Upsides to the Down Economy/ Serendipity

Got some bad news yesterday and went to sleep worrying about how things were going to work out. I woke up to the smell of coffee brewing (but there was none) and walked outside to see the orchid I'd been waiting to bloom, finally arrived. I smiled and took this as a sign that everything is going to be OK. Do you ever feel the universe is giving you signs? It often happens when you're in a place of despair and hopelessness. I remember driving around after Hurricane Andrew, depressed over the situation when it started raining and a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky overhead. I couldn't help but think of Noah and the flood and that this was God's sign that everything would be alright. While I was playing tennis today, there was a lone hawk flying overhead (which always reminds me of my Dad) and then when I was waiting to pick up my car after tennis, I ran into a person I hadn't seen in years, who I'd just been talking about the night before. Wierd, huh? It happens like that- a song comes on that reminds you of a happier time, a friend you need appears out of the blue, a flower blooms that never bloomed before. Which leads to my last story. I stopped by the grocery store to pick up dinner only to run into a neighbor I was just thinking I needed to talk to about an article I want to get published; she came up with several good ideas on where to market it. Serendipity! And as I was outside admiring my orchid blooming, I noticed a tiny lychee on my lychee tree. I've had it a couple years and this is the first lychee! And so, this may be the secret to serendipity- to plugging into the postive energy and good luck of the universe- and that is paying attention. I only noticed the lychee (which must have been there a while) because I was searching for signs of life- something good. Like my yoga teacher instructs us as we lie in the fetal position at the end of our practice "We were born with everything we need to make us happy, everything we need to make us happy is still within us." Kind of like Dorothy's ruby slippers, the power lies within us- home is here.