A few years ago, I was driving home from a business trip and asked my travel guides for a place to pull off the road to get water, a cup of tea, and a clean bathroom. I expected to see Mecca at each bend in the road but nothing appeared. As I started to doubt my guides – and my sanity at asking travel guides for help – I happened on Chester, Vermont. With just a slight turn off the road, I was in an awesome little town with a general store that had fresh baked goods, water, tea, and a nice bathroom. It was all I’d asked for and more.

There were a couple of shops along Main Street so after I finished my tea, I took a stroll. I pushed open the heavy door of a small independent bookstore and a jingle above the door greeted me. Inside, I breathed the air of a real bookstore with wide-plank flooring and rows and rows of interesting books.

But I passed by the books and paused in front of a shelf of journals. I pulled out one with a pebble green leather cover. Why was I drawn to a small book filled with blank pages? I smiled. Because I needed a place to track the weird things that happen in my life.

Like the people I randomly meet who share a piece of information or advice I need to hear whether I’m looking for it or not. Like the random ideas that appear in books, articles, or websites that turn my thinking 180 degrees. And I needed a place to express my thanks when things I ask for, like water and tea, mysteriously appear in a town at a bend in the road.

I got back in the car and christened my new journal The Book of Coincidences. On the opening page, I wrote:

1. Pay attention.
2. Take notes.
3. Listen to the crazy ideas in your head.

When I got home, I sat down to write about all the weird coincidences I could remember from my past. I thought there would just be a few, but once I got started, one coincidence reminded me of others as I filled page after page with evidence of small miracles, ending with the purchase of The Book of Coincidences.

Since then, I’ve continued to write about weird coincidences. Miraculous stuff happens all the time. Making note of it helps you see it. And once you see it, you feel you’re in sync with a universal energy that can’t be explained.

It can’t be explained, but it is joyous. And it still makes me smile 🙂

What’s in your Book of Coincidences?

Cheers from the chilly Maine where we’re seeing the first signs of Spring.