, it found ways to glow with warmth. For me, the lessons of empathy and the meaning of living while struggling with our human mortality was led by my wife. She demonstrated focus and stubbornness to live as long as she possibly could so her passing-over actually came as a shock to me. Two months before she died from our life together, she asked me to “not forget her” which with a knee-jerk reaction I complied. Not really knowing or understanding this promise which I had made. This is not unusual for me because I am naive about many of the things in this life that I have signed on for.

The void in my life when she moved on was a huge surprise. Though I had 8 1/2 years to prepare, I was taken by surprise. The vacuum in my life was much larger than I could have imagined. This is part of my lesson, my learning, and the message I am here to share. Sure you know that Life is precious. You assume the obvious that my wife of 28 years+ and the mother of my children would be “missed,” but that is not the story. Barbara, in spirit, has guided and protected me since January 16th of 2012. Her “presence” has given me stories to share. She has helped create every act of service I have engaged within. Our shared story lives to be a beacon for others to follow and to learn from.

Never consider any personal loss without reflecting on what you have been asked by the Divine Spirit to gain from a difficult life experience. Find a way to celebrate the Joy of life as you dance through the “mine-field” of life’s challenges. You came here to learn, and even enjoy, the bruises and bumps you find along the way. You chose to create the life you lead with your successes and with your awkward mis-steps… Any losses create the opportunity to appreciate your Blessings and your connections. AND, every person you bump into along the way offers you an opportunity to exchange love and wisdom from experience, even if born out of the pains which accompany you through your mortal life. You are made stronger as you are swept along in the rapids of the River of Life.

Also, find your way to remember the perfection and the Divinity within you. You are a Miracle! Look within to feel, and accept, the guidance of the Divine. It bubbles up, often in a subtle feeling, when you are at the crossroads of your life. You have read this far into this blog post for a reason… You were meant to find this consciousness and to go out and to celebrate the incredible experiences of your life, even with the bumps and bruises. Please share your story and serve by witnessing the story-telling of the souls you meet along the way! Your “Hero’s Journey” continues and your experiences can be of service to the community you live within, if you share YOUR story. By the way, YOU are loved and connected to all the wisdom of the Divine Spirit, just “remember” it and feel it within…

Thanks for your time and consideration. Your insights and experiences are unique and a blessing, so please share these…

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

I Love You! I will always Love my Bride, Barbara!!!

Relationship Commitment: Till Death Due You Part

Relationship commitment, especially marriage, may not be fully understood when people enter into this commitment. I was married at 33 years of age, for the first and only time, and I had NO idea what being married for “Life” could possibly mean. I never really considered the “end game” of marriage…

“Till death do us part” is a part of some traditional wedding vows. This signifies that the married couple intend to spend the remainder of their lives together – They will be parted only by death. “Part” – note that it is used as a verb in this instance. S: (v) separate, part, split (go one’s own way; move apart) ”
(From: https://english.stackexchange.com)

My marriage lasted almost 28 years and this “commitment” ended when my wife “transitioned” from this life. It was a transition I thought I was prepared for because we were given her “Terminal diagnosis” 8 and 1/2 years prior to her passing over. One of my challenges after her death, was to understand the “Void” that was created when my life partner of 30 years was not physically in my world. This is not a unique experience. Many people have learned the lessons from “losing” a close friend, or a spouse, or a family member where there had been an official or unofficial commitment. How DO You prepare for this situation? Personally, I admit that when we got married in the Summer of 1984, I had never a remote thought about the “end game.” There are only two ways out of a real marriage which include death or divorce. The two difficult “D’s.” This is not meant to prevent people from considering the commitment of marriage or deep relationships. It IS meant to create awareness and higher consciousness regarding the bonding process and the lessons we all learn from these.

