Unexpected Reunions & Their Purpose

Hey friends, in this episode, I take you on a personal and emotional journey in three parts — all beautifully connected by a deeper purpose I’ve been stepping into more and more. This one is close to my heart. It starts with a powerful message I shared in a divorce support group that sparked a realization in me about how we transmute pain into purpose. I open up about a surprising reconnection with someone from my past and how that experience became a mirror of the work I feel called to do.

Then I share an unexpected, soul-shaking conversation I had with a rabbi that led me to a life-changing insight about leadership, healing, and the deeper “why” behind the work I do. If you’ve ever felt like your life’s hardships were molding you into something greater, this episode will speak directly to your heart. Let’s walk this healing path together.

Episode Highlights:

[0:20] – Opening thoughts and setting up the episode’s three-part structure
 [0:45] – Reading my response to a meme about “the rare breed” of givers, lovers, and forgivers
 [2:10] – Reflecting on how turning pain into purpose fills me spiritually
 [4:22] – Reconnection with a man from my past who returned during a difficult time in his life
 [5:44] – Realizing my role in helping him heal and how intuitive the guidance felt
 [7:18] – A new appreciation for vulnerability in men and how refreshing it felt
 [8:36] – Receiving a surprise piece of art with my name in it — a beautiful gift of gratitude
 [10:19] – Deep conversation with a rabbi that parallels my journey to the story of Moses
 [11:48] – The powerful shift from focusing on “how” to embracing the “why” behind leading others
 [13:40] – Feeling emotional and humbled by stepping into a path I was always meant to walk
 [14:56] – Closing thoughts and how you can reach out or share your story anonymously

Links & Resources:

Be sure to follow, share, and leave a comment if this show resonates with you! Send me a message at podpage.com/themusicoflife to share your experiences, or to leave a comment. I'd love to feature it in a future episode.

