Non-coincidences happen all the time. Whether you make it possible to notice them is up to you.
What are non-coincidences? A non-coincidence is a term I coined in Something Like Fate to describe how we are connected in magnificent ways. We are only beginning to understand the forces of energy around us. The Universe works in mysterious ways, but one thing is clear: We are all connected. The more open we are to welcoming in the energy, the more opportunities we have to witness non-coincidences. David Life of Jivamukti Yoga said, “If you believe in coincidence, then you aren’t paying attention.” That quote is included at the beginning of Something Like Fate. Non-coincidences happen when the Universe brings two people, things, or events together in profound ways, both big and small.
An example of a small non-coincidence involves Zayn Malik leaving One Direction and my cell phone. How are these two things connected? The day I broke my Guinness World Record lifetime trifecta of never owning a cell phone/TV/microwave by getting my first ever cell phone was March 25, 2015. March 25, 2015 was also the day Zayn left One Direction. See, I knew breaking that Guinness World Record would have disastrous consequences. Just kidding. Sort of. A lot of events happened on that date. There might not be a connection between those two. But I don’t know…part of me feels like this was a non-coincidence reflecting that Zayn and I were both embarking on major changes.
There are much larger non-coincidences. Like my Gram dying on my 30th birthday. I had a Knowing she would die on my 30th birthday a long time before she did. Non-coincidence. Then there was the time I took the subway at a time of day I’m never on the subway, a line I rarely take. I was reading while I was waiting for the subway. When the train pulled up, I had a sudden feeling to run ahead to the next car and get on that one instead. So of course an old friend I hadn’t seen in years who doesn’t even live here got on my subway car a few stops later. We would have never seen each other if I hadn’t run ahead to that other car or if I hadn’t looked up from my book. Non-coincidence. Sometimes the Universe does that, pulling people together in ways we don’t even realize to make sure we connect in a way that will help us with the next chapter of our lives. But again, this phenomenon really only happens when at least one of the people involved is open to that positive energy. And that person is looking up.
The more you look up and connect with the world around you, the more you will notice non-coincidences. Like the other day when I ran into a friend on the street. That kind of thing happens all the time in New York. Way more than the probability of those interactions statistically occurring in a city of 8.5 million people. But this wasn’t one of those times. This was a non-coincidence. About half an hour before, I had brought two big bags of donations over to Housing Works, only to be greeted by a locked door and sign in the window saying they were closed unexpectedly. I lugged the bags back home in the heat, bummed that I would have to lug them back another day. I’m one of those people who like to cross things off my to-do list and be done. The day was just challenging me in general and I was feeling scraggly. But as I left my apartment again and headed out for an adventure to hopefully turn things around, I reminded myself that as long as I keep my attitude bright and face the world with smiles and lots of positive energy, the day would get better. Stay strong. Never give up.
So I was on my way to the Dean and DeLuca from Felicity. I am a hardcore Felicity fangirl. I have lived in New York City for almost 20 years. Yet I’ve never ventured down to the exact Dean & DeLuca where Felicity and Ben worked, even though it’s only like a 20-minute walk from my place. That’s one thing I love about New York. Every day brings the potential to discover something new, even after all this time. My goal was to go there and get back in time for my gym class later that evening. I was waiting for a light to change at 12th Street when, just like that day waiting for the subway I never take at a time I never take it, I had this sudden feeling to turn down the street and head west instead of crossing it to go south. Which is when the non-coincidence happened.
I was about half a block down 12th Street when I heard, “Susane!” I looked up. And there was my gym instructor for the class I was taking that evening. She’s also my friend and I really enjoy talking to her. Fortunately for me, she was looking up and noticed me. I might have walked right past her. While I like looking up at buildings and the sky and stuff, I don’t look up at people I’m passing on the street as much as I probably should. But she was looking up and was also walking down 12th randomly because she was going to walk this whole other way and then switched directions for a reason she couldn’t explain. We stood there and talked for like an hour. The conversation shifted towards a project she’s working on that she needs a translator for. Two good friends of mine own a translation company! I hooked her up with their contact info. That’s a conversation we probably wouldn’t have had at the gym, and it provided her with contacts that could help her in amazing ways. This is the kind of example I’m talking about when I say that looking up opens doors of possibility for you.
You might be wondering how Dean & DeLuca was. Dude, I was bummed. I was expecting to go in and sit at the table where Ben gave Felicity that necklace and have this meta New York City experience. But it wasn’t like that at all. The tables were only brought in for filming the show. That Dean & DeLuca location is actually a grocery store! But the marble countertop at the cashier station was familiar. Same with the placement of the coffee makers. And the view out the window was the same. Of course I documented it for you.
Akhmose was another friendly neighbor who looked up and noticed me on the street. He wasn’t even going to walk that way. But it was the second really beautiful day of spring and the trees were calling to him down my street so he went that way. He was just about to take out his phone when something told him not to. Something told him to enjoy the day, be in the Now. I’ve had that same feeling many times before. That’s the Universe telling you to look up. Akhmose looked up and saw me and came up to me like, “Excuse me, but are you an author?” He remembered me from five years ago when we met outside the New York Public Library on 9th Street. He was selling scrolls of encouragements he used to write and decorate. It was one of those New York City moments I love, discovering something new and connecting with someone fabulous, that I documented here on my blog. Akhmose is a motivational artist who went by the name KIMM back then. Now he’s affiliated with The Future Project, encouraging children and teens to live extraordinary lives of passion and purpose.
Maybe one of you reading this post right now will be inspired to connect with The Future Project…which might change your life or the life of someone you know. That’s the magic non-coincidences. That’s the power of looking up. They can have infinite reach.
When you look up, you notice possibilities you otherwise would have missed. You connect with the world around you in a spectacular way. You allow the energy to open doors for you that you didn’t realize even existed. You wake up.
What will you see today?
Susane Colasanti - Blog 