THIS blog has been dying to be written! It has been verbally shared countless times with the now very predictable responses of jaws hitting the ground, some giggles and finally some disbelief that THIS story actually happened and it happened now, in THIS life time… not in a once upon a time….. and NOT in a fiction book!
…. EPIC love stories ARE happening now and ARE possible now! THIS IS David and my story…This IS how we met and it was no Disney Movie… THIS is real… THIS IS two human beings connecting at THE deepest level!
I have long pondered on how to write this story as I am not a writer as such, I am more artistic, seeing the world more in pictures and feelings… David IS the quintessential, BRILLIANT writer! I do, however, believe in stretching oneself and SO I am trying on a new hat! A writer’s hat!
SO! Shall we begin…. and be ready for quite the ride!
The scene is set… Its 2014 where our lady hero of impending love…. Kim, that would be ME!! was living in Sydney Australia and was in a place where she was FINALLY reaping the rewards of the twenty years of hard work she put into creating her nurse consultancy company. Kim was also entrusted with raising the beautiful little lady that is her daughter, Sienna. She was 9 years old at the time. This was not in any way an easy journey: many late nights; much time feeling alone; and, unfortunately a lot of fear and concern that it ALL rested on her. Often Kim would wish that there would be someone to fall back on, to not have to be strong all the time, to just rest and be told everything will be okay ….
In all of Kim’s past relationships, she always felt like something was missing and like most, daydreamed of that ONE special person! She would find herself unconsciously searching whenever she went out…. looking, always looking for…. HIM.
Kim was THE eternal optimist… always being able to put a positive spin on any situation and was always striving to be ‘her best version’. Endless efforts were spent on personal journeys where Kim would have to dig VERY deep to integrate ‘baggage’ in her efforts to be THAT best Kim! You see, Kim did not want to be weighed down in any way as SHE HAD A MISSION! …. to experience what is possible and to break the genetic lineage of abuse that plagued her family. Kim had been the recipient of a whole host of horrific childhood traumas BUT Kim did NOT let that or anything put out her light! Her journey made her a resilient, strong, and wise human being…. but it was her grace and compassion that broke the cycle…. (That’s a blog for another time people!)
Kim felt VERY ready to have a fabulous man in her life…. she was very content in what she had already created and where she was in life and HENCEFORTH THUS…! it would be lovely to share her life with a partner and trusted that when the time and circumstances were right…. HER love story would begin! Oh yea baby!
Well, well, people! a FABULOUS opportunity happened to come across Kim’s path! She was given the opportunity to go on THE grandest ADVENTURE she had ever dreamed of! Kim was given an invitation…. Okay not to The Ball but instead an Antarctic Entrepreneurs trip, called ‘The Unstoppables’, which was to ‘set sail’ in January 2015. The intended purpose was that there would be opportunities to join with other amazing people and create amazing businesses, social change and all that jazz!
Hmmm, a trip with a purpose AND a new adventure!! Kim’s spirit was ignited! BUT! at the same time, it was a big stretch! You see Kim and her daughter Sienna were VERY close and being apart would be very challenging for them both. The trip was also on the expensive side and Kim got motion sickness very easily. Decisions …. decisions……
HOWEVER! DO NOT fear people! this bright shiny object was more than Kim could resist and she knew that life’s most fabulous surprises happen when you get out if your comfort zone. So, there it was. Kim was the first to become an Antarctic Unstoppable! Everyone she knew was SO excited for her, she certainly upped the wow factor in life this time!!
So began the wait….
Kim would watch the Unstoppable website gradually fill up with bios of many fascinating people, some billionaires, some in the beginning stages of entrepreneurship and everything in between. One of these people happened to catch her eye more than the rest….
An American by the name of, yes you guessed it, DAVID MARTIN!
Now this person had THE most FABULOUS bio Kim had ever read…. and this David Martin character quickly became …. ‘The Interesting Guy’!! David also had these piercing eyes that seemed to go straight into your soul. Kim was not thinking any romantic thoughts at this stage…. she just knew she could not stop looking at his photo and his eyes!
Okay, lets cross live to the USA and see what that David, AKA THE ‘Fascinating Guy’ Martin was up to while all this commotion and intrigue was going on in Australia! David was living in Charlottesville Virginia at the time and was asked to be the main speaker on this mighty expedition… TO LEAD THE WAY!!! At first, David was unsure if he should go and after much pondering, he sought the wisdom of a dear intuitive friend and she said to him, you will go and the reason is the girl you are looking at right now! David’s friend was not in the same room with David who happened to have his lap top open and was looking at my photo! Yes, the love plot keeps thickening!!
The time finally came to shall we say…. ‘Set Sail’! The Unstoppable Group had grown in numbers by now to one hundred and ten, mostly from Australia, some from New Zealand and a few from Brazil. Kim traveled with a group of the Aussie contingent and they arrived at Punta Arenas – our Antarctic departure point. The plan was to leave on January 26th but mother nature had other ideas and was bombarding us with apocalyptic storms, so hence the trip was delayed… would we even get there people!!!
So, while the group waited and anticipated what was in store, there was the usual socialising – dancing, laughter and general FUN, so Kim was in her VERY happy place! AND she finally got to see ‘The Interesting Guy’ in real life!!! BUT as circumstances had it at the time, they didn’t get to talk or connect in any way…. YET!
Finally, the weather turned…. ever so slightly and allowed a thirty, yes thirty-minute window for the two planes to fly into King George Island. Let it be known that, THAT was the only possible window for the next seven days…. It was so close to being a dead-on arrival!!
We landed……
Kim will never forget the experience of feeling like she had just landed on Mars!! It was on overcast day and there was black ground everywhere on King George Island. There were military bases around that were supposed to be ‘top secret’ so no photos allowed. There was such a hushed silence and everyone just stared in wonder….
We were all ushered into Small Zodiac boats and taken group by group to the ship, the combination of breathtaking scenery, wildlife and knowing you were in a place that was still so undamaged by human hands was overwhelming… it was pure magic!!
Don’t get to comfortable in the splendour and cheer people…. as it became apparent to Kim very quickly that this Unstoppable expedition was not what she or others expected at all, things disintegrated a rate of knots...
At the last minute, the organisers changed the speaker from David Martin to another ‘David’! Shock horror! Random fact…. there happened to be twelve David’s on board!!! This ‘other David’ attempted what felt like a business kindergarten experience and very soon a real mutiny began and it grew rapidly! People were VEXED!! Love that word and they were not getting value for money at all. The organiser was NOT in any way helping to turn things around, he was in way above his head without the skill set to pull this off and shall we say… he had too many other female distractions….
This trip could best be described as an odd reality show at best! There was also a very apparent, ‘contest’ of who could get Kim, who would be the man that turned her head! BUT she was too elusive for them ALL! Well ONLY if he was interesting...!
So, with three days to go until the end of the trip, let’s just say there was a lot of energy in the system! In amongst the scenery of a mammoth contingent of unsatisfied and angry participants, copious amounts of alcohol consumed and many new ‘nightly romances’…. ‘Kindergarten David’ was fired and THE REAL David was asked to help recover things….
It was time for THE Interesting Guy to shine ... incidentally, Kim and David still had not connected in any way, except for a few awkward hellos and high fives, (for some odd reason we did that!!) at breakfast!
Kim was VERY excited to hear what HE had to say…. she was very drawn to him….
However, there was a spanner in the works people!! Kim had decided to do ice camping as one of the activities while in Antarctica… you see Kim had never camped in her life and decided that if she was going to camp…. she was going to set the bar high and have major bragging rights! This meant that ‘camp school’ was happening at the same time that David was speaking ... Oh No!!
Kim was desperate to hear The Interesting Guy BUT felt that learning how to camp on the ice was a nonnegotiable as she liked living too much! Kim needed not fear… as it so happened, camp school finished thirty minutes early and Kim was able to race up to hear David… and race she did!
Kim was incredibly surprised to walk into a somber crowd all listening intently to this man deliver one of the most REAL and refreshing speeches she had never heard. You see there had been other participants speak on the boat but they all spoke about their lives and businesses from the space that their journey was an easy one, only speaking of the up sides and not mentioning all the personal cost in any way….
