{"id":67,"date":"2010-04-01T23:56:19","date_gmt":"2010-04-01T23:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/?p=67"},"modified":"2010-04-05T18:06:38","modified_gmt":"2010-04-05T18:06:38","slug":"cents-and-synchronicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/creative-inspiration\/2010\/04\/cents-and-synchronicity\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fool’s Journey of Cents and Synchronicity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is April 1st<\/sup> \u2013 April Fool\u2019s Day.\u00a0 At first I considered writing a post about the creative potential and ideology of The Fool.\u00a0 After all, Fools are actually quite powerful and revered. However, after giving it some thought, I realized that I already have a handful of topics in queue that I started writing, and figured I should take this opportunity to take an idea I\u2019ve already been working on and complete it.\u00a0 And so, in keeping with the nature of this light-hearted day of foolishness, I\u2019ve decided to write a fun post and share an interesting story about finding coins and change.<\/p>\n


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<em><\/div>\n
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Following the Treasure Trail<\/h3>\n

As of late, nearly every time I\u2019m out and about I seem to find some form of spare change along my way. Sometimes it’s in the form of a penny. \u00a0Sometimes I’ll find multiple pennies. \u00a0Sometimes I’ll find a nickel or dime or even a quarter. Just the other day I found multiple quarters!<\/p>\n

I like to think of pennies or other coins as markers\u00a0or indicators that I’m “on the right track” – at the right place at the right time.\u00a0 It\u2019s similar to the idea of following a path or trail of breadcrumbs to keep you from getting lost, but instead it\u2019s a trail of coins and tiny treasures. \u00a0Besides, finding and picking up a coin is supposedly a sign of good luck. \u00a0 That’s why when I find change on the street, I will inevitably pick it up.\u00a0 Who doesn’t want to follow a treasure trail and get lucky? \u00a0\ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

I’ve observed that a lot of people don’t bother to pick up pennies. \u00a0Perhaps these people are thinking, “Why bother putting in the effort of bending over to pick up a mere penny? \u00a0Why would I want to make a fool of myself and stoop to pick up some dirty penny off the floor or street? It\u2019s just a penny.\u00a0 It’s not like picking up spare change is going to change my life.” \u00a0 \u2026Can it?\u00a0 Perhaps, if you follow the signs and journey down the path.<\/p>\n


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Cents and Synchronicity<\/h3>\n

OR<\/h3>\n

A Tale of Three Cities<\/h3>\n

Earlier this week, I was journeying back to my hometown.\u00a0 The path of this journey started in Los Angeles and was scheduled with a stop-over in Edmonton before finally arriving at the destination of Winnipeg.\u00a0 A neat series of events happened along the way, and now I will share that story with you.
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LAX, Los Angeles<\/h4>\n

Prior to departing Los Angeles, I was in the LAX airport, looking through some books in a little shop. I noticed Elizabeth Gilbert’s newest book on the shelves and decided to flip though it. I contemplated purchasing her new book, but thought it\u2019d probably make more sense for me to first read her previous book Eat, Pray, Love<\/em>.\u00a0 I was in the midst of wondering if the store had that book for sale as well, since it wasn\u2019t showing on the shelf I was currently looking at, when just then a paying patron at the cash register dropped a penny.\u00a0 I watched him.\u00a0 I observed that this man noticed he had dropped a penny, and yet he didn’t bother to pick it up and walked away when he was done paying at the cash register.<\/p>\n

At the risk of looking foolish, I decided to pick up the penny.\u00a0 I mean, \u201cWhy not?” \u00a0 The worst that can happen is that someone might think I look silly or foolish for doing so.\u00a0 But why should I care what other people think?\u00a0 After I picked up the penny, another area of the bookstore caught my eye, and there I found Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia<\/a>\"\". \u00a0\u00a0For some reason, I\u2019ve felt very drawn to read that book for some time now. \u00a0With two books and a selection of snacks for the plane ride in hand, I stood in line at the cash register, paid for my items, and left the store.<\/p>\n

At that point it was nearly time to board the plane. I contemplated whether or not I should buy an additional plane ride snack of some almonds at Starbucks.\u00a0 Out of curiosity I glanced at the floor by the Starbucks cash register to see if there were any pennies, but didn’t notice any. \u00a0I decided to go for the additional snack purchase, and took my place in line.\u00a0 After standing in line for a few minutes, I could swear I heard the sound of a fallen penny hit the floor. By the time it was my turn to pay I discovered there was a penny on the floor at the cash register. I thought, \u201cThis is weird!\u00a0 Yet, cool!\u201d So, naturally, I picked up the penny.<\/p>\n

