Perhaps you have heard the term “There are no coincidences.” It is usually said when there is a
“chance” meeting or phone call that almost seems orchestrated. For example, you think about an old friend, and within five minutes they call you. You go to a new kind of gathering and find many friends there that you know from completely different circumstances. You reach for a book in a bookstore, and there is someone you know reaching for the same book at the same moment.
Pure coincidence?
I pay attention to these seemingly random events and wonder at their meaning. I don’t always know right away but wait to see how things unfold. Years ago I used to run into a woman I worked with at the local farmers market every Saturday. I went at different times each week, and walked a different ‘course,’ but yet there she would be. Many of my friends also went
to this market, but I always just ran into this one woman. I decided to make an effort to get to know her better and found we had many things in common outside work. It was like our souls GPS monitors were directing us to the same
spot at the same time.
And yet this could be called coincidence.
I recently went on a trip to Costa Rica with a tour group, and the first night as a ‘get acquainted’
that was so much like me it was like we had known each other forever. Judith lives in the Yucatan in Mexico and leads spiritual gatherings at her Bed and Breakfast. During our conversations, she shared with me the word “Dios-idencia” … a combination of Dios, which means God, and coincidencia, which means coincidence in Spanish.
For me, my English version is “God-incidence,” a combination of God and coincidence. Now it isn’t likely that we can all agree on who or what God is, but if we can agree that it is an invisible force for good in our lives, then we can accept that
recognize these events as special and worth trying to understand the meaning they have for us.
Why is it important to start to recognize these Godincidences? Because they are just another way of paying attention to our divine guidance system. I do know people who take this to an extreme and try to find meaning in EVERY small event in their lives. I myself just pay attention to the big ones and am in awe when they happen … like meeting Judith. We may never meet again, but I will carry her lovely energy with me the rest of this lifetime … her faith in the divine order of
connection for your career … or finding a resource for your home that makes your life easier. They can be small or really big, but when they happen, and you know when they do, try to get a sense of how you feel at that moment. Let that “feeling” be your guide. Let it tell you if something that happens is just a random event or truly “guided.”
This is a very subtle skill but one that we can all develop. So be on the lookout for these miraculous meetings when you least expect them. Be open to them and acknowledge them for what they are … Godincidences!
It is “Starting to Look a Lot Like Christmas,”…or Hanukkah…or Kwanzaa…or…” for much of Western Civilization. That can mean a rise in the level of joy and happiness, and it can also mean a rise in the level of anxiety. So let’s see if we can diffuse a few of those thoughts in advance of them catching you off guard.
In the last year, my husband lost his last immediate family member. Most years, our Thanksgiving was spent with his parents or sister, and now they are all gone. For a moment, for this first year, that left an empty feeling in us about this holiday…usually so full of family sharing and catching up…and laughter…and good food.
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