Do you believe in destiny? Kismet? Happenstance? Coincidence? Well, whatever you want to call it…I do. Only I really don’t believe in coincidence. I feel firmly in my heart that everything happens for a reason. You just may not know the reason in the beginning, but if you have an open mind, and an open heart…the reason will soon be clear.
The other day I had one of those moments. One of those times that something happens, and it rocks your core. You don’t know why it happens, but you know that some divine intervention has stepped in. Someone had a plan. Let me share it with you.
I have been blogging for about 7 months now. For the first few months, I did not get many comments on my blog. As time passed, I had a few regulars. Lately, I have been getting some additional traffic and comments from new folks. Though I try very hard, I do not always have time to look into the new commenter and who they are. The other day, I got a new comment from Melanie. Something told me I should look into this person. So, I clicked on her name and her blog come up. Ahh, she is into antiques. And she is a friend of my friend Corey. She lives in Provence. I love Provence, though I have never been, but I am sure I love it. I click on her pictures. Nice pictures of antiques, of her friends, of her house. I am feverishly trying to find out more about her, looking for her profile, but her blog is partly in French..and my French is not very good. Finally I found her profile and I begin to read. She is 31. She lives in Provence. She is a native Mediterranean. After she graduated high school in France, she moved to Upstate New York(my heart is now pounding, beating out of my chest)…and she lived for 15 months in Rhinebeck. (My heart has now stopped!) I re-read it, slowly. r-h-i-n-e-b-e-c-k. Rhinebeck, NY. I stared at the screen; I steadied myself on my chair. I could not believe what I was reading. Then I started speaking out loud, to myself. "This French women, who grew up in Provence and lives there now and has made a comment on my blog that led me to her, she lived in Rhinebeck, NY, which is where I grew up and where my Mom and Dad live right now, and were I live only moments from…she lived there. I lived there, I live near there." I am tongue tied. The dog looked at me as though I was insane!
To put it in perspective…Rhinebeck is not a big city. It is a small village about 2 1/2 hours north of NYC. Most people have never heard of it, no less moved there from Provence, France!
I could not wait to share this moment with Melanie. I frantically typed an email to her. She must have thought I was a nut, but instead in her warm and wonderful way…she shared my OMG moment and the feeling that blogging and the Internet is a wonderful tool to bring people together. We agreed, Mickey Mouse was right, it is a small world after all! We have been emailing for the last few days have become fast friends and will someday plan to meet in Provence! I can find 5 or 6 reasons, right off the bat, why we met. We have several things in common….but there could be another underlying reason, a bigger reason, a deeper meaning for this happenstance and I for one can’t wait to find out what it is. I love a good mystery.
I know some of you out there have a small world story, a coincidence or a rock your world moment such as this. It’s your turn to share with me?
Photo: Wishing stones scattered across an Antique French document, like hopes and dreams swirling around the universe, waiting to collide with our destiny