I no longer believe in coincidences.  Actually, I should qualify, I no longer believe in a “coincidence” according to common usage.  By this I mean the kind of “coincidence” that is actually a tiny energetic miracle but that unfortunately goes unappreciated.  Here is an amazing story that led me to this insight.

Since the 2005 National Wellness Conference, I have been carrying a strong sense that there was “something out there” for me.  That is as specific as I can be but I will say that this “something out there” thought has visited me everyday since July. 

Then a few months ago it happened.*  I flew to Salt Lake City to give a workshop.  As I sat on the plane, the woman next to me smiled and said hello. I returned her smile and asked her where she had been and where she was going. She indicated that she was returning home from a two-day seminar that had left her thinking about whether there was “something else out there” for her. I was stunned.  I suggested that we talk about "what else there might be", which we did for the remainder of the flight.

Two days later, I boarded a shuttle to the airport. The driver and I had a nice conversation about the weather, the changing autumn colors, and sports. Then, out of the blue he said, “this is just a temporary job for me.”  I told him that anyone who was gainfully employed had no reason to apologize, but he persisted. He volunteered that he and a family member had owned a business for a while but that the business changed after this family member passed away. He said that he realized very soon after this trauma that there was “something else out there” for him. Again, I was stunned. He continued.

He explained to me how he had taken advantage of some amazingly timely coincidences that basically lead him to a more stress-free existence. He said that when he officially embarked on his search of the “out there”, he set a two year timeline for himself. He decided to drive a shuttle so he could (this is important, pay attention) “watch and listen for messages”. He even recorded the best messages on a tape recorder that he carried with him in his van.  When he dropped me off, I gave him my business card and the biggest tip I have ever given a shuttle driver.

It gets better. After being searched, screened and processed at the airport, I finally arrived at my gate area. I sat down and began eating my snack.  A woman sitting near me asked what time it was. When I told her, she groaned and said, “I have been waiting here for 4 hours and I have no idea why”.   This statement caught my attention so I asked her where she was headed. Instead of telling me, she chose to tell me from where she had come. She proceeded to reveal an incredible story full of coincidences and messages from other people.  I listened in amazement.

Then, in mid-sentence, she leaned forward in her seat, looked at me intensely and said, “do you think that sometimes you meet people who have a message for you? For example, you could have a message for me.” My immediate response to her was “or perhaps, YOU have a message for ME!”  Our conversation continued but I had already heard what I needed to hear. For the third time in two days, I sat stunned.

It is largely due to these, or other coincidental conversations that I decided to take the Wellness Moment online and to host a non-profit conference dedicated to the coincidence.

With encouragement to be fully present in the wellness moment and to pay attention to the coincidences that occur everyday.

Namaste

* Subtle details have been changed