Do you ever have one of those days where everything seems to be synchronous? Yesterday was one of those days for me. I went to attend a film screening and panel discussion of the movie Gen Silent.
As a side-bar, the movie is a powerful story about LGBT elders and how historical LGBT discrimination leads many elders to go back into the closet (or never come out.) I would highly recommend viewing this film. If you don't know any elders who are gay, that could be because they haven't felt comfortable enough sharing.
The Student
My former supervisor told me her current student Stephanie was going to be at the movie. She wanted me to meet Stephanie, because Stephanie has the role that I used to have when I was a student. I asked what Stephanie looked like and she told me Stephanie had slightly red hair and glasses. That's it.
When I saw how crowded the the theater was, I though there was no way I would ever find her as there were over one hundred people. Then it occurred to me to just take a seat and Stephanie would come to me. Now Stephanie did not know her supervisor wanted us to meet, so she was not on the lookout for me.
Yet, lo and behold, a young woman with red hair and glasses sat down diagonally in front of me.
I asked her if she was Stephanie S. and she said, "Yes?!" and was quite confused because she did not know me. I told her who I was and immediately she was shocked. How did you know it was me? I grinned and told her I was psychic. We got to chat about her internship and I gave her some advice from my experience there. Later on, she was still shaking her head. I told her that is how synchronicity works.
The Phone Call
I had been told I would be receiving a phone call from a human resources person to set up an interview for next week. Since the movie and panel discussion was set to go until after 5:00 p.m. I was worried that I would miss the call. I had my phone volume turned off. Luckily, the call come in during the only ten minute break, so I did not miss it. Perhaps just a coincidence, but I felt that it was synchronous.
The Introduction
After the movie screening and panel discussion there was a 'resource exchange' meeting where social workers could share ideas. It was crowded, and the person I wanted to talk to was busy, So it happened that I ended up next to my former professor who was talking to a student who has many of the same interests as I do. The student is very passionate about hospice and end-of-life issues, and I just happened to be in need of someone to co-facilitate my next Death Cafe event. She is available and was so grateful for the opportunity. As another synchronicity, her mother was standing next to her and we knew each other from somewhere but I got called away before I could figure it out.
