David Lee

Two Layers of Synchronicity

I recently accepted a job to substitute teach for a seventh grade social studies teacher.  It just so happened that he was also the boys’ basketball coach.  While the day progressed, I noticed he had the team’s white jerseys all neatly-folded inside a large plastic container.  I decided to take a glance at the jerseys and thought perhaps I could see the #23 jersey without disturbing the rest of the stack.  Lo and behold, the jersey I was looking for was on the top. 

I decided to take a picture of the jersey and then posted the find to my Facebook page.  Not too soon afterwards, a FB friend who lives in Nova Scotia posted the following comment: “It was a year ago today that a young man in our community was killed in a tragic car accident – he played #23 for the high school basketball team – and here you’re posting another team’s #23 – sync again!!”

So I considered it quite remarkable that the #23 jersey just happened to be on the top of the stack of jerseys. And to then have it revealed that  it “just happened” to be the anniversary of a fateful event in the life of a friend who lived so far away with a connection to the same sport and jersey number.

Quite remarkable indeed!

 

I was substitute teaching in a fifth grade classroom on November 22, 2013.  It was exactly fifty years ago on that day when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  How are the two events even remotely related?  Read on…

During the course of the school day, a student approached me with a penny, saying he had found it on the floor.  I thank him for turning it in, without really thinking much at the time about it.  A bit later in the day, I examined the penny, seeing that it obviously was a bit older than most.  And what, to my surprise, did I find out?

The penny was dated 1963…the year that JFK was assassinated.  And it was fifty years to the day that a penny bearing that date was found in a classroom and turned in by an industrious student.  Several questions ruminated in my mind over the next while:  What are the chances most eleven year-old children would bother to pick a penny up, much less turn it in?  What are the chances the date it was found and turned in would be such an historic date in our country’s history?  And perhaps most-importantly, doesn’t this seem to indicate that events far removed and brought to awareness are signs of connections we may never totally understand?

Synchronicity at its finest in my book…

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Dear Sunday morning pedestrian at LRU,

   First of all, let me say I was impressed that you had arisen so early on a Sunday morning when most of your college cohorts were perhaps still sleeping the morning away.  I assume you were going to get some breakfast at such an early hour, or perhaps going to a church service even.  But there is something I feel the need to share with you about some of your walking practices.

     The intersection you were crossing at does tend to be quite busy.  There are any one of a number of motorized vehicles traveling that road at any time during the day.  I feel that’s one reason the college has chosen to put in crosswalks with lights to aid students in getting across the road.  They have even gone to the trouble to have detailed instructions posted on how to cross safely, including how to get the crosswalk light to change to allow crossing.  (Although I will say as an LRC graduate, I find it quite humorous that it would be necessary to have instructions for a college age student to be able to cross the road safely.)

     This morning you were walking across the crosswalk while the approaching traffic had the green light for travel.  The phone call you were having was of, I am sure utmost importance, but next time you’re crossing, you might want to consider giving the oncoming traffic your undivided attention.    I am sincerely glad that the three cars in front of me saw you crossing and decided to come to a complete stop despite having the green light.

        The reason I’m writing you is just to let you know that not all Sunday morning drivers are as alert as we were this morning.  They may or may not be paying full attention to what’s going on in front of them.  Perhaps they woke up a little late and are in a rush, maybe they’re taking a call or heaven forbid texting, or in some cases, maybe they had one-too-many night before and are still in the process of overcoming that inevitable hangover.  Bottom line is that I am afraid they may not be able to avoid you like we did this morning.

       I’m not one to tell others how to live their lives, but for future walks to the campus, you might want to consider following the indicated pedestrian signal:  red is for stop; white is to go….and the countdown numbers tell you how many seconds you have to safely cross the street. You also may want to think about waiting for that phone call until after you’ve crossed the road.   I just don’t want your time to be up forever.

 

Signed, 

Concerned Sunday motorist

Dear Sunday morning runner,

     I applaud you for the effort you’re putting forth to take care of yourself by getting out and jogging/running at 7:45 a.m. on a forty degree morning.  I only wish I had the determination and drive to do the same.  But there is something I feel the need to share with you about where you’re choosing to do your runs.

     The five lane road we were both traveling this morning was meant for vehicular traffic, aka – cars.  I saw well in advance that you were choosing to run in the middle of the right hand lane that I was traveling in the opposite direction.  I was also glad that you made the decision to move out of the middle of the lane and to the edge of the road.  But at the same time, I noticed there was a sidewalk that you could just as well been using for your morning jaunt.  

     Now I know I’ve read somewhere that the black asphalt pavement is supposed to be better to run on, but as I said earlier, I think that’s mainly designed for motorized forms of transportation.  I would have even been a bit more understanding if you had chosen to at least move over to the curb.

     The reason I’m writing you is just to let you know that not all Sunday morning drivers are as alert as I was this morning.  They may or may not be paying full attention to what’s going on in front of them.  Perhaps they woke up a little late and are in a rush, maybe they’re taking a call or heaven forbid texting, or in some cases, maybe they had one-too-many night before and are still in the process of overcoming that inevitable hangover.  Bottom line is that I am afraid they may not be able to avoid you like I did this morning.

     I’m not one to tell others how to live their lives, but for future runs, you might want to consider using the sidewalk for its intended purpose.

 

Signed,

Concerned Motorist

from Melodie Beattie’s More Language of Letting Go

The magic of a story lies in the spaces between the words.

When we read a novel, we often find that the writer vies us only the barest elements of a scene, and yet our imagination fills in all the blank spaces from our experiences, our hopes, our dreams.  We don’t need the author to give us all of the details.