The illness which afflicted my wife (ovarian cancer) and our relationship gave us a chance to grow closer. We weathered many challenging “storms” together and learned much from this experience. This is NOT always the case. For some, leaving a difficult situation with a partner seems like a useful strategy but this never crossed my mind. But remember, the most stressful things in life come when you deeply care or love another person, friend, child, relative, or spouse, AND you have NO control over what happens to this person. Parents know the anxiety, and the rewards, of sending their child out into the world.

You were guided into a relationship with another human partner with no guarantees that you or they or the relationship would last forever. “Forever” is a long time and is too linear. (And, time is a whole other topic for spiritual conversation and belief.) You love, or deeply care, for a person and in being “Human,” there are NO guarantees… They might leave you or get sick and need caring for, or they might need to die. The BEAUTY in all this remains in the fact that you took a risk and were meant to have a relationship with another pilgrim (person) so you both, and all people in your greater community, can learn from this life experience. Not like in the movies where “they live happily ever-after” but in the REAL challenges in living in human form. A range of strong emotions happen. Compromises happen. Communication happens and when this is good communication we learn and refine our perspectives on life. You must be ready and aware of the relationships and the commitment you have been guided to have. This is a huge part of why you are here, in this life, and the lessons you have “agreed” to have…

Love Deeply! Follow your passion! Take a risk! Dance like no one is watching! If you ever meet my beautiful bride in this life as a spirit or in the higher realms, bask in the light of an angel. Death is NOT the enemy, it seems to happen to everyone at some point. Soak in all the unconditional love you find in every “perfect soul” you bump into as you tumble in the warm dryer called life.

AND, if you are challenged by the difficult lessons of relationships in this life, be willing to share your story and the wisdom you have experienced. You are a Master with wisdom from your life’s experience to share.

If you are READY and looking for a supportive community where you can share your story, your wisdom, and grow spiritually in a non-religious environment, consider Masters of the Journey.
You are a Blessing! You are a Master! Your wisdom from your life experience can have great value to other pilgrims on the path toward awakening and enlightenment.

The Masters of the Journey has events which are updated on our Facebook page which is found at: www.facebook.com/mastersofthejourney Please comment on this blog and share, if appropriate. More of our blogs are based on spiritual consciousness and can be found at www.dstress.com/blog

Ovarian Cancer Rant

This is a personal rant regarding my feelings about ovarian cancer. As many of you know, my wife, Barbara, passed away in early 2012 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer 8 1/2 years before. We were given a terminal diagnosis. Barbara lived bravely and stoically fighting her disease as best she could. I recently saw a video that was posted on Facebook and it was Pierce Brosnan speaking about the death of his first wife and one of his daughters to ovarian cancer. And so it triggered this personal rant.

After living with this disease, I know that there is very little that you can do to prevent this horrible disease. However, I still wish that there was a better way to diagnose and treat ovarian cancer. From personal experience, I know that the early symptoms mimic many other conditions and diseases and so make it very hard to catch ovarian cancer in its earliest and most treatable stages. There will come a time when the researchers and medical community will be able to turn a woman’s immune system against the disease and defeat it with fewer of this scars and side effects that come from the current treatments.

Please consider learning all of the earliest signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer and do not let your loved ones suffer the deadly consequences that ignorance allows. If it is within the realm of possibilities for you, please consider giving a donation to fund the research to help better diagnose and treat ovarian cancer. If nothing else, please share any information that you can with the women that you care about so that they will be better able to prevent the difficult life that one has to lead with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

I will provide a link to the information regarding the early detection of ovarian cancer. If you have any questions about whether you may be suffering the early stages of ovarian, know that a blood test, the CA–125, may be the best early detection that is available for us today. Ask that your doctor take any symptoms of bloating or abdominal distress seriously, unlike the doctor that missed Barbara’s diagnosis for eight months, despite her repeated concerns. I do not know if an earlier diagnosis would’ve been helpful but my anger has not abated even after a decade. The Ovarian Cancer Organization http://www.ovarian.org/symptoms.php

And hopefully, you will never have to deal with ovarian cancer. You would benefit from remembering to always hug your family and friends and tell them that you love them.