Is a coincidence actually a miracle in disguise?
and also, shit happens
I wonder if I would have still become a chiropractor if Bruce wouldn’t have been in my section that night? I worked at an upscale restaurant that was famous for its chicken wings – I know upscale and chicken wings don’t go together but there you have it. I was serving a bachelor party before their shenanigans began, and this guy was best man to the groom. We ended up becoming good buddies.
Bruce was a chiropractic student and we stayed in touch by mailing each other letters and going for occasional walks when he was on a break. We often talked about his education and career plans and, over the course of our friendship, it became clear to me what I wanted to do. I had been receiving treatment from chiropractors my whole life but never thought of it as a career path until I randomly met this guy.
We stayed in touch for many years, but as life got busy, we drifted apart until thirty-five years later when Bruce began treating my elderly mom after she moved to his community.
Was I meant to be the server for that bachelor party? Would I have found my calling without that nudge from Bruce? Is there some pre-ordained plan to the Universe which means everything happen for a reason?
I don’t know Honeybun, I just don’t know.
I struggle to buy the idea of a completely pre-ordained plan for life, but I do know there are a lot of scientific and spiritual laws we either forget about or can’t quite understand. These laws are clear reminders of things that fly below our awareness yet greatly influence our lives – gravity, anyone?
I’m no theoretical physicist (that would be SO cool though!) but I frequently pay attention to what’s happening in the quantum world of science. I’ll remind us that the 2022 Nobel prize in physics was awarded to the scientists with groundbreaking research in entanglement – the phenomenon that Einstein famously called “spooky action at a distance”. Two or more particles can be mysteriously connected across vast distances and, if the state of one of them changes, it will instantly correlate with the other one changing even though they are so far apart. Crazy but true!
Quantum physics shows us two profound truths: we cannot know everything with perfect clarity, and the very act of observing the world changes what we find.
I believe that when we live intentionally by focusing our attention on a certain direction the Universe – that being God, physics, mathematics, and nature – respond in unknown ways to direct the course of our life. How we move through our days, and what happens, is a fluid process that is directed by both our free will and these mysterious universal patterns.
We are built to seek significance, so we naturally find meaning from the events in our lives – it’s our inner compass. It seems that when I can surrender to the space that surrounds the events of my day, I feel more content. Embracing a wider perspective, allowing myself to be part of a bigger pattern as I soften my grip of control, brings me peace and when I can rest in this state (it doesn’t happen nearly as often as I would like), everything flows much easier.
Does it all happen for a reason?
Not necessarily.
We all know bad things happen to good people, just as we can be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It doesn’t mean it was supposed to happen! Yet even when we’re in the muck we can mentally and spiritually make our experience worthwhile to help us weave meaning into the sacred fabric of our life.
May we be attuned to the many, interesting coincidences that unfold as we move through our days. May we trust that all doors open at the right time, even those that are hidden. May we feel gratitude and ease every day. May we receive all the blessings of every moment as they arrive.1
Be well my friend and thank you for being here.
If you want miracles in your life please tap the ❤️. Just kidding Lovebug, we know miracles don’t work that way – except it IS a miracle to me when you show me the love.
xoxo Donna
P.S. I’d love to know if you think everything happens for a reason? All thoughts on free will vs destiny are welcome!
Some of these blessings are not my words but those of Tosha Silver from her book Change Me Prayers.
Thank you for this. I have been saying that my universe is almost miraculous. I have fallen in love in my 70's and feel like I am in my 40's or 50's. We had so much in common on a dating app that it was unbelievable. Slowly we have evolved and are in our 5th year. Go figure.
Sometimes it feels like, as a culture, we’re compelled to take everything apart and analyze every detail. And there’s value in that, we learn and grow through close examination. But it’s just as important to put things back together again and why I love "entanglement." Maybe this life is meant to hold both.