It was one of those ordinary, totally forgettable days.

Sal was at a print shop trying to pick up an order. It wasn’t ready yet. So he thought, “What the heck, I’ll just go grab a coffee at the cafe across the street.”


Sal’s life was about to change forever. 

He jogged across the street and stooped down to pet an adorable fluffball puppy that was tied up outside the cafe.


Just then, an attractive blonde woman dressed in a business suit, juggling a large purple backpack and a heavy briefcase, buzzed around the corner and nearly tripped over Sal. The two of them laughed and, after playing with the puppy for a moment, went inside, found a table in a quiet corner, and instantly bonded over coffee.

Today Sal and Megan are living together and plan to marry.

Everything changed in a moment… because his printing order wasn’t ready on time and a puppy was his path. How does that work?

Was it a Coincidence? Luck? Serendipity? Fate? Or something else?

I’m sure you have some stories like this. They happen all the time. You run into that person you were meaning to call today. Or you pick out the same anniversary card for your spouse they picked out for you.

When things like this happen, do you trivialize them as “coincidences” and say “I got lucky,” or “It came out of the blue?” Or do you wonder if something else might be going on?

If you’re like me, you believe that everything that happens, happens for a reason.

As Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Peace, Love and Healing, so beautifully says it, coincidences are “God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

My spiritual faith leads me to believe everything exists in the universe because of my thoughts and actions. So, when something happens I can’t explain, I can’t just shrug my shoulders and leave it at that. I have to stay open to greater meaning.

Look around at the house you are living in, the job where you work and your partner and children, if you have them. Do you really think all these treasures in your life came to you coincidentally?

It’s harder to think we might have some connection with bad things that happen.


When I was diagnosed with breast cancer years ago, I saw nothing good in it. It was a horrible experience. Yet, only a year later, I looked back on this trying time and saw I’d received an amazing gift.

I discovered what is really important in my life.

The importance of friends and family became crystal clear. I couldn’t have gotten that valuable perspective without having had the trauma of a life-threatening illness. Coincidence? I thought not, but you decide.

Look at what happens in your life.


The next time you run into a person, out of the blue, you’ve been thinking about, stop and pay attention to the circumstances of this happening, or coincidence. Is it possible the energy you used to think about this person had them appear in your life at that exact moment?


Whether you believe what happens as completely circumstantial or definitely created by your energy, be sure to be grateful and acknowledge all the coincidences that have made your current life what it is. Our life expands because of them.

What are your beliefs about the coincidences in your life?


Contact Antonia at Antonia@TheJoyofAgingGratefully.com