Literary / Arts
Remembering Karen Woods – Signs
Genine Hanns, Victoria
Volume 32 Issue 4, 5 & 6 | Posted: June 11, 2018
On the evening of April 10, 2017, I went out for dinner with my friend, Patrick Jamieson. He told me his friend Karen Woods had died of a heart attack and it was ten days before her body is found. No one knew Karen was ill and I did not know her well, but I had been out for dinner with her and Patrick several times. I liked Karen and we had meaningful spiritual talks. Patrick and I felt very sad that she had waited so long in her apartment before she was found.
My son, Michael Hanns, had brought home a pond form from the street beside us weeks ago and we made a lovely artificial pond out of it next to my patio. I have shells, turtles, salamanders, and pots of flowers growing around it. A large brown frog spouts water into the pond and I have three water lilies floating on its surface – white, pink, and deep violet. I find it very spiritual and serene so I sit before it often.
On the evening of April 10, 2017, I went out for dinner with my friend, Patrick Jamieson. He told me his friend Karen Woods had died of a heart attack and it was ten days before her body is found. No one knew Karen was ill and I did not know her well, but I had been out for dinner with her and Patrick several times. I liked Karen and we had meaningful spiritual talks. Patrick and I felt very sad that she had waited so long in her apartment before she was found.
My son, Michael Hanns, had brought home a pond form from the street beside us weeks ago and we made a lovely artificial pond out of it next to my patio. I have shells, turtles, salamanders, and pots of flowers growing around it. A large brown frog spouts water into the pond and I have three water lilies floating on its surface – white, pink, and deep violet. I find it very spiritual and serene so I sit before it often.
After I returned home from dinner with Patrick, I went to sleep and had a dream. I was sitting before my pond and across from me sat a man. I didn't recognize him, but he said: “I will give you money if you share your pond experience with others.” I thought at the time: “What experience? I don’t have one, other than that I love my pond.” I rose the next morning, walked to my pond, and found my three water lilies floating upside down. There had been a full moon the night before, but no wind, and I wondered how all three of them had managed to flip over. My lilies never flipped over because they were tied to rocks in the pond, and sheltered from the wind so it was impossible for them to flip over.
A strange and otherworldly feeling gripped me as I walked back into the house to send a text to Patrick about this. He said my water lilies were suitably mourning in their gentle, grieving way. I told Patrick I believed it was a sign from Karen that she was all right, not to be sad, and she was in a wonderful new place now. I had a similar experience when my precious calico cat, Tabitha, died. This proves to me without a doubt that souls survive death, come back to leave a message, and tell us they are all right if only we can see the signs.
Genine Hanns, Victoria