Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Coinkydinks and 31 Days to Being a Real Writer, Day 3



Day 3

In late September I began marking an October calendar with ideas for this project. Apparently concerned that my idea well might be dry on a given day.  As I told my friend  and fellow blogger Amy,  
( thepentriloquist.blogspot.com ) when I looked at my note for Oct 1,  all it said was, "pasta noodles"
If you see a post this month about pasta noodles, you'll know I remembered what that note meant.

I like to let ideas simmer a little in my head before the writing begins.  So while this one was rolling around, I jumped on Facebook. The very first post I saw was an e-card that stated my idea, only with a nice font and pretty colors.

That's cool for a couple reasons. First, because it just is. Don't you agree? Fun coinkydink, right?
Second, because that is my topic today. Coincidence. Randomness. My lack of belief in either.

The e-card said, "We do not meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason."
Not sure how you feel about that, but I fully agree. Just like I do not believe anything is a surprise to God, I also do not believe in coincidence.

This post is not going to delve into theological or physics theories. The topic is not whether I believe in coincidence and why or why not?
The topic is how I live in response to that.

So I will say this again - I believe there is a reason for every person/situation/circumstance which enters my life.
I wish I could say that purpose is always abundantly clear.
I wish I could say I am present enough to be aware if the purpose is clear.

Presence. I need to work on it.
Openness to new experiences. I need to work on that as well.
Acceptance of the present circumstances as, perhaps, a lesson that will benefit me. OUCH. Big work needed.

Do you need any work in these areas? No? Just me?

It has been said that if you think about a dream, a desire, a person every day, it is safe to say that person or dream has a place in your life.
The dreams I had when I was 10, the ones I played out when I was alone, are essentially the same dreams I have today.
Well, not the one about being a Major League baseball player.
So why do I downplay those dreams that were put on my heart so many years ago?
Why do you?

We aren't given dreams and desires in a whim, with no hope of them coming true. It doesn't work that way.

It's the same with people.
I wrote a piece last November when the Sandusky scandal broke open. 20,000 people read it. A few of them have become friends.
Sure, we share a love of Penn State. So do 600,000 other alumni. But I believe there is a reason for meeting every single one of these folks. I don't know what it is, and I don't sit around pondering or being gooey about it. I simply know it is true. No coincidence.

How often have you started to dial a number, and the person calls you at the same time? Or you get on the computer to send an email and find an email waiting for you from that person? Not a coincidence.

Life tells us things and, very often, we are too busy to listen. Or we cast them off as coincidence or random events.
 Life brings people across our path and, very often, we are too busy or too closed to embrace them.
Why?
Are we so adept at knowing how life operates and what we need that we discount the unexpected as a coincidence?
Are we so sure we already have enough friends - the right friends - that we pass over people?

I have been guilty of this.
How about you? Do you think you might have missed something or someone because you weren't present or open to something new.

Let's try an experiment. Let's be present and open to what the moment is saying, without judgment. Let's be open to people who cross our path, without judgment.

Maybe we will be surprised by dreams that have been right in front of us, waiting to be reached.
Maybe we will be surprised by someone we had discounted or kept out of our life.
Maybe we will be surprised by the relief of accepting present circumstances and seeking lessons.

Will you join me? I hope so.

See you tomorrow - Day 4. Maybe we will talk about pasta noodles!

BP :)

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