Wisdom in Unexpected Places

I believe that there are no coincidences; instead, I believe in synchronicity, that everything is connected and has meaning. I know that there are signs in my life, messages from the divine pointing out things I should pay attention to or do. Yet sometimes I don't see them, and I wonder if my vision is too cluttered or if I'm being too lazy to follow through on what they suggest.

Lately, I've been asking for guidance on what work I should do; I've been wanting to know if I'm on the right path. So yesterday, I prayed that I would see the signs I needed to see. I prayed this as I was sitting in a coffee shop, crocheting. Immediately following my prayer, a woman sat in the plush seat next to mine and struck up a conversation with me; it started with crocheting and moved on to finding time to be creative and then stumbled over to work.

What do you do? I asked

I'm a teacher.

Really? Me too. What do you teach?

English.

Really?

So do I. Where?

I adjunct at the community college and the university.

Amazing! I work as a professor at the university.

Synchronicity.

And, as we were talking, another woman passed by the window outside and stopped to wave at me. She is my dear friend, a yoga teacher, and the person who most inspired me to study and teach yoga myself.

Synchronicity.

I asked to see signs, and I did. But what did they mean? When I asked my so-wise husband, he replied matter-of-factly, "You're a teacher." Yes, I teach. But what and where am I meant to teach? Thinking about the idea of dharma (purpose/right action), I realize that my dharma is to teach and that the other questions answer themselves. If I feel dissatisfied in a situation, it is because I am struggling against the moment in which I find myself, rather than accepting it, moving through it, letting it show me its wisdom. So, at an even deeper level, my dharma is simply to be in this moment without struggle, to witness, to learn, to act based on what I know, to act based on faith. Each moment has its wisdom. Each moment is perfect for its purpose. I am exactly where I should be.

I am grateful for answered prayers. And for synchronicity.