My Marley Moment when Luna showed me everything was gonna be alright!

Remember the Bob Marley song Three Little Birds, and the message ‘Every little thing is gonna be alright?’ Well, a couple of days ago, I had my own Marley Moment, and it was Luna, along with another three little birds, who delivered my own much-needed message that everything would indeed be alright. Before I tell you about it, here’s some essential background information on what’s been happening in my world recently, and why that message mattered so much to me.

Generally speaking, 2023 was my best year in a long time. I finally feel I’ve healed from the traumas of recent years, I’m happier than I’ve been for ages, and my first book, The Soul Cave, has been very well received. More importantly, feedback shows it’s helping people heal from their own challenges, just as writing it was critical to helping me forgive, heal and move forward with my life. I’m much more positive and relaxed, and I live in the present moment, rather than harking back to the past or worrying about what may be around the corner.

I’ve put in the work and I’m reaping the rewards, practically and energetically. That’s why what happened to me at the end of December came as a real shock to the system. It started at the beginning of the month, when I had a problem with hot water. I didn’t have any, and when a savvy friend came around to check it out, it soon became apparent that the reason I didn’t have any hot water was I didn’t have any gas, and I didn’t have any gas because I didn’t have a gas meter!

It’s a long story for another time and place but briefly, when we were transferred to natural gas several years ago, the company never filed the direct debit, so we were never charged. We never received a bill, or any communication other than the original contract, and it only came to a head when another company took over from the original one. The account was in my late husband’s name, and they insisted they needed to speak to him, even though they would need a medium to do so!

Because I had no bills, I couldn’t set up another supplier. I’m not trying to get out of paying for the gas I’ve used, but the original company, and the one that took over, don’t exactly fill me with confidence. It would be another 5 weeks before I was finally reconnected, so most of December and the beginning of January consisted of either braving a cold shower or counting on the kindness of friends for a hot one, but at least I had water, so I was grateful for that.

Then a few days after Christmas, late on Friday afternoon before everything closed for the New Year weekend, I was presented with a €400 water bill for the final quarter of the year; it’s usually around €50, so clearly I had a leak. Until the following Tuesday, it was a case of filling up buckets, bowls and jugs then switching off the water at the mains. Could things possibly get any worse? What do you think!

Christmas 2023 is the first I’ve ever spent alone in my 71 years, as my friend Glenys, who house shared with me here in Spain, decided to return to the UK due to health issues. December was a busy month for me, and I decided to spend Christmas and New Year at home with my dog Luna. I needed to rest and recharge, and she’d been left alone at home more than usual, so she deserved some quality time with Mum.

I thoroughly enjoyed Christmas Day. I took Luna for a walk to one of our favourite bars to enjoy drinks with friends, then went home and cooked a turkey dinner for two, after which I settled in front of the TV with Luna by my side, gently snoring and not-so-gently farting. Maybe I should have stuck to regular dog food for her!

I had the same game plan for New Year’s Eve, but when I got up, I could hardly put my right foot to the floor. Some years ago the doctor told me my knee would need replacing eventually, and it looked like eventually had showed up now. It meant I couldn’t go for the planned walk and sociable afternoon with Luna, and while I’m happy with my own company and wasn’t bothered about going out to see in the New Year, being forcibly confined to barracks is very different to choosing to stay at home.

I saw in 2024 through a curtain of tears; even the London fireworks, an hour after our Spanish New Year didn’t lift my mood. Ah well, I thought, at least I have an evening out to look forward to on New Year’s Day. I was going with friends to see a Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison tribute act, and we were going to really make an evening of it to celebrate the dawn of a shiny, untouched New Year. Then on the morning of January 1, my friends cancelled. They’d only recently recovered from Covid, and didn’t feel up to venturing out on a cold night, especially as they had an early flight to catch the following day. Cue even more tears!

As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am generally a very positive person, and will find the good in the direst of situations, but my energy was at rock bottom. And I was full of self-blame for feeling that way. Nothing that had happened over the previous month could have been avoided, nor was it anyone’s fault. People get ill, mistakes happen, plans have to change. Then I decided I had to pull myself up, because after being mostly happy and positive, I didn’t like feeling this way.

I came up with a short list of three or four friends who might be able to make the evening at short notice, and I knew I was on the right track when the first person I called said she’d be delighted to join me. We had a great evening, and she encouraged me to talk about how I felt and why. She said I was always there for other people, so it followed that sometimes I needed someone to confide in myself. I came home feeling better than I had for days, but I was still concerned about how much extra money I’d have to find over the next few weeks, as well as the normal bills.

I asked the Angels for guidance, and when I woke up the next morning, I knew what I was going to do. I had a beautiful Turkish gold necklace and matching bracelet, studded with tiny rubies and diamonds, that my husband had bought for me 25 years previously. I wore it quite a lot in the UK, but it’s a bit dressy for life in Spain. The only time it’s seen the light of day in recent years is at my 70th birthday party almost two years ago, so I decided to sell it rather than leaving it in a drawer for the family to inherit when I pass to Spirit. It’s not the sort of thing any of them would wear, so I might as well use it to lighten my load now.

I had a ball park figure for what I expected to get, so I was delighted when I was offered almost double that amount. I ended up getting almost as much as it cost, and I’ve had the pleasure of owning it and wearing it for all these years. My Attitude of Gratitude was well and truly back where it belonged!

Within a week, I had my water restored and the gas reconnected. And it turns out I may not be responsible for paying for the repairs and the excess water consumption as the leak was on community property, not my own. That brings us nicely up to date and the Marley Moment.

Every morning, when I get out of bed, I sit on the side while I ground and protect my energy for the day and give gratitude for a new dawn. So many people don’t enjoy that privilege, and grounding and gratitude make a fabulous start to every day. I call it my spiritual breakfast, and Luna often sits by my side, waiting patiently for her morning treat.

When I opened my eyes, Luna was relaxed, but her head was moving. She was clearly watching something, but there were no raised hackles. I followed her gaze to the tree opposite the window, to find she was closely watching – you guessed it – three little birds!

Normally such a sight would have immediately propelled Luna outside, amid a flurry of barking, to ‘play’ with the birds, who of course would promptly head off to another, safer tree in a different garden. However, on this day, she was content to observe, her head and eyes following every movement. Then she did the most magical thing. She turned and looked deep into my eyes as if to say, ‘Are you watching Mum? Isn’t this just wonderful?’

At that moment, I felt such a deep, soul-to-soul connection with my beautiful girl, the dog formerly known as Luna-tic because she was so manic. I knew I’d received a message of some sort, I just couldn’t work out what it was, and it didn’t really matter, because all I needed to know was that I felt absolutely wonderful. My energy was high, and I felt an extra special connection to Luna. It felt like everything would be okay, and when I shared the story with a close spiritual friend later, he agreed.

My friend went further, saying it was a sign from Spirit to trust that everything would work out as it was meant to. I didn’t feel I could write about it straight away, although I knew I needed to, as I felt it would be helpful to lots of my readers too.

I just felt something was missing from the story. And as I started to write today, because I felt if I left it any longer I might forget some of the detail, I made the final connection. I saw three birds, and I realised everything was okay again. So that was my Marley Moment, and I have Luna to thank for it. She’s taught me so much; patience, tolerance, the power of unconditional love, and now she’s taught me that nothing is more important than living in the moment and trusting that life is working out exactly as it should.