Most of what makes an experience so magical is that we are experiencing
it at just the right moment.
Running
Soundtrack
For the past
several days I’ve had the melody to a song I’ve only heard once or twice
repeating over and over in the back of my mind. I didn’t even know the
lyrics, but my mind kept spinning the tune anyway. This morning I
finally got around to looking up the lyrics, which in turn made me smile
from ear to ear. Because the song is perfectly suited to be the
soundtrack to the past few wild weeks of my life.
And I think
that’s one of the most extraordinary functions of the human brain—it
thinks for us even when we’re not consciously thinking. How is this
possible? Well, the scientific answer—which I’m always curious about—is
that our brain is a sophisticated parallel processing system capable of
intuitively assessing and reacting to data that our conscious mind is
never even aware of. Tuning in and playing the running soundtrack of our
lives is only a small example of our unconscious mind’s true potential.
But despite
my love for science, I don’t always want or need a scientific
explanation for every little thing that happens in life. When just the
right thing happens at just the right moment, I simply want to believe
that it was meant to be. And even when complications arise, I want to
believe that these complications are necessary evils—necessary because
they force us to learn, adapt, and overcome. Which is, I’ve learned, a
big part of why we’re here in the first place.
Distracted
This
afternoon I walked to a local park with my laptop to get some work done
in the fresh air. But after a short time, I was distracted by a young
boy entertaining himself with nothing more than a wooden stick and his
imagination. And it brought me back to a simpler time. You know… that
time during our youth when we weren’t scared to dream without reason.
Just watching him was a soothing experience—a reminder that we, as
adults, occasionally need to overcome the precincts of maturity and just
let our imaginations run free. It was a healthy distraction to say the
least.
Anyway, once
I became conscious of the fact that I was getting no work done, I walked
back home and sat down at my desk. And I suddenly realized the melody
that had been spinning in my head like a broken record had finally
ceased. Satisfied by this newfound mental silence, I got to work. But
before long, the absent melody was replaced by an overbearing,
mouth-watering craving for chocolate cake. And the weird thing is, I
usually don’t eat sweets.
After a few
moments of contemplation, I decided that going to the grocery store to
get a chocolate cake was a silly idea. “You can eat chocolate cake
later,” I thought to myself. “But right now, you need to finish your
work.” So I did just that. I got back to work.
Tuned In
And I had
almost completely forgotten about the chocolate cake, until Angel came
home a couple hours later with a to-go box from a restaurant. She placed
it on my desk and said, “Hey sweetie, Janet and I went out to lunch this
afternoon and my eyes were bigger than my stomach. So I figured I’d
bring the leftovers home for you to snack on.” I opened the lid of the
to-go box to find a quarter of a chicken wrap and a small slice of
chocolate cake.
I chuckled
out loud. Certainly there are plenty of valid explanations for this kind
of synchronicity. The most basic being that when we are tuned in to our
feelings (a craving for example) and truly aware of our environment
(actually opening the to-go box), these synchronous coincidences will
seem to occur more often. But as you know, even though I am fascinated
by the science, I sometimes prefer to live in a more magical,
philosophical world.
So my
explanation, which needs no substantiation from any source other than my
own life experience, is that when we are tuned in to our lives—I mean
truly tuned in both emotionally and intellectually to the circumstances
and people around us—the melody to a common soundtrack is always
playing. And when we choose to listen to the music, and dance, every
move we make happens in sync, and with…
Divine Timing
Think about
the timing of your life for a moment.
What if
instead of pushing so hard to make things happen every second, you
decided to let go a little? What if instead of trying to always be in
control, you sometimes surrendered control to something bigger than
yourself? What if instead of working so hard to figure out every last
answer, you allowed yourself to be guided to solutions in perfect
timing?
Truly, the
right things will often enter your life when you’re not even looking for
them.
They will
enter your life at just the right time. When you can function just fine
without them for awhile. When you have stopped needing to control
everything. When you are confident in yourself and your surroundings.
When you don’t need anything more to make you happy because you are at
peace with where you are.
The right
things will enter your life when you are done running and hiding. When
you have taken a deep breath and made yourself available and open to the
realities unfolding in front of you.
The right
things will enter your life when you stop rushing. When you simply do
your best, without trying to force what’s not yet supposed to happen.
When you allow your efforts and outcomes to unfold and evolve naturally.
The right
things will enter your life when you clear your mind and focus on the
present. When you let go of the baggage from yesterday that’s been
clouding your vision of today’s blessings.
Truth be
told, when you are ready—truly ready—to experience the full breath of
the moment you’re in, to taste that slice of chocolate cake when it
arrives, that’s precisely when you’ll notice it sitting there in front
of you.
That’s the
divine magic of life.
Have faith in
it.
(Note: Angel
and I take a deeper dive into the process of letting go and embracing
life’s divine timing in our New York Times bestseller, Getting Back to
Happy: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Reality, and Turn Your Trials
into Triumphs.)
Now, it’s
your turn…
Please leave
a comment below and let me know about something in your life that
happened at just the right time.
What is YOUR
story of divine timing?