{"id":9085,"date":"2017-10-02T08:29:45","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T12:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=9085"},"modified":"2017-10-02T08:29:45","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T12:29:45","slug":"unexpected-encounters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2017\/10\/unexpected-encounters.html","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected Encounters"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I am open to unexpected encounters every day. It is one of my morning rituals. Before I even get out of bed, I set an intention to have extraordinary experiences and connect with amazing people, and I always do. I have no clue as to the where and when much of the time. A few days ago, I had a supermarket encounter that happened seemingly randomly but clearly was Divinely orchestrated. I had been perusing the aisles and ran into (not literally with my cart or anything), my friend Jacquie Fox. We cross paths every few months or so, in our lovely little town of Doylestown, PA. She works at our local food co-op and is a Renaissance woman like me. We have known each other likely 25 years and it is always a delight to see her for swoop by hugs and conversation. After we caught up and went our separate ways, I\u00a0 saw a petite older woman with short-cropped white hair,\u00a0 pushing a cart. She had on a lovely, white embroidered jacket that reminded me of something my mother would have worn. She smiled as we passed each other and then I stopped to\u00a0remark about how pretty I thought it was. I then added that she reminded me of my mom who died nearly 7 years ago. She responded, “I’ll be your mom.” I teared up and hugged her. She told me that her name was Hilda. A woman about my age was with her and she introduced herself as her\u00a0niece Renee. As often happens lately, we struck up a conversation about the state of the world and how divided people have become since the election. Being kind has become a remedy to what ails us. She and I hugged as well and then continued to shop. I felt that I had encountered two angels. We passed each other a few times as we strolled the aisles. They ended up behind me in the checkout line as we smiled and said goodbye.<\/p>\n

As I often do, I relate my adventures on social media. Later in the day, my friend Jacquie commented that she had seen me interact with the two women and that she knows Renee! What a small world, huh?<\/p>\n

Yesterday, I was at Planet Fitness, having just finished my workout and noticed a man wearing a t-shirt that read, “I’m happy.” many times over. The words were surrounded by rainbow-hued\u00a0peace signs. Gracefully aging hippie that I am, I was delighted to see it. I asked the man where he found it. He smiled as he told me, “My son made it. He has a t-shirt company.” Turns out that his son is also a yoga teacher who knows several of my friends in my overlapping soul circles. I know him by name, but I don’t think our paths have crossed yet. I am certain that they will. As we hugged our goodbyes, as I had with the family the day before, I realized even more powerfully how connected we are even if we didn’t yet know the other person existed, until that magical moment when lives intertwine and we are forever changed by the encounter.<\/p>\n