Synchronicity Part 1

Although things happen serendipitously at home, amazing coincidences bless us even more abundantly when we travel. We catch the only bus, get the last hotel room, show up at a museum on its one (announced) free day of the year, and tour the ruins on the only day it’s not raining.

 Last year, Becky and I were hiking in Greece. The rocky trail was much steeper, longer, and hotter than we had thought. Seeing the next town at a great distance along the jagged coast, we realized we didn’t have enough water or strength to reach it and wondered out loud what to do. We hadn’t seen another hiker for over an hour. Right then a man and woman appeared on the trail walking toward us. They spoke English. They lived nearby. If we turned off the trail just up ahead, we could reach the road through their yard. The bus to our destination stopped across from their house.

It has reached the point where all we do is say, “I wonder what/where/how . . . . “ and the answer materializes. This phenomenon still astounds us, a powerful reminder that we are all part of the morphogenic energy field, all one, all connected, all ways.

 

Nancy

Synchronicity Part 2

"The winds of grace are always blowing, but we must raise our sails." Ramakrishna

Three years ago I started violin lessons again in Minneapolis. For 3 months, I tried to find a violin teacher in Mexico, but all my enquiries produced only a possible person in Merida, 6 hours away. I took my violin anyway; at least I could practice on my own.

Our second month on Isla Mujeres, I was taking an Inspiration Day, something I learned from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. I set out for Cancun with no plans. On the ferry I ran into our condo administrator and his wife. I had been going to their house every week for Spanish lessons with Cecilia. Joaquin and Ceci were taking their baby for his 4-month check-up and then going shopping. Would I join them?

After an extraordinary hour (yes) with a caring, knowledgeable pediatrician, we took a taxi to a mall. While Ceci went clothes shopping with the baby, Joaquin and I found his favorite hair salon. While waiting my turn, I saw a young woman exchange a few words with one of the stylists and then leave. She was carrying what looked like a violin case.

I got that stylist. The woman was his wife, and she taught violin. In fact, Valeria was a founding member of the Cancun Philharmonic Orchestra, which I didn’t know existed.

Two days later, I began lessons with Valeria. She is the best violin teacher I’ve ever had: strict, inspiring, caring, and funny. Sometimes the lessons extend way beyond my allotted hour. Occasionally her next, more advanced, student arrives and I’m invited to stay and listen to them practice Vivaldi or Mozart. At her urging, I composed my first violin solo: “Sunset on Isla Mujeres,” something I’d never dreamed of doing.

What are the chances of finding any violin teacher, much less an ideal one, in this corner of Mexico? Thanks to an Inspiration Day, good friends, and a synchronous hair cut, it happened.

 

[Right: Valeria's shot of me during a lesson, with her violin in the foreground. We are in the small condo in Cancun, where she lives with her husband and their two children.]