KNOWvember Day Eleven: Elizabeth

​​First of all, I do not know why all the people I have met so far have tattoos. Second, I can’t really explain why it’s the women who have zombie tattoos and or a fascination with what zombies represent. But perhaps that should have been my focus all along. 

With that said, Elizabeth, a.k.a Liz,  is so much more than just ink on skin or the story behind her choices. I first saw her in the crosswalk as I was walking to Trader Joes today. Something inside told me she was the one I needed to meet. However, I needed pizza dough and a few other things for dinner. I didn’t give it much more thought. That is, until I was taking a short cut home through the park. She was sitting on the grass, earbuds in and eyes closed. All the signs that say, “Don’t bother me.” So, I stopped and asked if I could bother her.  And our conversation took off from there. 

There is no way I would ever be able to tell you all that she said. For some reason we were brought together, and that reason was for her to work out some stuff that had been weighing on her heart for a long time. A shift in career. A new path in life. Understanding herself and learning to love who she is. Her desire to help others feel better about themselves. Dreams. Aspirations. Recovery and growth. You know, all the light chit-chat one has with a total stranger. 
 
The conversation was too easy and hit very close to home. It reminded me of my own spiritual journey; including many path’s I had already wandered upon.  Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to talk to her. Although, at the end of our talk I told Liz that I felt like I might have to go meet someone else because our ships passing was bound to happen with or without this challenge.  But when I told her she was the 11th person I had met, she cheerfuly blurted out, "I'm the eleventh on the eleventh."

Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher, believed all numbers have a diferent vibrational properties. From him we get the concept of numerology. And in numerology, the number 11 is a "master number" and when paired together (11:11) it means your spiritual guides are trying to contact you. Thus, being number 11 on the 11th is a spiritual awakeing happening and that you are on the right path and your actions are aligned with your soul's purpose. To think KNOWvember was the doorway to which we both experienced some spiritual growth. Again, more light chit-chat between strangers. 
 
Like the Yew Tree tattoo on her leg, we moved between conversations of life and death. Juxtaposed with the zombie tattoos, I couldn't help but be amazed at the irony. The Yew Tree is often found in graveyards as their roots dig deep in wide in search of corpses to feed on. They are also poisonous and deadly to anyone living.  Yet hidden in the twisted root system, the artist hid the trinity – a symbol of the divine dance of life.  
 
Of all her ink, I would say this was the perfect symbol of who Liz really is. As she watches her old self is die away, she dances in the ups and downs of life as best as she is able. Even though she is not sure if she would fight or simply give up during the Zombie Apocalypse, this 33-year-old bartender from Santa Barbara is very sure that her life needs to be lived now. 
 
I am blessed and grateful she lived a small part of it with me.