This fake account of business journeys broke the hearts of the new up and coming entrepreneurs that were on this trip hoping to get real wisdom, insight, guidance, and mentor ship… instead they were shattered and were left feeling hopeless and wrong!
David was EXTRAORDINARY and immensely heart felt…. and he did not leave any stone unturned when it came to talking about his life, both business and personal. You see, nothing was separate in his life, his ‘work’ was an integral part of his life! David lived a rich life and wore ‘many hats’ – if you ask David what he does, his response would be that HE LIVES! David strives to put humanity into humans in all that he does, whether its shining the light on, (while having guns pointed at him) corrupt mining companies practicing genocide in countries that will never have media coverage or receive any protection, lecturing in law, sports medicine, philosophy, speaking at the U.N, creating reforms for economic policy in countries all over the world, developing the top performing index in U.S history or walking WITH rape victims who feel all is lost and helping them see another version of themselves and finally being able to walk tall and proud…. He does it with ALL his being!!
That IS this man!
Kim found David very intriguing… not the achievements or ‘the hats’, yes that was all amazing but it was when he spoke about HIS personal journey and how much pain it had caused HIM in such depth. THAT really activated Kim at her core. Kim could not get past the pain she saw in David’s eyes; she could not understand that a man so wise and so intelligent was living this life where his well being was absent. Kim also saw what was possible in this man…. although David had already achieved what many could not do in several lifetimes, he WAS MORE! SO much more and she saw HIM in his full capacity. Kim said to herself, imagine how much more effective he could be IF he included himself in his journey. David the man was missing….
So, Kim made her way up to David and trusted the first impulse that came over her, it was to hug him and say thank you. He hugged her right back… a rather lingering hug indeed! David said to Kim, I know it’s your birthday tomorrow and we have just sailed into the volcano, I would love to spend the day with you! Let’s see…. 44th birthday… Antarctica… A Volcano….. AND THE Interesting Guy! A no brainer!! Sign me up for that action people!
Its birthday time…. Yes, Kim was SO excited that it was her birthday…. Because Kim LOVES Birthdays and today's was like no other! Kim could not wait to get to the volcano and have her day with David! As luck had it, Kim was the last person to reach the volcano and everyone was wanting to talk to David! He was beautiful and kept saying that today he is with the birthday girl! THEN FINALLY I raced up that crater…as you do!
They embraced and did not stop talking ALL day! Then they stopped on the top of the VERY windy and freezing crater… David asked Kim to look into his eyes and asked her if she trusted him! It was seriously like the wind stopped and something overcame Kim. She replied yes and felt a feeling she had never felt before! She KNEW she loved David! She was deeply perplexed! Kim felt this huge love for this man she had only just met! How was that possible!
Walking behind David, Kim was trying to make sense of the feelings she had for him! The only thing that happened to work was telling herself that she loved him like you would Jesus!!! The funniest thing was, Kim did not have a religious upbringing! she would describe herself if you had to, as more spiritual! So, loving him like Jesus was an odd thing to say for her! But somehow it worked!! What a day!!!!
P.S, embarrassing note… Kim in her fashionable yet NOT practical white, yes white ski pants accidentally slipped and slid down that BLACK volcanic crater right in front of David… NOT cool or sexy! Oh, but funny!!
Time for volcano day expeditions to end and volcano nights to begin……
Let’s get this party started! There were some almighty birthday festivities to be had for Kim, everyone was so beautiful and made such a lovely fuss. Kim however had only one thing on her mind…. seeing David again! She had questions….
Okay let’s set the scene…. Kim walks into the bar and gets a drink…. David walks in…. no words spoken…… he motions to go up the back of the room to sit…. she follows…. heads turn…. Everyone’s eyes follow….
By this time, Kim has SO much built up energy… the weight of so many questions were bursting forth and SO came THE line of all lines…
Kim looks at David and the following sentence BURSTS forth!
“You are clearly the alpha male on this boat and I am clearly the alpha female, I should find you attractive but I don’t” …. long pause…. “but I could”. David’s mouth dropped open and he was speechless, a rare moment indeed!
Then Kim proceeded to literally bombard him with well, questions that were really statements!
“Why are you letting your soul die”
“Why are you in this relationship that is killing you”
“Where are YOU in your life?”
“Would you be content to be on your death bed and be content to look back over your life?”.
Oh, poor David! BOOM!
BUT maybe this was JUST what he needed! David was also wise enough to KNOW that Kim was waking HIM up, HIS masculinity / the man in there as she called it. That part of him, sadly had been switched off due to a multitude of INCREDIBLY sad and challenging life circumstances…. Until now!
David, you see had given his life to helping others wake up but no one, it seemed had returned the same courtesy to him.
Kim was trying to get David to see him as SHE SAW him, in his perfection. He already had it, there was just some sleeping going on… hence that statement Kim made that; she should find him attractive because IF he owned WHO he really was…. AKA, THE most perfect manifestation of the masculine, “she should find him attractive” and when she said she could, she meant, when you step into the fullness of all you are, the two of them would be like a magnet to each other. In other words, at the time Kim was owning her femininity and power and was helping David step up into his.
David didn’t seem to get many words in that night….
And as you can imagine… the evening ended with some pizzazz! The last thing Kim said to David was…. When was the last time you hit the ‘surprise button’…? He smiles a wicked grin and without words… Grabbed Kim’s hand and took her to the dance floor! Guess what song came on!!! Yes… Sexual healing! Marvin was in THE Antarctic House people!
And here IT IS!!!!... Play loud OF COURSE! https://youtu.be/rjlSiASsUIs
AND man could HE dance… everyone watched in amazement…. What was happening, the romance was electric!!! BUT at the end of that song, they looked at each other and somehow, each exited different doors…..
Both were left in a haze of what just happened! David went back to his room to help the organiser ‘save the ship from the mutiny’…. Kim just kept on dancing!!! Taking one for the team! That sure was a grand way to end the voyage…
The next day was the flight back to Punta Arenas and the foreboding good bye… they only had a night and a day left… Kim didn’t know what to do… so she decided to write David a letter and pop it under his hotel door after she asked reception what room he was in.
Everyone was up in the hotel bar and Kim kept watching the door… hoping HE would arrive. David was busy saving the day as usual BUT then he walked in the door. Again, no words…. Kim looked at David, he at her. They then walked to a place away from everyone’s prying eyes and talked nonstop until 3am in the morning! It was PURE BLISS! Both didn’t want it to end…. But it had too as all good things do and they began the walk to the elevator…. Kim ‘knew David was on her floor’ as the lady at reception gave her the room number… and it had THE letter under the door!! That was exciting!
BUT to Kim’s horrid surprise, David got out a floor below her! ….. OMG the letter!!
She ran to her room … to her utter surprise, there was a response to her letter under her door! Yes Kim DID get a response from ‘David’ just not ‘her David’, instead Kim got quite the romantic reply from THE David that was fired!! He let Kim know in no uncertain terms that they DID indeed have a connection, (even though Kim cannot remember even talking to him!) and he hoped to see her again and left her his phone number! EEEEK! Oh wow, did Kim and her roommate laugh and laugh!! Still laughing!!!
Let’s see, the lady at reception did not speak very good English and there were twelve possible ‘David doors’, what possibly could go wrong people!!!
Sadly, it soon became THE LAST DAY…. would they see each other again, Kim was feeling sick! What to do!!! Well guess what cupid fired his bow and there was a phone call to Kim’s room, YIPPEEE! David called with an invite to GET OUTTA there and have lunch at a local café… away from being in ‘the fishbowl’!
THIS became one of THE purest days that ever there were! These few hours transcended anything Kim or David had ever felt, read, or seen. They held hands as they walked around the local market… both savoring every second. Then they arrived at the café, it was just the two of them. Kim felt so compelled to hold David’s hand and said to him the following, which incidentally became part of Kim’s wedding vows ….
Kim …. “Who holds the light for you”
David… “No One”
Kim … “I will be that person”
That moment was THE most profound human to human connection, it was MUCH more than a man and a woman being romantic, it was beyond that. There were two human beings LIVING Fully in that moment.
Then the plane came to whisk Kim back to Australia and with that same very sick feeling in her stomach, they parted ways………………….
Watching each other until they both faded out of site!
