"In mathematics, two angles that are said to coincide fit together perfectly. The word coincidence does not describe luck or mistakes. It describes that which fits together perfectly." ~ Wayne Dyer
SIDENOTE: Please excuse my improper punctuation etc etc... Oh and please excuse all of the {"coincidence"} words in quotes. I know it gets annoying but I just really like to say it that way..... :-P
When I was young (elementary school age), if I would see a piece of paper on the ground, I would always have to stop and grab it to see if maybe, just maybe, God had written me a message on it. I had kind of forgotten about this ritual of mine until my cousin reminded me of it at my Grampa's funeral last February. My cousin and I are the same age, grew up together, and graduated together. She told me that whenever she sees a piece of paper on the ground, she thinks of little me and my hopeful messages from God. :). Wouldn't it be so cool if we were always LOOKING for the messages being given and were fully aware that they could be all around us? Although I never found a written message from God on one of those papers I picked up, if I pay attention now, the signs and messages are endless.
I try to work on being balanced and living in the moment most of the time and some days I'm much better at it than others. It is such a peaceful, content feeling when I'm there. Like I've said in previous posts, gratitude will get me there every time. I have many goosebump-raising experiences that happen when my head isnt so cluttered with "stuff" and I'm able to concentrate on being here, right now, and remembering how blessed I am. If I allow clutter and negativity in, I'm blocked from experiencing wonderful "coincidences" all around me.
Sometimes these messages can be very subtle but extremely powerful. For example, I read a book that suggested finding a symbol that would represent and remind me of my own personal gratitude. It could be anything, a certain flower, animal, or any symbol like a star, a clover, a rainbow etc. The purpose for choosing this symbol was that everytime I saw it, I would be reminded to be grateful. My symbol could appear on a magazine cover at the grocery store, on a picture, a postcard, a calendar, on a wall, in real life, etc...usually right when I need a reminder. I had some pretty cool experiences with Robins after my Grampa's death and Robins have a way of sending peaceful energy to me. So, unrelated to my Grampa, I chose the Robin as my symbol of gratitude. I see Robins more than ever now and each time I do, I adjust my attitude if it needs it and remind myself to be grateful. This always works by putting me back in the moment with a clearer mind. Like I've also said before, I don't believe in coincidences, I believe they are some type of message or sign from up above. Once you choose your symbol, it will show up in the most random ways at the best times and when you need it most. It's amazing how this works.
Earlier this spring I was noticing how my landscaping really needed some help. We've lived in this house for 6 years now and I've maintained the nice yard and landscaped areas myself, but after this long, I just needed some help in replacing a few shrubs and plants here and there and shaping it up. I love to mow the lawn and do the basic upkeep. I'm the grounds keeper of the family by choice, but this year there was much more needed than the basic spring clean up. I posted on Facebook to see if anyone had any recommendations of landscapers that weren't super expensive and that wanted some work. We called around and left many messages. We only had one call back but got a quote done. $3500 was the quote. My lawn is not really big and the landscaping is nice but pretty basic and there's not a lot of it. I just couldn't justify paying that much for what my lawn needed. After avoiding it for a few weeks, I decided to get my butt out there and just do the best I could to take care of it myself. There was a lot to do and I had no idea what I was doing, but I dug in. Of course I didn't wear gloves, so I had cuts and scrapes on my hands and legs from the rose bushes and from cleaning out all the dead plants and shrubs. After about 3 hours out in the hot sun, I had the front yard looking a bit better so I moved on to the back. It was a super hot day and I was doing a lot of bending and lifting and pulling. Of course I didn't stop to eat lunch or take a break other than grabbing a bottle of water now and then. I was getting super crabby and sore and tired and HUNGRY (I'm not very fun or nice when I'm hungry, just ask Kevin). I was starting to see an end in sight in the backyard, after another 4 1/2 hrs of work, but I was bitching and complaining in my head the whole time. I was mad that I was out there when I had so many other things to do, and my back and legs were killing me from the up-downs I'd been doing for almost 8 hrs straight. I was sunburned, starving, and extremely sore. My hands were bleeding and cut from the thorns and branches, I was mad at Kevin (?), mad that nobody was helping me, mad that it hadn't already been done, and I was building up big negative momentum. I was almost finished with what I could do and was pulling out a massive pile of dead vines when something caught my eye. Underneath the pile, was a cracked ROBIN egg shell. It was a beautiful blue cracked open shell just laying there. It literally took my breath away. Here was my symbol, and I recognized it. I hadn't realized how negative my thoughts had gotten throughout the day, they had really crept up on me. I sat there very still. My eyes filled with water but in a goosebump-raising way. I KNEW this wasn't an accidental occurrence. Something higher than me was intervening and I really needed an attitude adjustment at that moment. Thank goodness I was able to recognize and was aware of the clues that were being given to me. Immediately I started to think about all the money I was saving by doing the landscaping myself, how great of a workout I was getting by doing all of it, I was thankful that I was healthy and able to get out there and do it, thankful that I had the time to spend 8 hours outside, grateful for my amazing tan after spending 8 hours in the sun, appreciative at how nice my yard looked even though it was done by an amateur, thankful for how much I learned about landscaping by doing it myself. I was flooded with gratitude and it humbled me. Thank you, thank you, thank you , for moments like these. I am forever thankful for the messages I get all around me.
