Joseph and Leonne - True love worth waiting for
Joseph's storyGrowing up, you see in movies, tv shows and books a thousand references to love. There you find lead characters who sacrifice everything to be together, great romances across the seas, couples who lock eyes at first sight, never to be torn apart. These ideas of what love looks like are everywhere, engrained in our culture from the very start.
Yet, it was not like this when I met Leonne.
In a busy car park at the end of a Universal Medicine event, she got out of her bright green car to say goodbye to my friend. It had been an amazing few days, as usual at these things, so feeling open and sweet in myself, I gave Leonne a hug. I thought nothing much of it, except I did remember very clearly that she had an extremely large amount of sparkle going on - like a princess or fairy. I am pretty sure some of it rubbed off on me.
Over the next few weeks Leonne got in contact with me online and we exchanged a few emails and Skype calls, all in my eyes, in the name of budding friendship. But I soon discovered I had the wrong end of the stick, for Leonne made it clear that in her view there was a whole lot more going on than I thought! Hearing this my immediate steps were to make it clear I didn’t want to go there, and to distance myself as fast as I could. In this game of cat and mouse there was no way I was getting caught. This happened a number of times over a few months, with me exasperated as to what I should do to make it clear that this was not happening - no way, no how. But one thing you should know about Leonne, she is not someone to give up lightly Travelling interstate, with all her worldly possessions packed in the back of her car, she took a job in my town. After some time and many emails which I just ignored, we met up and went for a walk. At last we were able to connect and have fun without any agenda or pressure. She told me about some difficulties she was having at work - and I opened up about some troubles I had with my sleep. She laughed a lot! It felt fresh, new and sweet. A while passed after this, when one day my housemate let me know Leonne was coming for dinner. After a brief hesitation, and some apprehension I said ‘ok’ and thought to myself, how bad could this be? After all it was just a meal, right? The strangest thing happened though, as the night wore on everyone around the dinner table including me started to feel that Leonne belonged in our house. Within a week or two she had moved in to the room next to me! I rationalised in my head that as we had ‘sorted everything out’ there should be no issue, right? Well, not exactly. The thing about us is we are very opposite in the way we operate. Leonne loves colours and patterns, me austerity and simplicity. She loves nothing better than a big chat, me I savour the sound of silence, Leonne loves to go out, I cherish a cosy night in. I could go on, but you get the picture. The first few months we lived together were spent often bickering and fighting, in all honesty I am sure our two housemates must have wondered what they had got themselves into. Many ‘deep and meaningful’ discussions occurred usually where Leonne would declare that I was destined to be her boyfriend and I would state with some force that I was not. After all, I’m a grown man how dare she tell me what I was to do! Months passed with many people noticing that something was going on between us. Many friends suggested there could be something there to explore. Yet I denied it and shut the door. To give you some context here, this got to the stage where even my grocer thought she was my wife. Though rest assured I put him straight, that this was certainly not right! Around this time a few key things happened: We started going shopping together every weekend, just spending time together without any agenda. One day Leonne had a healing session with Natalie Benhayon. Natalie supported her to get really honest - even though she said she did, was she truly saying a wholehearted yes to being in a relationship with me? Leonne had to admit she was scared and was not. After some tears she finally let go of her dream of us. Soon after this Leonne got very ill. She was vulnerable, fragile and very tender. She was unable to rush around, push or drive. Pretty much all she could do was hug me. It was in this moment that something changed, and shifted for me, suddenly I could see there was a beautiful, precious woman before me, and all she really wanted was to connect. A funny thing started to occur, when Leonne would put her hand on my back or arm, I melted. No words were needed to convince or convey the gorgeousness of what I felt. Her touch went straight to my heart One day soon after this, we attended a weekly morning meeting for a photo team we were both part of, but the rest of the team did not turn up (thank you Emilia I owe you!)- it was just us. And by the end of the ‘meeting’ it had become clear that we were in relationship in the most beautiful way. Only 8 days later I proposed and asked Leonne to I have shared all this here, to simply show that all of us are possibly more afraid of Love than we know. We each lead our life thinking we are ready to say yes and that this is all we ever want but in reality, we fight and run the other way when it turns up on our door. What if is not a dastardly villain or dark hearted gang that thwarts love in this world - but us and our willingness to choose truth? The more I speak to other couples I find a similar tale again and again of pictures in our head messing with our heart, of resistance to the power of love, of fear of getting hurt. What a crazy predicament that we go around with a million schemes and methodologies to protect ourselves from being dumped or duped but all it does is block out Love.
Whether you are a tender man scared of being treated This is the true story of love to me. We may have left off writing for a while and perhaps our pen has dried - it sure can be challenging to pick up and start again. We might settle for arrangements or pictures of what we think we want but it’s just a matter of time till we write again, gloriously, fully, illuminating our hearts. So what I learnt and am here to share is I absolutely knew and could feel the potential between Leonne and I from the first day. Love at first feel you could say. What it showed me is we do know and can sense the real deal so easily – it’s not scarce or hard to find it’s just a matter of us saying yes – “I deeply deserve this”. What would this world be like if we started to open up and stopped fighting the love that’s on offer? When we do we will write the greatest love stories known to man. And you know it’s never too late to pick it up again, we are all the authors of our next chapter. In the end I went back to the grocer and admitted he was right – he’d truly felt the Love. I can see that when we say yes to truth, it confirms what other people feel too.
