“You have to make the next move before anything else can happen.”
The message was direct. I could sense it was the energy of my father as he nudged me out of my comfort zone and pressed me to make the journey to Costa Rica. Signs from the Universe are always interesting markers that can guide us to our destiny. We can ask for signs to help us down our path however at some point, we must move towards the divination. We are in a constant state of co-creation with the Universe—a two-step of sorts—and we must play our part in the dance in order to realize the manifestation.
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This is where my mind was as Adi and I made our drive to Colorado. Whenever I see a “bat” or “Batman” I always sense that my father is with me. It may seem strange to the reader, but “bats” actually have a significance in my life. When I was younger, from time to time a bat (yes, the flying kind) would find their way into our family home. There was a sense of some embarrassment with this when I was younger, but as I have aged, I have come to terms with flying rodents becoming part of the tableau of my childhood.
The scene was always the same when I was younger. A bat would enter our home (uninvited, have you), circle our heads creating a genuine sense of chaos with all of the female occupants of the home, led by my mother, who would escape to her bedroom in a horrified state until the all-clear was given that they bat had been terminated. My father would instantly go into hunting mode and instruct either my brother or me to fetch what he so eloquently referred to as, the “Bat Racket.” The “Bat Racket” was an old tennis racket that my father used to swat these flying rodents out of the air thereby ending their incarnation as a bat. Once the deed was done, my father instructed one of the two boys of the house to locate the bat and dispose of it outside the home. Once the process was complete, my mother was alerted that the home space was “clear” and she could return to the main part of our home.
Generally, this was a process that took less than 15 minutes. My father, being a very accomplished athlete when he was youngers, was quite adept at terminating all flying rodents and could frequently dispose of them in less than 5 swings; this was quite a hearty accomplishment. Bats have a latent radar system that adds to the challenge of swatting them out of the air. The whole process was equal parts haunting and exhilarating–we were the living incarnation of The Munsters television family.
The Bat Signal:
I sense my father with me all the time (he passed in 2014). As with all of those close to me who have passed, I asked my father to give me some sign that he was with me, guiding me and trying to get my attention. One day, a rush of inspiration hit me when I asked my father what our sign was; I could feel him say: “Our sign is a “bat” or “Batman.”
“Why?” I asked my father energetically.
“When you see a bat, it will remind you of your childhood home. You will know it’s me.”
I found this interesting because my father was quite a proficient baseball player in his youth. “Bat” took on two meanings for my father: There was the more obvious baseball “bat” and the more subtle, yet familial secret “bat” that referred to the flying rodent of my youth. Either way, whenever I see a “bat” or “Batman” I know that my father is with me. My father even added, “And tell your sister this is her sign too. She never listens for me when I am with her in spirit. She didn’t listen to me when I was on earth and she doesn’t listen to me when I’m in heaven.” I gave my sister this information and now we exchange “Batman” stories.
“You have to make the next move before anything else can happen.”
The message was direct. I have been given the signs to go to Costa Rica, and now it was my turn to dance with the Universe.
“I can keep giving you signs but if you never act on them, what good are they?” I could feel my father’s words seeping into my soul.
As we began our drive to Colorado, I could sense my father guiding me. We were only 10 minutes away from home when I saw a work van driving beside us and I was shocked by how clear the message was—Bat Security. The number on the side of the work van was 877-6BATMAN. Instantly, I knew that my father was with me. Adi and I looked at each other, “My father is with us,” I said to her. “Costa Rica is calling, and I think it’s time for us to make our move.”
Read more from David’s series, Costa Rica Calling
In a previous installment of this blog, I mentioned that Adi chose “Zebra” as our sign that we were being called to go to Costa Rica. Three hours into the drive, as we made our way through a small Texas town, we looked to the side of the road and sitting right by the roadside we saw it—a zebra. Within three hours, we had been given two signs that we were being guided to Costa Rica.
By the time we made it to Amarillo, a five-hour drive from our home, we got our next sign—a bumper sticker on the window of a car—the Bat Signal.
“You have to make the next move before anything else can happen.”
The message echoed through my head. I know that as soon as we go all in on Costa Rica, we will activate something in the Universe that will lead us to our destiny. In the next four days we saw two UHAULS with Zebras on the side of the trucks. Although I must confess, I look at the sides of UHAULS often, seldom do they reveal a “zebra.” I could feel my father trying to get my attention.
“You have to make the next move before anything else can happen.”
No doubt this is a scary proposition. How do we respond when our destiny calls to us? Do we recoil in fear or do we fearlessly step into the unknown and claim that very destiny? Adi and I are faced with this life-changing decision. Surely, we could do this by slowly dipping our foot in the water to test it or we could plunge headfirst into a new chapter of our lives. We know we are being guided and our job is to surrender to the Will of the Divine. We trust that we will be taken care of. We know that nothing else can happen until we make our move—until we dance our step with the Universe.
I can feel my father whispering from the great beyond, “How brave can you be?”
To be continued…
To hear David narrate this blog on Spotify click the link below: