Signs, Songs & Syds
Aisha Badru just released a new song that I’ve waited over a year to share.
Sixty-six weeks ago, I wrote this on Instagram:
I’m a big believer in receiving meaningful messages from the universe or loved ones who have passed. It’s a comforting reminder that life is about more than parking tickets, cancelled ferries, and dirty diapers. But I also know that not everything is a sign—sometimes, it’s just coincidence. So, I created a little rule for myself: if something shows up three times, that’s when I see it as more than just chance.
The next day, Aisha messaged me on Instagram:
Goose bumps as I write this at 11:11 here.
Your last post has me in shivers. I wrote a song called Side of the Moon a couple of days ago and I felt like it was a song delivered to me from the perspective of someone in heaven. I kind of receive songs like that sometimes. They just drop into my mind...
Then yesterday, I went to a farmers market and saw a man wearing a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album shirt. (I've never listened to Pink Floyd or the album before but I'm aware of the album title.) And immediately, I'm like woah that's so weird because of the song I just wrote. I even nudged my partner and told him how weird it was that I'm seeing someone wearing that shirt after writing that song and THEN I see your post and it makes so much sense.
In your post you compared your grief to waves and you mention the waves subsiding. . . Eerily, I use the same imagery in this song.
Somehow (I know it's weird) I think your dad is sending you a message in this song I wrote.
I bawled when I read this. Aisha loved being the third sign and promised to send over the song when she recorded it a few weeks later.
Our exchange opened the floodgates for Pink Floyd signs. I’d wanted three, but I ended up with dozens.
When Aisha sent me the first version of the song in June last year, she included this note:
Another funny thing about this whole story is that I collaborated with a band on this song (they came up with the guitar)…and guess what their band name is?….. 'Handsome Ghost'. I thought that was another little funny sign. Didn't think of it until today. Aisha Badru ft. Handsome Ghost…….The handsome ghost is your dad!
The first time I heard the song, I sobbed. It felt so familiar:
Just took off for a trip across the galaxy
Right now I wish you that you could see the lights from here
It is all so clear
Saw your name written on the side of the moon
It’s almost like somebody made this place for you. Like it’s all for you
You are here
You have a purpose
Your heart is hurting
But it will be worth it
The tide is rising
It's pulling you under
Once it subsides
It will make you stronger
You feel so small
As you look up at the moon
Don’t you know that all the stars
They shine for you
They align for you
The waves are big and the air in your chest is gone, but you will find a way out like you always do. You always do
The imagery echoed my first post and connected to my roots. I grew up in a boat-access-only home, fishing on the ocean with my dad and riding on the school boat he drove.
As a child, a wave once pulled me under in Mexico. I didn’t know which way was up until I hit the sand. Aisha’s song reminded me of that memory—The waves are big and the air in your chest is gone.
I wrote to her:
It's taken me a day to respond because I can't get over how beautiful this song is.
I've been recently working through abandonment themes in my life that began in childhood and were triggered in adulthood with his death.
Your song reminds me that he hasn't abandoned me, and he never did. It's offered a really profound healing.
I am so deeply thankful for you and this song ❤️
This spring, when Pink Floyd signs still hadn’t stopped, I contacted Meghan Ruby, a talented medium, for clarity.
Before I could ask, she said:
Your dad is saying you're crafting the soundtrack to your daughter's life right now, similar to how you think of your dad when you hear certain songs. He is showing me the Pink Floyd concert T-shirt. This is really important because your daughter is also very connected to music.
I asked about the signs:
He's saying Pink Floyd is like the connective tissue, linking you to everything and everyone—like life force energy. I don’t fully understand it, but he’s saying you will. For you, their lyrics and music are deeply tied to that life force.
It’s wild—he's showing me the human body and heart, how the different chambers work together. I’m no anatomy expert, but it’s like oxygen and blood flowing through the heart, and Pink Floyd is the heart of it all. It’s more spiritual than physical—something about opening the heart or its interconnectedness. Pink Floyd, for you, is key to that connection.
Meghan added:
He keeps showing me, when it comes to Pink Floyd, Stardust or stars or the Milky Way. He keeps showing me Stardust in space.
As I wrote this blog, I Googled "Pink Floyd" and "stars." The first result was about a planetarium show, and I laughed. My family had seen a Pink Floyd show at the Vancouver Planetarium! I’d completely forgotten, but obviously, my dad hadn’t.
Aisha released her new song on September 6. Listen to it on Apple Music, Spotify or YouTube.
In the end, I know this: We are not alone. We are all interconnected.