Transcript

Unknown: 0:02

Karen, hi everyone, and welcome to the music of Life. I'm your host. Karen Portnoy, before I get into this episode, please comment, ask questions, share some of your experiences, and don't forget to subscribe. This episode is going to be in three parts, but you'll see at the end how they all tie together. But I felt like it was really appropriate to incorporate all three parts here. First, I'm going to start off by reading something that I responded to in one of these divorce groups. Somebody posted a meme that said, there's a rare breed of people that go all in they keep their word. They give it all. They go the extra mile for those they care for. These people hardly ever receive the same passion and effort in return, yet never change and always give their all to the givers, forgivers and selfless lovers out there, keep being beautiful. Don't let this cold world change you, and take advantage of every little moment you are given. So I responded to this because something happened recently that I'll get into more after I read my response. I wrote part of being that rare breed is that as much pain as we're ever faced, we don't hold on to it anymore. It doesn't serve us. We master turning pain into power for ourselves. It fuels our souls desire to help others, and we can't do that if we're angry, bitter or resentful. We see situations as lessons. We transmute and alchemize pain, sorrow, grief, disappointments, etc. It helps to elevate us even more. We often experience energy vampires, people who want to be around our energy to siphon and steal it, leaving us depleted, drained and at a lower vibration than where we were typically at. But when unhealed, broken, tortured souls connect with us, we want nothing more than to help heal them, not fix them, not change them, not control them, but to inspire them to see themselves and where they may want to change themselves. The beauty here is when someone allows us to help them, they listen with an open mind and heart, they feel seen and understood and validated for who they are and whatever challenges they're facing. They aren't sucking our energy. They are receiving it. Big difference we know and can feel genuine openness and receptivity versus selfishness and manipulation. Helping others in this pure and authentic way may seem like we are draining our own cup, leaving us dry and emptied. It's actually counter intuitive, helping others who are open, willing, receptive and able to consider something outside their comfort zone is wildly fulfilling to us. In fact, it actually is the thing that fills our cup back up. Not only that, but we feel overflowing love for having made a difference in someone else's life, someone who really needed it, especially I recently had someone return from my past. When I was 19 years old, we hadn't spoken in years. After catching up briefly, I wondered why God brought this person back to me. It took me minutes to figure out that I was meant to help heal him, after digging deeper into what was going on for him in his life, total confirmation that I was right. It was truly my honor and privilege to help him and his willingness to hear, truly listen and consider all that I said was remarkably rewarding for me. My cup is so full now, not that I don't fill it up on my own too. I see how God uses me for good. I accept his invitation every time, and I'm so rewarded for it, not in material ways, in spiritual ways. Can't beat that for anything. So that was the first part. You the second part is, is just to talk about this person that came back into my life, that really came out of nowhere. We haven't spoken in years. We've known each other for decades, obviously, but we haven't really spoken, and when we did speak, it really wasn't in depth. You know that I remember, it was just kind of like catching up and and kind of surface stuff. But this time was different, because he's really in trouble. His life is kind of like a mess right now and and totally. Justifiably, but he's really having a hard time. And I don't know that he was messaging me just to kind of spill everything out, but it just kind of went in that direction. And I felt very open to hearing his story, hearing what was going on, trying to understand where he was at. And it was, it was a lot, it was a lot for anyone to have to to go through. And, you know, we had some similar paths and some totally different but I understood where he was at, and I had empathy for for all that he went through and and I could really feel what he was feeling. And I remember saying, you know, sort of at the beginning of this exchange, you know, I wonder why, God, had you reach out to me? And it became clear kind of early on, but in the last several days that we've been messaging each other. It's so clear. It is so clear to me what my purpose is in this exchange and this reunion of sorts. So it's interesting because, you know, as he was sharing stories with me and things that have happened and and that stuff, it was kind of intuitive for me to kind of the things that came into my my intuition and my mind was just kind of the right thing to say at the right time, under the right circumstance. And I saw that this was happening along the way as we kept talking, and I could tell that whatever I was saying was resonating with him, and it was, you know, starting to marinate. And you know, he would give me some feedback here and there, just saying what would resonate. But at the same time, I knew that I was on the right track with him, and I was also very aware that not many people would be open and willing to listen and to stay with it, and to really, kind of get invested in what he was sharing with me. I mean, I'm, I'm at a place now where I'm can't believe I'm saying this. You know, I'm really attracted to men who are open and vulnerable and willing to share their feelings and their emotions and and he was wide open for that. I mean, 1,000% there was it was so refreshing. I mean, that makes me want to be there more, because I was so I was so taken aback that, you know, he was that open, because my experience in my past with my ex husband was the total opposite. So this was very refreshing for me to, you know, listen to someone who was so expressive. So it made it that much more interesting for me to give honest feedback and, and kind of give my perspective and what I saw was going on and what the big picture was, and, and, you know, my perspective and, and he totally appreciated it. He's also an artist. And what was so amazing was that, I think we've been chatting online for, I don't know, three, four days, something like that. And this morning, I messaged him about something, and when he wrote back, he shared with me that he he made a piece of art with my name in it, and he showed me a picture of it, and I was blown away, like this was something he just did in like an hour, and he sent it to me, and I was just so, I mean, that was so sweet, and I don't know what to say about it. It's just, I was really grateful for it. It was beautiful. It was, you know, I just, I was really surprised in a good way. And he offered to actually make me a more substantial piece, like on Canvas, and he would send it to me, and, you know, asked for what I wanted it to say, and what colors I wanted and and like, really wants to put his, his all into it, and as a way of thanking me for helping him. And I just, you know when you give because you want to give, not expecting anything in return. And then when, when you get some sort of reciprocity in some way. It's like, it's like the cherry on the cake. I was never doing it for any, you know, anything in return, or that wasn't why I was involved or invested in this at all. I wasn't thinking about what he was going to do for me. I was thinking about, how can I help? So it made it extra special that, you know, he was willing to make this piece of art for me and send it to me and and I was just really very grateful. So I would say, not really sure. Not really sure when this was, but I was speaking to somebody I know who is actually a rabbi, and we started talking about my story and this podcast and my, you know, my intention to help and inspire other people who were going through, you know, difficult divorces, like I did, and all this stuff. And we started talking about Moses, and there was some really interesting parallels and things that we were discussing that really was, like overwhelming for me and and I just, I walked away feeling so good and overwhelmed and emotional. And I just want to share, you know what, what we were talking about. I made some notes because I didn't want to forget it. But this is really how it went. So we all know that Moses freed the slaves from Egypt, and his biggest feat was going through the Red Sea on dry land. You know, once the Red Sea was parted, he was able to walk the slaves through the Red Sea on dry land. And I was starting to learn something really beautiful about what it's like to be like Moses. So what Moses would say is his greatest feat was basically the words, Let my people go, and the lesson is really in the why. Why he said that. The how is what everyone sees, how it happened, and what it looked like, and how cool that was, but the why is what was more important to Moses? So I'm learning this process of being like him, just like the examples that we were given throughout history. And it's, it's such a beautiful reason, the why, instead of the how, which is, you know, the how is so cool. You get to see, like this lesson in in reality. But you know, if you focus on the why, you know, Moses parted the Red Sea, David defeated, Goliath. You know, the why is so important here. So let my people go. It has to do with what your heart is set on. So when you set your heart on something like that. Moses didn't cross the red sea alone, and I'm starting to see this. It's about love for others. It's about unconditional love, sacrificial love. Moses didn't cross that alone, and he sure as hell to collect any tolls for it. He wasn't charging anyone any money to get across. He blazed a trail, he lit the way, and he guided them through safely. There was no reciprocity required, because that's not the way that God works. And I'm learning that I'm just not meant to heal I'm meant to heal others too, which is what a leader does. And I I see how I'm growing into a leader in helping to heal other people. And you know, I keep saying that I'm at the beginning, I'm at the precipice of something really big, and this is kind of the direction I see myself going in so it's exciting and it's it's just very humbling and very overwhelming, and I do get very emotional about it, because you know when you when you finally get an understanding about what your path is in life and what your purpose is, and then to step into that and actually work towards that. It's like, it's truly amazing. I really don't know how to explain it, but that's why I get emotional about it. Because, you know, I never, ever would have thought in my earlier life that this is where I would be, and yet this is what I feel destined to be all my life. So I don't know how to make sense of that, but it's very exciting and it's very rewarding. And I'm loving helping my friend, and I'm loving all these comments that I get to make on these divorce groups that are impacting people. People are thanking me from my perspectives, they're sharing my post, all the stuff, and it's it's very rewarding, I have to say, anyway, I think that's it for today. So I'm gonna wrap it up. Thanks for listening. Catch you next time. Please join me every Thursday for a new episode. You can reach my website at pod page.com/the, music of life. Feel free to leave your email address. You can also leave a voicemail and share any kinds of stories or experiences or anything that you'd like to talk about. I promise I will keep you anonymous, but I assure you that whatever experiences or stories you leave for me, you are not alone, and I would love to share that with other people who are also going through similar things. Thanks again for listening. I'll see you in the next episode. You you.