Today Leonne and I are married and building our life together learning to let love in and out. I never would have believed it a couple of years ago - anything is possible now. As I write I’m returning home from our honeymoon, a trip to the Universal Medicine Vietnam retreat. It could not have been more fitting as Serge and Natalie Benhayon continually show you what it’s like to live your potential, to open up and accept others - and it’s their example that has inspired Leonne and I to turn a new leaf in our lives today and give love a red hot go. In this world of roughness and toughness they show it’s more than safe to live the beauty of who we truly are. With huge thanks to them. |
Leonne's storyPrior to meeting Joseph, I had spent most of my adult life (about 13 years at that time) single and I often doubted that I could have a truly loving relationship. In the lead up to this meeting I had been working very hard to address the issues I had in relationships with the support of Universal Medicine therapies and the incredible presentations on love delivered by Serge Benhayon.
I found myself in a place where I was no longer desperately lonely or hurt. I felt open to, and appreciative of men for the first time and I was developing a true relationship with myself that served as a loving foundation for all aspects of my life. I was beginning to take care of myself and had stopped drinking alcohol and living an ‘up and down’ party lifestyle.
Around this time a male friend asked me what type of man I wanted to be with I had no hesitation in saying something along the lines of "I want to be with a man who truly cared for themselves, wasn’t into sport, drinking or porn, someone who wanted to evolve and grow in love and relationships. I thought my friend would scoff at me and say I had no hope, but instead he looked at me in awe and said something like "I can’t wait to meet the guy you end up with - he will be absolutely amazing."
The first time I met Joseph he gave me a tender loving hug that stopped me in my tracks. Over the time I have known him, he has busted many of the myths I held to be true about men. After this hug I was so excited about the potential I could feel between us I went through a speed trap about 30 kilometres over the limit. The policeman let me off as I mouthed my apology through the windscreen. Like many people who feel they have met their match, I jumped on google and did my best to find out as much as I could about this gorgeous man. I added him on every social media platform I had and started corresponding with him online. Every exchange confirmed that this was a man I wanted to be in relationship with. But there were tough times ahead. As soon as I declared my feelings Joseph made it clear that he didn’t feel the same way I did. He wasn’t interested in a relationship with me at all. I was devastated, but despite the rejection and hurt I felt I couldn’t cut this man out of my life, the pull to be together was just too strong. In the four years that followed, we were friends, nemeses and housemates. While we were living together as friends I often felt like I was losing my mind. Joseph was everything I wanted in a man and in a relationship ….. the only problem was he didn’t feel the same way about me. It felt torturous at times and I lived in fear of the day when he would meet a woman he did actually want to be with. Then one day, desperate for answers (and wanting to put an end to the huge tension I could feel), I had a session with Natalie Benhayon. Natalie asked me if I was ready for a relationship that was about evolution first and foremost. I answered with floods of tears and eventually squeaked out a very honest “no”. I finally knew what was in the way of the loving relationship that I had felt so ready for up until that point. My body surrendered and I stopped trying to make anything happen. I felt like the fear of the potential of a truly evolutionary relationship would stand in my way for the rest of my life – little did I know that the issue had cleared simply through my choice to nominate what was really going on and take responsibility. Soon after this session with Natalie I was hit by a debilitating illness. Joseph would come home from work and hold me each day as I was so unwell I could not even speak. I had let go of the need to be in a relationship so much that I simply accepted his embrace as the support of a friend and appreciated the moment without needing more. Soon however, it was apparent that Joseph had begun to feel about me the way I felt about him and we made a commitment to be in a relationship with each other. Eight days afterwards Joseph asked me to marry him and it was my turn to freak out – but that’s another story. A year or so after our engagement we got married and six weeks ago we welcomed our first child into the world together. This unfolding feels like an absolute miracle to me. In the past, I was very ambivalent about the prospect of having a child. It was something I was very cautious and protected about and I doubted my ability to handle the challenges I knew having a child would bring. Now, with the solidness I feel in myself and the love I share with Joseph and all others in my life I feel confident in my ability to parent and love our child without the need or want for perfection. Joseph's sensitivity is a truly beautiful thing and I have come to understand that this sensitivity is strength and not a weakness. He reminds me to honour and express how I feel. I have come to understand this sensitivity is a strength There are many circumstances that have constellated to support us to live, love and grow together. Our relationship has never been about just the two of us. Our friends, housemates, families, colleagues, practitioners, and the rest of the world are as much a part of our relationship as Joseph and I are.
He has a playful way with words (and everything else) that reminds everyone not to take life too seriously. It has been wonderful to watch him begin to express himself more in the way he dresses, moves, sings and speaks to others. Joseph’s way of being in the world flies in the face of the false ideals of ‘being a man’ communicated by the mainstream media and the long-held beliefs of many cultures. I love watching Joseph connect with other men as they often melt in his presence and open up to their own sensitivity.
This man is deeply loved and cherished by the people that know him. People seek him out for support and guidance because they know he truly cares. I know I am with a man that I can truly trust. We have a great deal of respect and love for ourselves and each other and we are committed to growing this. I am often in awe of what we have chosen to live together. My friend was spot on. The man and relationship I ended up with are truly amazing. Perhaps the future was felt as it was simply a reflection of the relationship I was building with myself. I know with absolute certainty that none of the beauty I now live would have been possible without the support Joseph and I have had from the Benhayon's, Universal Medicine and its associated therapies and modalities There are not words of gratitude enough to express the love and appreciation I feel for what has been offered to me and every other human being on this planet through the reflection provided by the Benhayon family and Universal Medicine.
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