Synchronicity’s path to home

My recent Facebook post: “Never underestimate the power of synchronicity–Connections made without thought or weighing or measuring brought you and I to amazing opportunities to grow, to learn and most of all, to express love. In gratitude, Elke”

Synchronicity–Carl Jung coined the term, scientists discussed and debated about it: Seemingly un-related events are linked at some mysterious causal level. Solutions to problems appear out of nowhere. A person shows up, leads me to another person who tells me something I need to know. My business has counted on Synchronicity–this is from an article I published on the entrepreneur’s networking site, Biznik.com (http://biznik.com/articles/metaphysics-of-business-part-8-synchronicity-happens)

I’d just arrived in my office to sort out phone messages. On the answering machine were various requests for services and then, this one: “Hello, this is Belle H., visiting from Southern Georgia. I found you via Google. I am looking for a spiritual teacher. Please call.”

Intrigued, I admittedly skipped over several other clients’ messages to call her. She answered and spoke as if she were walking and talking at the same time: “Yes, I am in town for a month. May I visit you soon?” I said I was fairly booked up, but then for some reason, stated: “I am in my office right now, where are you?” She was walking from a B & B five miles out of town, and was currently a few blocks away. I invited her to stop by and visit, and thus started an amazing business relationship. We’ve been working together intensively while she is here.

During our initial visit, I asked her: “How did you find me?”
Her tale of synchronicity: “I’m a teacher at a private school in S. Georgia, but my true fascination is spirituality, since I’ve been having some unusual spiritual experiences. I am also teaching a spirituality/religious studies class this Fall, and wanted to do some research. Recently, I had the opportunity to move out of my small apartment into more spacious accommodations, but would have had to pay quite a bit more for it. For some reason, my intuition told me to not make the move, instead go on a journey. So I thought about going to the Pacific Northwest, because I had always wanted to travel here.  I Googled “Washington cottages”, and got the name of this incredible B&B I’m staying at outside this sweet little town. The owner has been so kind, she has driven me everywhere, and I have plenty of space to read and meditate and be. During one of my meditations, I had the thought: ‘I need a spiritual teacher now’. So I Googled “spiritual advisor, LaConner”, and your name came on top of the list, on a biz-something site (Biznik.com). I liked what I saw, and here I am.”

Now, had she actually typed into Google, “spiritual teacher, LaConner”, she would have come up with a variety of nonsense; I tried it. But something “told” her to type out the word “advisor” and that did the trick.

On the road, synchronicity worked its magic in uncountable ways. Places to stay showed up just in the nick of time via its woo-woo dance. We could not have met the amazing life-long friends we made any other way than taking this journey. Many a wish  came true on the road, including food cravings: As the sole driver, I was “rewarded” from time to time with Jim giving into my occasional weird cravings, i.e. a desire for chicken wings seemed to pop up now and again, especially during grinding long stretches of road. Somewhere in South Carolina I had such a desire. “Surely there’s a chicken wing exit somewhere off this Interstate,” I said aloud, while scanning the billboards for clues. No clues were forthcoming, but I veered off an exit with a Southern cafe chain, fully knowing that OF COURE they’ll have those wings on the menu. Alas, no they did not, according to the hostess. Two customers–an elder church-lady (with appropriate wig and hat) and her grown son, paying for their after Sunday church meal–overheard my sad reaction: “Darn. Ya know when your mouth is all ready for something, and ya can’t find it?” I whined. Church-lady mom: “Ya’ll need to follow my son and me to a fine, fine place up the road. We enjoy Fat Jack’s, y’all will too. Son, lead these good people to the wings”

So we followed their car up the road, down another,  past a big swamp, and seemingly to the middle of nowhere. Just as our minds wondered “Hmmm, where the h*** are we going?”, church-lady & son led us to a strip mall with a big ol’ sign in the middle: Fat Jack’s Chillin & Grillin( in Walterboro, SC). She rolled down her window, and gave us her blessings” Y’all enjoy yo-selves!” You’ll be glad I mentioned this next time you’re cruising I-95: Cavernous place full of after-church folks, and with more than a dozen flavors of  wings: Wings nirvana! We ordered them to-go from Fat Jack himself (looked the part, if you know what I mean), and picnicked at the swamp, which happened to be a community park. Mmmmm and alleluia! Mighty fine synchronicity!

Right now, I am on the computer, looking for a U-haul truck rental for Sunday’s big move out of our storage unit and into our new home. What? I didn’t mention that we found–through synchronicity’s mischievous whims–a home on the beach? Hehehe…

Yup. The other houses on Whidbey Island led to meeting nice people, and showed us what we truly desired: a place on the beach or in nature would be great, and a good place to do our work….but damn! It was time to land! In a house! You know, a structure with walls and a roof, a place to nurture our tired bodies?

After the last beach-house siting, I was flummoxed. I looked and re-looked at the for-rent listings on the Island, and nothing fit our needs. There were a number of “almosts,” but almost is not a good place to lay one’s head at night. So I gave up.

Right then and there, I just gave in, thinking, “OK. I am DONE!” Absent-mindedly, I checked into FaceBook, only to find a one sentence message from a friend I did not know very well: “Are you interested in North Whatcom County?”, followed by a phone number. That was all. I called immediately.

The situation: This wonderful woman and her partner had lived in a beach house on the Lummi reservation, across from Bellingham, WA, for 22 years. Both worked out of the house. Both loved the beach, the magnificent garden–they poured their love into this place. Her partner has been journeying with cancer for 5 years, however, and they decided to buy a house in town, closer to resources and friends.

The rest of the story: They could not sell the house, took it off the market. My friend had been following our journey and home search. Woke up in the middle of the night to write that FB message. And then “Would you be interested in living there for a small rent and utilities in exchange for keeping up the garden?” Hmmm.

We ventured up there, I fell in love with the house and land right off. Jim was hesitant: another temporary place, and a bit out of town…but it felt like the right thing to do.
We move in this weekend.

You know how it works: Just when you think the answer is either hiding or out-and-out unavailable, synchronicity places it–plop!–right in front of you. Sometimes, synchronicity uses “stall tactics” while waiting for the right timing to synchronize the events…like our wanderings around the country. Its all ok: while we’ve been waiting for our next home, it’s been a grand adventure indeed.

Happy trails,
Elke