From there I headed to my appropriate gate number, boarded my flight, and flew from L.A. to Edmonton, from where I would catch my connecting flight to Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, during the flight to Edmonton, I didn’t end up reading either of the new books I had just purchased.\u00a0 Instead, I had decided to spend most of that flight in my own little world contemplating such things as the nature of reality.\u00a0 I came up with some pretty neat ways of viewing things.\u00a0 I’ll share that with you another time in a different post.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n


\n<\/em><\/p>\n

YEG, Edmonton<\/h4>\n

Anyhow, once I had arrived in the Edmonton airport, things started to get REALLY weird. While I was waiting for my luggage (since I was told I would have to re-check my luggage with the connecting flight), I had the odd idea strike me that I would find some form of change on the luggage carousel. With this idea in mind, I stepped up to the luggage carousel, with the path of its conveyor belt moving towards me.\u00a0 A few mere seconds later, my eye catches the glimpse of something silvery coming my way.\u00a0 A U.S. quarter had just presented itself to me! \u00a0Wow!\u00a0 Can things get any weirder?\u00a0 \u2026 Yep!<\/p>\n

When standing and waiting in line to go through airport security (for the second time in the journey – yeesh!), I found a dime!\u00a0 I picked that up.\u00a0 When I walked through the metal detector, it actually went off (not<\/em> due to the coins, in case you were wondering). \u00a0This\u00a0surprised me because it hadn\u2019t gone off when I walked through the metal detector at the L.A. airport.\u00a0 Apparently this detector was more sensitive, as the metal in the buttons of my pants set off the alarm.\u00a0 While I was being searched with a hand-held metal detector, I noticed a penny on the floor!\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I would have noticed that penny had I not set off the alarm.\u00a0 I decided to pick that penny up, too.\u00a0 So far, I had found eleven cents at security, and thirty-eight cents in total.<\/p>\n

After getting through the Edmonton airport security check, I noticed a little shop directly ahead of me.\u00a0 I felt a strange pull to the little shop, with the specific hunch that I’d find change there. Well. What do you know\u2026 after scanning the store\u2019s floor for a moment, sure enough, I found a bright shiny penny!\u00a0 I picked it up, and continued to wander through the shop a little more. \u00a0Within another moment I found two more pennies. \u00a0I picked those up, but felt as though I still might find even more\u2026 so I continued scanning, and soon noticed something silver on the floor between a wall and a beverage refrigerator.\u00a0 I bent down to pick it up and discovered I\u2019ve just found another quarter! That totaled twenty-eight cents for that one little store, with a running tally of sixty-six cents.\u00a0 \u201cThis is crazy!\u201d\u00a0 I thought.<\/p>\n

The idea certainly crossed my mind that, surely, I must have seemed quite foolish to some passerby if they had been witnessing my actions.\u00a0 It would\u2019ve seemed that I kept going out of my way to pick up all these coins I kept finding on the floor.\u00a0 Doing so might\u2019ve made me look really cheap and desperate for spare change.\u00a0 But really, why should I have cared what others might think of me?\u00a0 And besides, maybe I wasn\u2019t actually going \u201cout of my way\u201d in the first place.\u00a0 Conversely, maybe I was headed towards the way, or path, where I was meant to be all along.<\/p>\n

After finding the twenty-eight cents in that little shop, I decided to continue on my way through the airport in the direction of my gate number.\u00a0 As I was walking along and looking about I soon noticed something shiny on the floor underneath a seat. \u00a0I approached the seat, crouched down, and reached under the seat to retrieve the coin.\u00a0 Another penny! \u00a0Huh!\u00a0 After I picked it up, I returned to standing position and continued along my way.<\/p>\n

A few steps later along my path, I found yet another penny! \u00a0I picked it up.\u00a0 Now my total was at sixty-eight cents.<\/p>\n

And it didn\u2019t stop there!<\/p>\n

Soon I arrived at my gate number.\u00a0 There were two vending machines at the gate waiting area \u2013 a snack machine and a drink machine.\u00a0 I noticed a woman put money into the drink vending machine in order to purchase a Coke. \u00a0I heard the machine dispense coins as her change, and I took notice of her taking the change from the machine… and yet\u2026 I had a sneaking suspicion that there was still change left in the machine that she missed. \u00a0After a moment, I decided to go take a look.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t even have to put my fingers into the change dispenser because I was able to see it plainly with my own two eyes \u2013 I\u2019ve found yet another<\/em> quarter!\u00a0 Of course I picked it up and added it to my collection of coins, which now totaled ninety-three cents.<\/p>\n

I heard an announcement that there would be a delay in my flight, and thus, boarding time would be delayed as well.\u00a0 Oh well.\u00a0 As a result, I decide to keep wandering around the airport to other gate waiting areas, since I had extra time to kill. \u2026 I continued walking, with no particular destination in mind.\u00a0 Within mere moments, I came upon a nickel directly in my path!\u00a0 Curiouser and curiouser!\u00a0 Of course I picked that up too.\u00a0 I was now at ninety-eight cents.\u00a0 \u201cI bet you I can make it at least a dollar\u2019s worth,\u201d I told myself.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t that be neat?<\/p>\n

