“Yes, you see, there’s no such thing as coincidence. There are no accidents in life. Everything that happens is the result of a calculated move that leads us to where we are.” ― J.M. Darhower, Sempre: Redemption
When you begin to practice believing in earnest, you begin to realize that naming something a coincidence is a way of dismissing a hint toward your divine calling. If it is ‘only’ a coincidence, then it is nothing more than a curiosity.
An article on the Psychology Today blog argues that saying there are no coincidences stops inquiry, because if it is the Universe or God, or just random chance, then we are not personally responsible for the outcome.
I don’t see it that way at all. I assume personal responsibility for my destiny from the outset, and see the nudges from the Divine, in the form of what some call coincidence to be mine to act on if I am truly committed to becoming all that I am meant to be.
What if every so-called coincidence was an opportunity for you to take a step on a divine path? What if every person you meet has a soul connection to you? That soul connection does not have to be deeply profound or even obvious. But I believe it is still there.
When you begin to trust that the Universe (or God, Goddess, whatever you want to call it) wants you to find your path, and you practice listening, ‘coincidences’ will begin to happen more often. I listen for them. They are part of my practice of surrendering to the divine plan.
A ‘chance’ meeting with someone I’ve been thinking about does not lead me to say, “What a coincidence!” Rather, it elicits a nod of knowing to the divine entities that whispered to me that this person had something I needed or that I had something to offer that person.
A few years ago, I felt a strong pull to attend an event called the Magical Manifestation Retreat. I had been having some direct experiences with both magic and manifestation in my life, and was curious to spend a few days focusing on just that.
I traveled to California for the event, and as I was packing, I decided to pack a gardening magazine that I edit. I didn’t know why I was packing it; I thought I might give it as a gift to someone if I felt called to.
At the event, one woman mentioned in our discussions that she is a gardener. I decided to pass on one of my magazines to her. She and I didn’t really connect beyond that moment at the retreat, and we went our separate ways.
A few months later, I received a message from her: “I have read your magazine cover to cover and enjoyed it. It is now sitting on my table, being more than just a magazine, a message I should be reaching out to you. What are we supposed to be connecting about?”
This sparked a conversation about work I was doing in the shamanic realm, and we established a friendship that eventually led to my spending an evening with her the next time I was in California, and my eventually being asked to be on her leadership team for Shakti Rising, which she founded.
Packing that magazine was no coincidence. It was a nudge in the direction I was meant to travel. And because both of us practice believing, our lives have changed because of that ‘chance’ meeting.
There were several opportunities for each of us to dismiss or ignore the pull that we were feeling. It is remarkably subtle, and it takes practice to hear it, trust what you are hearing, and respond.
More recently, I felt a push to spend a morning working at a local coffee shop. I tried to resist the urge, but eventually accepted the need to listen to the call that I was offered. I went, curious to see what ‘coincidental’ meetings would take place.
There was more than one. First I met someone who offered me some important parenting advice that I needed to hear that day. Then I ran into someone who had participated in a mentorship program with me the year before. She mentioned she was wishing she could sign up for a similar experience again. I suggested she get in touch with another woman who provides similar programs. It turns out she was meeting that very woman later that day.
I knew at that moment that my purpose for being at the coffee shop was threefold: first, to receive the support I needed; second, to provide some direct encouragement to the woman I met there; third, to pass on a hello to the woman that was arriving later, which I knew would inspire her to reach out to me, because I know we are also meant to work together somehow.
Sure enough, that woman has since reached out to me. She too does not consider multiple encounters with me or people mentioning me to be ‘just a coincidence’. She believes there is a reason behind it.
There is more to this than believing there are no coincidences. There is also the active listening for those moments that many dismiss as chance, and there is acting on what you hear. The more you choose to believe, to listen and to act, the easier it becomes.