his episode takes us back 22 years ago —
to Friday, October 10th and Saturday, October 11th, 2003.
What unfolded across those two days became one of the great initiations of my life —
and so this offering is a LOVING DEDICATION!
To Inge — whose healing hands became a lantern guiding me inward.
To Samina — who, within hours of being named my emergency contact, rose like an angel in work boots — navigating doctors, transfers, insurance, admissions — holding the outer world steady when mine was slipping.
To Frankie — the cosmic instigator, the wizard of right-time right-place meetings, who has ushered me into more transformations than I can count.
And to the unseen choreography of divine guidance that wove us all together in perfect timing — again.
It was love in action.
Friendship embodied.
The truest expression of chosen family.
If Inge’s healing was the guiding light,
Samina’s devotion was the steady flame —
the living pulse of SEVA, that Sanskrit word for selfless service:
acts not done for reward or recognition,
but as devotion,
as love made visible.
Their care was prayer in motion,
holding me between heaven and earth
until I could stand again —
breathing, feeling, becoming whole.
For a deeper glimpse into this journey, you may watch my TEDx talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/annemarie_lombard_puntschart_about_taking_on_responsibility_and_adventures_within?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare












