In my early days learning about crypto‭, ‬I am sure I annoyed everyone in my inner circle by talking about it‭. ‬I know I annoyed my‭ ‬late father‭. ‬I figured that as an accountant‭, ‬a former CEO‭, ‬and an all-around successful businessman‭, ‬and someone who managed his finances traditionally‭, ‬he'd be excited about it‭. ‬It took me several attempts to get the impression he was not interested‭. ‬And then when he said pointedly‭,‬‭ ‬“I do not want to talk about Bitcoin”‭, ‬I knew for sure‭. ‬

I mentioned this to a neuroscientist friend and she said kindly‭, ‬“You need to stop‭.‬”‭ ‬She explained that as engaged as my dad was in the world‭, ‬he was in his late‭ ‬'70s‭, ‬and the idea of a new kind of money was too much for him‭. ‬What I was witnessing‭ ‬-‭ ‬and causing‭ ‬-‭ ‬was the distress of an intelligent person whose brain was short-circuiting with a concept he couldn't comprehend‭. ‬

Her counsel taught me a lot‭. ‬I still annoyed everyone else‭, ‬I am sure‭, ‬by talking about this new blockchain space‭. ‬But over time‭, ‬I've stopped doing that‭. ‬Around this time‭, ‬I saw a crypto influencer from the Philippines address this phenomenon‭. ‬I am paraphrasing his TikTok‭: ‬'You tried to tell your friends about this opportunity‭, ‬and they wouldn't listen and you don't understand why‭. ‬That's because they haven't been called‭. ‬You have‭. ‬So just focus on that‭.‬”

The idea of being‭ ‬“called”‭ ‬to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptos was fascinating‭, ‬because honestly‭, ‬that's exactly how it felt‭. ‬How else would you explain a Canadian in her late 40s who left most of her financial decisions to financial adviser middlemen‭, ‬getting into something so technical‭, ‬complicated and seemingly impenetrable‭? ‬The only way this makes sense‭ ‬to me in a non-metaphysical way is that I have long been a trend-watcher‭ ‬and early to new things‭. ‬But that usually extended to‭ ‬lifestyle‭, ‬health‭, ‬fitness and pop culture‭. ‬I always longed to understand the world of finance better‭, ‬but it would be several‭ ‬years before I set about educating myself about it‭. ‬

I was just talking to an old friend who confirmed that it is a highly odd thing that I would first spend so much time on it‭, ‬develop so much conviction and then actually write a column about my experiences‭! ‬As I told her that it became something I wasn't able to avoid‭, ‬she said‭: ‬“Ah‭. ‬Someone was helping you‭.‬”‭ ‬In one of my online communities‭, ‬someone said‭, ‬“God told me to buy XRP‭.‬”‭ ‬It stopped me in my tracks‭, ‬because I wasn't going to buy any XRP‭, ‬but something‭ (‬or someone‭) ‬told me to get some back when it was under 50‭ ‬cents‭. ‬And recently‭, ‬I've joined a community of women investors in crypto‭, ‬led by an engineer in the US who has created a whole ecosystem for us‭. ‬On my‭ ‬welcome call with one of her associates I told her nothing about me getting in so deep in this space makes any sense‭. ‬She said‭:‬‭ ‬“Some members of our community say that this is a calling‭.‬”‭ ‬

The more I hear this‭, ‬the more it makes sense‭. ‬Perhaps it's the result of quantum entanglement enhancing my conscious experience‭, ‬maybe even with a future version of myself who knows how‭ ‬it's all going to work out‭. ‬This is the sort of forward-looking research in physics I like‭: ‬that we may be living in a subset of different realities our linear brains struggle to understand‭. ‬Any way you slice it‭, ‬I am a lone wolf in my world‭. ‬I just know I had to do it the way I have been compelled to do other things‭: ‬like taking time for a breathwork session in Dubai last weekend that I didn't have time for‭, ‬or selling my home and packing all my belongings into five suitcases to board a plane to Abu Dhabi in 2008‭. ‬I haven't regretted‭ ‬those decisions‭. ‬And deep in my bones‭, ‬I know I won't regret this either‭. ‬

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