So it is with life.  Often we are given only the barest outline of the path that we are to follow, and yet if we are silent and listen to our hearts, we can hear all the details of our path spelled out for us, a step at a time.  There is no need to have everything laid out for us beforehand.  If it were, there would be no need to take the trip.  We could simply read about it.

Get up.

Live your path with your heart. 

Fill in the blanks yourself. 

God, Give me the strength to find out how the story ends by living until the end of it, instead of wanting it read to me beforehand.

From Melody Beattie’s  More Language of Letting Go

“God must become and activity in our consciousness.” ~ Joel S. Goldsmith

God is not separate from this beautiful world that he created.  He is the creative force behind everything we do.  He is the sunshine, the moonrise, the tides, and the eclipse.  He created us from nothing, and we are special for no other reason than that we are.

When we let go of our separateness and welcome the fact that we are a part of the universe, an amazing thing happens:  we see we are a part of the glory of the universe.

God is more than a great father standing judgmentally above looking down with a mix of love and anger at his creation.  We are created in God’s image.  We are a part of God, and a part of God’s spirit resides in each of us.

We are a part of universal consciousness.

Today, where you are feeling down or sad or joyous and free, take a moment and get in touch with the part of God that resides within you.  You’re a part of something bigger than all the petty victories and losses in your life.  Enjoy your uniqueness; embrace your universality too.  Find comfort and humility in all that is.

See God in your life and in the world.  Pray.  Meditate.

Make conscious contact with your God.

God, help me make conscious contact with you today.

Notes to self:

1.) Comments and opinions that people have of painting, photographs, and the like say as much about the person commenting as they do about the artist/photographer.

2.)  When someone is talking and says “You probably all know my story…”, most of the time I don’t know the story and wonder if most people don’t the story (and perhaps aren’t really that interested in hearing it.)

3.)  Those single serving packets of mustard are a lot smaller in size than the single serving packets of ketchup and I’m left wondering “why?”

4.)  You pay more for a cold 20 ounce soft drink than you do for a two liter off the shelf…I guess that’s the price you pay for refrigeration.

5.)  There are lots of places you go to buy things where there is no one at the cash register, or if there are multiple cash registers, most of them are not open.

6.)  FB and other social media give people “fame” that used to be difficult to come by… I wonder if this feed their egos….I wonder if I am in this group of people.

7.)  Prime numbers are way cooler than composite numbers.

8.)  I wonder if book stores are going to put themselves out of business when they sell electronic devices that allow you to download books…I know it’s a great saver of space, but I like my actual book!

9.)  Firemen and policemen and anyone that serves in the armed services have a special type of courage.

10.)  It’s best if you don’t have a lot of items in a list or people will stop reading or not read them at all.  This is the end of my list.

What are the chances?  The chances that someone would find a fifty-dollar bill on the ground, pick it up to examine it, and then contemplate what to do?  One of three friends involved in a conversation looked down on the pavement to find what appeared to be folding money.  Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was a not-often-seen fifty dollar bill.  After concluding that it was indeed real, the three friends debated over what to do with the newly found currency.

It would seem to some that the person that found the bill was indeed lucky that day and should take it to spend or save as he would choose.  But alas, he didn’t think that was the way things should go.  Another friend, after being handed the bill, listed a couple of options, including giving it to someone they all three knew that could probably use it.  They second-guessed that choice, not entirely sure how the money would be spent.

It was finally decided that the third friend would keep the money and offer it up to the nearby resource center .  It reasoned that whoever had dropped it had more than likely visited the center and they would be able to find the most appropriate way to distribute the fortunate find.

After contemplating the situation, I  have reasoned that good friends can be as hard to find as a fifty dollar bill. We find people along our life’s journey that are there for a season and then gone.  But there are also those people with whom we share a common bond that seem to always be there through thick and thin, good times and bad.  Consider it good fortune to find those friends that are bound by integrity and look for the common good instead of selfish ends.

I have been fortunate in my lifetime to have found friends just such as those…. And I consider it a blessing.

One of the things I haven’t quite gotten around to in the new year is the to purchase a large calendar to keep track of my daily schedule.  I keep one posted one the wall in my bedroom and it helps me to know at a glance what  appointments and commitments I have forthcoming.  I did finally get around to taking down the previous twelve months and deposited them in the trash.  But during this process, I looked back at all the events I had noted and marked for the year just completed.

You sometimes forget events in the recent past and this year was no different.  There were trips and birthdays, substitute teaching assignments, and doctors’ appointments.  All went together to make what is now referred to as “the past.”  With each calendar entry, there was a story to be told, a memory to recall.  The entries chronicle the ebb and flow of life and each one added to what has become my life as I know it.

So as I go out searching for a calendar for the upcoming year, I can only wonder what events and memories it will hold.  There are most certainly lots of blank spaces yet to be filled, events and appointments yet to be scheduled.  But such is life as we know it.  And I have found the best thing I can do is to take it one day at a time and hope for all the best, both for myself and for others.  Above it all is a faith that knows all things work together for good if I keep my eyes focused on the One that makes it all possible.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11-13

 

There is a Danish story about a spider that lived high in the rafter of an old barn.  One day, the spider decided to lower himself to a beam where he found the flies more prolific and more easily caught.  He therefore decided to live permanently on this lower level.

He spun for himself a comfortable web.  One day he noticed the line down which he had come and said to himself that he no longer needed it.  So he snapped it and destroyed the support for his whole web.

A tiny thread connects us with the infinite.  We have come from God and we are returning Home to Him.  Everyone wakes up someday.  Everything eventually returns to its source.  Coming into the world, we easily become fascinated with the world and we forget about the source.  We look at that thread which connects us with the infinite and think. ‘That thing is in the way.’  We snap the line, and we go mad.”

From: “Living a Course in Miracles” by Jon Mundy