There Are No Coincidences

What a coincidence.

We went on a walk yesterday afternoon to enjoy the nearly 50 degree temps on April 2. Granted, this is a little cooler than normal, but in comparison to the Nor'easter delivered on April 1, it was downright balmy and more than welcome.

Our walk was delayed by 30 minutes or so by various circumstances that popped up. A phone call, a conversation, a change of walking clothes - it doesn't take much to alter the logistics of any human endeavor. Even something as simple as a walk when it involves more than one person.

We began our walk not knowing which direction to take. The previous day's storm had delivered 12" of snow and, given the expected warmer temperatures coming, the city chose not to clear the sidewalks. We chose to walk in the road although traffic was unusually heavy for a Sunday afternoon in Concord.

We decided to move from the main road we were on to one of the side streets. We wove our way in and out of a neighborhood and its cross streets to emerge at an intersection with Warren Street where the sidewalks were somewhat cleared.

As we walked up the short hill, we saw someone walking towards us. It was a man, also choosing to walk in the street because of the messy sidewalk situation. As we neared each other, there was a familiarity that was trying to gain entry into my consciousness. It was one of those rare events that your mind has difficulty understanding and recognizing because of how rare the circumstance is.

When we were 15 or 20 feet apart, it dawned on us and our good friend, Bob Perry, what was happening. We had stumbled upon each other in the oddest of circumstances in the middle of Concord, NH. To help understand how unusual this is, know that Bob lives in Strafford, NH, a full 30 miles from Concord. Bob had come to Concord on this Sunday, April 2, because he had a meeting at Concord High School that had been postponed from the day before. He had parked on a side road, off of Warren St., adjacent to the school, but not being familiar with Concord, was swept onto Pleasant Street (which runs parallel) and was turned around looking for his car.

So that's how we found each other, a half mile from his car, down on Warren Street. It was a wonderful happenstance and I was overjoyed to see him. We decided to walk together to find his car and had a lovely visit catching up and promising, of course, to do better at staying in touch.

Walking away from this serendipitous occurrence, I couldn't help but feel the power of the universe in putting people in your life at the right moment for what you need. This was not a coincidence. The universe was sending us a message that needs to be slightly de-coded.