Serendipity and Synchronicity

I walked into the local feed store to purchase some wild bird seed last week, and was greeted by dozens of birds that were decidedly not of the wild variety. The annual spring shipments of chicks and ducklings had arrived, ready for farmers to refresh their flocks or for people just venturing into the home chicken-raising craze to purchase the start of their new project.  The tiny chicks and ducklings huddled around the feeders and water troughs and bright heat lamps kept them cozy.  Serendipitously, my grandson was coming for a visit.  I made plans for the weekend to take a peek at the birds with him.  Our subsequent visit was a delightful new experience for a city-born boy and I was glad that the happy accident of my bird-seed shopping expedition resulted in an interesting learning experience.

The timing of the chicks’ arrival each spring is also important, and I don’t mean just to accommodate a family visit or to coincide with the Easter holiday.  Hatching must be synchronized with the quickly warming weather. While the chicks were still eggs in incubators, their future homes were being prepared in backyard coops or barns.  Timing is critical, in chicken and egg production. I guess it is in most things.

  There are two ways unexpected blessings can enter into our lives. They go by the names serendipity and synchronicity. I use the word blessings because to me serendipity and synchronicity are gloriously positive concepts.   Serendipity describes the unexpected, often accidental occurrences that are hard to explain, but joyous to experience.  Synchronicity is a more neutral word emotionally. It describes events that happen concurrently. In modern times, synchronicity’s meaning includes the positive ways that persons are in tune with one another- their feelings, their beliefs, their actions, their talents.

Serendipity enters our lives in many more significant ways than an unplanned visit to a feed store, of course. There have been many “happy accidents” in my faith journey: a graduate class where I sat beside someone who worked at a school that I had long wanted to be a part of. This chance meeting led to a decades long professional and personal relationship that nurtures both of us to this day; an impulsive decision to take a combination meditation/art class that freed me to combine writing and art in a uniquely spiritual way.  Synchronicity, the timing and pace of events, also enriches me through a deeply connected relationship that does not depend on regular texts, emails, or snail mail. The two of us often find that we are writing or painting about the same topic at the same time, and our individual slants complement one another in surprising ways.  

Once my eyes were opened to the presence of serendipity and synchronicity in my faith journey, I loosened my tight grip on the need to control every detail of my life as I welcomed a new image of God, not as one who dictates every jot and tittle of my life but one who paints my life with the broad strokes of Love, Joy, Patience, Hope, Compassion, Industry, Sensitivity, Creativity, Goodness, Faith. These are the things that guide and nurture me; these are the plans that God wants to include on my agenda. Oh, and yes, there is also room for a little serendipity and synchronicity, just to keep my mind hopping and my spirit fresh.   All these things are what I think of when I think of Divine Order.  These are the essential qualities of a life that has room for happy accidents and unexpected congruencies.

Today’s tile contains a circular shape with a very faint spiral image. The words synchronicity and serendipity swirl around the edges with arrows pointing back and forth. Some “jewels” are scattered randomly here and there.

What do you see of the ideas of serendipity and synchronicity in this tile?  How do you experience serendipity and synchronicity in your life?  

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23.