It was clear by the irony of their introduction, that their meeting was not a coincidence. Andres had just started his Family Practice residency at U of South Alabama, and Mary was finishing her training as a Meteorological Forecaster for the US Marines, at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi. Andres was on his way back to Mobile, Alabama, after spending Christmas in Florida with family. Mary's daughter, Marissa, had stayed the night next door, so she was spending the evening alone. They both decided to spend December 25th at the Beau Rivage, to enjoy some live entertainment and dancing. Andres spotted Mary dancing, from across the room. He couldn't help himself but approach... Mary, who was now watching other people gleefully dance below her, suddenly felt a tap on the shoulder. When she turned around, she heard, "can I buy you a drink?" in a thick Spanish accent. At first she considered declining, out of principle, as she'd come with the intention of being alone. But she couldn't resist the depth of his piercing eyes, nor the innocence of his smile. So she accepted. Together, they walked to the bar, where they yelled at each other over the loud music, for at least an hour. The conversation was so engaging that the external environment no longer mattered. It was like a bubble surrounded them, as they discussed traveling, the Peace Corps, the Marines, and their various aspirations for the future. Mary instantly admired his worldliness, his heart to serve, and his ambition. She loved that when she talked to Andres, hours turned to minutes because their interests and visions were so aligned. And he was so handsome...and that accent... Andres admired her strength and will to do good in the world. He was impressed that she was a Marine, intrigued by her desire for adventure, and loved that she enjoyed dancing. And she was so sexy...and those blue eyes...

As time went on, Mary and Andres spent every moment they could together. Despite his 80 hour shifts, and the demands of her military school and being a single parent, they managed to find time to spend on romantic dates, getaways to New Orleans, dancing (lots of dancing), and engaging in deep discussions about the world, religion, healthcare, and so much more. They even wrote a song together. But soon everything would change.

After three months of spending every possible moment together, Mary had to fulfill her duty to the Marine Corps, and was relocated to California. Neither of them knew what the future held, and both were too afraid to define it. After many months of talking every day, and visiting one another during time off, Andres and Mary decided they were "boyfriend and girlfriend." But this only marked the beginning of the most difficult times in their relationship.

Over the course of the next two years, Andres inspired Mary, and encouraged her to pursue her passions, which led to her decision to exit the military and move onto a new path. The next non-coincidence was that Andres completed his residency at the same time that Mary was leaving the Marines. It'd been three years since they'd met, most of which was spent thousands of miles apart, and Andres & Mary agreed that they had to make a decision: move together, or say goodbye. In November, 2013, they moved together to New York, where Andres worked as a hospitalist and began the early stages of Samasta Health, and Mary attended college at Columbia University. While they were both excited to be together, and to be pursuing their own interests, soon Andres & Mary realized that living together was an entirely different experience than talking on the phone and having occasional romantic getaways...(shit got real)... It was time to wade through the (sometimes murky) waters of integrating hearts, minds, families and cultures; something that presented copious challenges.

After two years of living together in New York, their two identities were shrouded with mystery by seemingly impenetrable masks and walls . Neither Mary nor Andres fully knew the other, and both were focusing more on their separate visions for themselves than a unified vision for their relationship. With conflict fueled by secrets, the flames of passion turned to fury. The tension was mounting and soon something had to give. As if it were a message from the heavens, a call to focus outside of themselves temporarily froze any brewing conflict. Mary and Andres spend two months dedicated to creating a beautiful safe space for Mary's two nieces, who were in need of temporary emotional and physical stability. Working together toward a common goal, and demonstrating their compassion and patience, served as a reminder of the depth and tenderness of one another's soul, and gave Andres and Mary the opportunity to rekindle their mutual admiration, and reevaluate their focus. Still, there were secrets to be revealed, self discovery to commence, and growth to be had.

Shortly after fulfilling their stint with Mary's nieces, Mary decided to take some time away from college and do a bit of soul searching. This was the beginning of their resolution, and the deep connection to themselves, and one another, that they'd been missing... but not before the even deeper pain of taking responsibility for their faults and negative actions, and shedding their previous identities (along with some disempowering generational behavior patterns). Throughout those years, Mary, Andres and Marissa traveled and attended all the seminars and training courses they could get their hands on, in search of the transformation and answers they needed to build the life they had begun to envision, together. It was a result of the immense growth that took place at that time, that Mary, Andres and Marissa finally became unified.

After traveling, Andres, Mary and Marissa settled down in Hawai'i, where they bought a small-lot coffee farm and began to plant the roots of not only their physical locale, but also their commitment to growth as a family. The hard work was far from over. Here, they realized the power of shared goals, and working together to achieve those goals, as opposed to just having shared visions. They learned how to work together, while honoring one another's boundaries. They learned healthy balance and the power of synergy. Authenticity, integrity, boundaries and letting go of the need for external validation, were all fundamental aspects of healthy growth in their relationship, which developed in large part from their mutual interest and teamwork in business.

Over the years from 2014 to 2017, Mary and Andres had been pursuing business, and finally they found a way to enjoy that endeavour together, while also allowing one another the freedom to grow authentically. This lesson was in large part, a result of attending an intense online business program called the London Real Academy Business Accelerator. After completing the eight-week course, and building new, and lasting friendships with their cohort, Mary, Marissa and Andres traveled to London for the graduation. Mary had no idea, what was going to happen next.

The day of the graduation, Mary, Marissa and Andres met up with friends and filmed interviews throughout the day. It was so engaging that Mary didn't have time to ponder Andres' strange behavior. Marissa, confused, told her mother that Andres had left the restaurant where they'd been conducting interviews, to go the bathroom at the hotel, but had come back to retrieve his credit card. "Why does he need his credit card to go to the bathroom?" she asked. Mary thought it was odd, but was busy and didn't spend time dwelling on it. Soon, after being gone for quite a long time, Andres returned, just in time to make it to the graduation dinner. At the graduation, Mary was asked to speak in front of the group. As she was talking, suddenly the background music began to play. As the music began to drown out her voice, internally panicking and annoyed, she attempted to power through the distraction, thinking, "the show must go on," and continued to talk. Soon, she noticed Andres walking toward the bench that she was standing on. She thought to herself, "what is he doing?" She still continued to talk. Then, she saw the ring box in his hand, and a wave of surprise and emotions came over her. Onlookers thought she was going to faint. Through the noise in the background and rushing emotion, Mary didn't hear Andres pop the question, so she stood there waiting, for what felt like an eternity. Andres stood eagerly awaiting her answer. Finally, staring down at her prince charming, Mary threw her arms into the air, and yelled, "yes!" It was only later that Mary learned that Andres had been running all over the city of London, with a number of obstacles, trying to buy the ring- and that was why he needed his credit card to go to the bathroom. Without ever having a dull moment, the journey continues...