I have many "coincidences" that happen to me (we ALL do) and I love it when I "get it". Its such a warm feeling of empowerment and humility mixed with unconditional love from a very powerful source.
Another one of my "coincidences" I want to share was getting my cockatiel Robert Stroud , but first I have to take you back about 2 months prior. I always like to have a giving/helping type project that I'm working on and most times I don't tell anyone about it because it feels more gratifying that way. I don't do these projects for acknowledgement, or for show, or pats on the back. I do them because it feels good to me to help someone out and maybe make a difference along the way. It helps me feel balanced and positive and hopefully its catchy. Every once in a while I have to let a few people know about it because I need their help or opinion about something relating to my project. I am a little leary about sharing this specific example but the "coincidences" are so blatant that I just have to. Anyway, I have been working on a project, inspired by my son, involving getting socks for the Yellowstone County Detention Facility inmates. My son had spent some time there a while back and I remember vividly, a conversation between a few inmates about what a luxery socks were for them in jail. I had much compassion for these inmates especially after hearing some of their life stories during Family Week at the jail-based treatment program my son was attending. Most of the inmates had real sad histories. My heart was heavy for all of them, even the seemingly harden criminals. I'll always remember the conversation I overheard about their socks and Ill never forget how I felt for wanting a newer car at the time, a newer car seemed so materialistic and unnecessary all of a sudden. Socks are not something the inmates automatically get when they check in. They have to buy them through the jail and in order to do that, they have to have money on their books. Having money on your books means that someone outside of jail brought in money for you to use to order things such as socks, snacks, etc. I made sure that my son had socks but there are many many inmates that don't have the luxury of money on their books for anything. Please know that my head fully understands that these guys are in jail for a reason and they deserve the consequences that are given without luxuries, but my heart doesn't understand the conditions in which they are put and how they are treated. Ive written about how much my son has taught me and one of them is compassion, compassion for inmates...for my own child was once one of them. The discussion of the luxury of socks in jail sat heavy on my heart for some time even after my son was released from jail. Once in a while even after a few years passed, I would think about it and feel for the inmates. When I would happen to drive by the jail or the building the jail-based treatment program was held at, I would go back to that conversation and think about the socks. I understand that socks are such a small detail in the scheme of life and not a basic survival necessity but FOR SOME REASON, that I may never know, the thought of not having socks really haunted me. Five years have gone by and I was still being reminded of the socks more and more. I realized it must be something Im supposed to give my attention to so I became more aware of the messages given. I began my project to get every inmate in the YCDC a pair of thick, warm socks. I had been working on this project a few weeks before Robert Stroud came into my life....
...One normal crazy Thursday, I was running my errands and ran into the pet store to grab crickets for the Gecko. I have a pet Gecko that I feed crickets to once a week. I have walked by the birds (at the pet store) once a week, every week, for the past 10 years to get crickets and have never been tempted or even thought about getting a bird. This particular day, I walked by the birds as I always do, and there he was looking at me with his beady little eyes. I'm not sure what happened in that moment, but I knew I was taking that bird home. I didn't even ask Kevin because I knew he'd say no. " No more livestock", has come out of his mouth many times. I knew I was getting this bird the minute I saw him. Sounds weird and hokey I know, but it's how it was. I learned he had already been named Robert Stroud by his former owners, but I thought it was a pretty boring name. Maybe the former family's last name was Stroud? A few days later, in a cool/strange "coincidental" way, I found out Robert Stroud was the name of an actual person and there is a 1962 Burt Lancaster movie about him called "The Birdman of Alcatraz". It's a true story about the life of Robert Stroud. He was a murderer in prison that was being held in permanent isolation who redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert. My curiosity got the best of me and I rented the movie. I was feeling the beginning ripples of my "coincidence" when I learned my bird was named after a prisoner, right in the middle of my project that was inspired by inmates. In the movie, Burt Lancaster (as Robert Stroud) finds a baby bird in an uprooted nest, getting soaked by the rain, out in his solitary confinement courtyard. Robert takes the cold baby bird into his cell, slowly takes off his warm SOCK, and rolls it down to make a comfy nest for this struggling baby chick.
....Goosebumps .....
The depth of symbolism in this experience of mine is endless. I could go on and on, but I knew right then, this cockatiel named Robert Stroud, was meant to be mine.
I love when I "get it". I love the messages that are given to me all of the time, and I love when I'm aware enough to receive them. I love having that connection with the soul. I love knowing there is so much more in store for me, and I love sharing my experiences with others and hearing their's. I'm a work in progress and the life-lessons and experiences, good and bad, along the way are all so worth it.
So now, whenever I see a piece of paper blowing around outside, it reminds me of that little girl desperately searching for messages and her eagerness to find them. She still lives inside of me and that makes me smile and fill up with compassion for her. I want to wake up every morning with that same ambition, and I'm so thankful for my symbols to remind me how.
What's your symbol? ;-)
"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous" - Albert Einstein
"It's hard to believe in coincidence, but it's even harder to believe in anything else." - John Green