I continued wandering for a little bit.\u00a0 I found a neat little trinket, but no more coins, so I soon decided to return to my gate area and took a seat. \u00a0While seated, I decided I’d stretch out my back with a back twist.\u00a0 Interestingly, while I was in the middle of doing so, another shiny-something caught my eye.\u00a0 Have I just noticed yet another coin?\u00a0 I finished my stretch, stood up, went over to check\u2026 and yep! \u00a0Sure enough, I had found another dime! \u00a0I picked it up.<\/p>\n

I returned to my seat and counted up all the change that I’ve found so far that day.\u00a0 My total came to 108 cents. Wild!
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YWG, Winnipeg<\/h4>\n

Once on the plane to Winnipeg, I decided to start reading Eat, Pray, Love<\/em>, one of the books I had bought at the very start of this journey back in the Los Angeles International Airport. As I looked at the front cover, I suddenly felt this strong wave of emotion come over me out of nowhere, almost as if I were about to cry. Hmm, that was odd! \u00a0I began reading the introduction, which was also titled, \u201cHow This Book Works\u201d, or, \u201cThe 109th<\/sup> Bead\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Introduction described that the book was divided into three parts or sections, and each section took place in one of three different countries.\u00a0 It also described how an Indian prayer necklace, called a japa mala<\/em>,\u00a0 was made up of 108 strung beads. \u00a0The author decided to follow a similar structure and wrote her story into 108 tales. \u00a0 The Introduction also pointed out that a japa mala <\/em>includes\u00a0a 109th<\/sup> bead that stands apart from the other beads, sort of like a pendant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoa. That’s freaky,\u201d I thought.\u00a0 \u201cI just found 108 cents today. And it all started when I contemplated buying this book, which is divided up into 108 tales based on a japa mala <\/em>being comprised of 108 beads\u2026 and I\u2019ve just found 108 cents today.\u00a0 The book is also divided up into three different sections, or locations, and here I am with my own flight journey that\u2019s divided up and comprised of three different locations!\u201d\u00a0 I was definitely a little weirded out by the string of synchronicies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm.\u00a0 But what about the 109th<\/sup> bead, or cent?\u201d\u00a0 I was confident that I\u2019d find yet another penny at the Winnipeg airport, my third location of the day, so that my final total would thus equate to 109 cents.<\/p>\n

And. Well. What do you know? I found another penny after arriving at the Winnipeg Airport, on the floor right by the luggage carousel.<\/p>\n

109 cents. Over 3 locations. Bizarre. But definitely awesome, too!
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Find a Penny, Pick it Up<\/h3>\n

Be creative in your attitude towards finding loose change.\u00a0 From a creative standpoint, it\u2019s my intuition I’ll discover some of the story and themes expressed in Eat, Pray, Love<\/em> to synch up and complement some of the themes and ideas I\u2019m currently working on expressing in my next play.\u00a0 If I had never followed the treasure trail and picked up all those coins, I may have never made such a connection.
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The Journey of the Fool<\/h3>\n

Interestingly, if I were to tie this back to April Fool\u2019s Day, I’d point out that the journey described in the Major Arcana of the Tarot Deck starts with The Fool card.\u00a0 The Fool card symbolizes the start of a journey, as well as sheer creative potential, the first small step in the journey of creativity and manifestation. \u00a0If you haven’t already done so, you might want to read my first post about Embarking on A Creative Journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When you take a moment to pick up spare change that you\u2019ve found on the street, don\u2019t be afraid to look like a fool.\u00a0 Go ahead and pick it up! \u00a0See it as a way of\u00a0acknowledging your willingness to welcome and receive change and potential into your life. \u00a0It’s like opening a doorway, where the sighting of the coin or coins is like acknowledging that doorway, and then picking up the coins is akin to opening the doorway.\u00a0 Opening the doorway and picking up the change is symbolic of allowing potential, whatever form it might take, to enter your life and to morph into a new path rooted from the present moment.<\/p>\n

It’s possible that change might only take the simple form of a few cents. \u00a0Or maybe that change might lead to transforming your life on a whole other level. \u00a0Who knows? \u00a0Either way, I enjoy accepting the gift of change into my life, and I hope my little story will influence you to do the same as well.
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Welcome change into your life. \u00a0After all, it’s through change that we grow.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is April 1st \u2013 April Fool\u2019s Day.\u00a0 At first I considered writing a post about the creative potential and ideology of The Fool.\u00a0 After all, Fools are actually quite powerful and revered. However, after giving it some thought, I realized that I already have a handful of topics in queue that I started writing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,3,16],"tags":[19,21,8,22,20,12,18,121],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}