COINCIDENCE OR NOT?

“Coincidence is a spiritual pun” G. K. Chesterton

I had a recent experience that got me thinking about how some events appear to accidentally come together…and whether it’s all about coincidence, synchronicity (which Jung called “meaningful coincidence”), luck or destiny.

What happened was this: I was helping my mom clean out one of her closets, and we found a box of old photos of my Grandma Miller’s, who had pasted away in 1965. I came across a picture of her and my grandfather circa 1913 which would have been shortly before they got married. They were standing in front of Lake Whatcom with several other young people. The picture had been turned into a postcard and had been sent to my grandmother from her friend “Glady” (who was one of the other young women in the photo). She talked about how she’d like to come and visit my grandma up in Sumas, and at the bottom she wrote her address in Bellingham: 2221 James Street – my current office address! To say the least, I was rather shocked, but extremely happy, to know that a young woman who lived in this house, which was built in 1907, was a friend of my grandma’s. And it has brought up a lot of questions for me. Did my grandmother, from the other side, have an influence on me finding this place to rent last year? Or did Glady? Is there a deeper meaning to all of this? Is the spirit of a young woman that I saw when I first moved in here indeed that of Glady? Was it coincidence that brought me here, or coincidence that Grandma kept that postcard and I found it almost a hundred years later? I think not!

As I have never really believed in coincidence, these “co – incidences” gave me a shiver up my spine as I knew other energies were at work. Webster defines coincidence as “the act or condition of coinciding,” which I really like. It then adds a second definition of “the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection.” Hmm…by accident, my foot.

I believe that behind everything that seems to be coincidental, big or small, lays a deeper meaning. I believe these events are, in part, our higher self urging us to seek the hidden meaning behind apparent random events. Just as our sub-conscious speaks to us in symbols in our dreams, there are signs in our everyday life that need to be paid attention to.

These signs are meant to wake us up and discover more about our own selves. They can serve as messengers of important information about our present circumstances and even about our future. They can act as reflections of where we are in our life, give us insight and help us make important decisions – if we just pay attention to them.

So, what have I learned from the postcard to my grandmother? Well, being that I communicate with the deceased on an almost daily basis anyway, I had to, of course, talk to Grandma and Glady about all this. From what I can tell, they both want to validate and assist in the healing work that I do. And, they like that I am “taking care” of Glady’s house. I’m sure I will continue to discover more of the meaning behind all this, and in the meantime, I’ll take all the help I can get!
Ó Jill Miller 2008