It takes a billion ‘events’ for anything to come about. These words have been used to describe what synchronicity is as distinct from coincidence. The true number is more than a billion—saying a billion is just a way to get the thought process engaged in a very large number of events.
One of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Kabbalah teaching is this notion of synchronicity which implies a destiny—all of these events conspire to affect an outcome. Does this imply that outcomes, meaning life as we experience it, is predetermined?
Each and every time I approach this topic it is with fresh awareness. It is elusive. It slithers away just as you think you have grabbed hold it.
Let me start with an example from our recent move which involved selling and buying a house. The dates we wound up coordinating were July 10 (sale of the house) and July 11 (purchasing the house). The details of how all this unfolded is illustrative of the billion events that conspire to produce an outcome.
Moving is a wonderful opportunity to move into the present. For me this included winnowing out my library of books, sifting through boxes of articles and discarding the remnants of many different jobs and projects no longer relevant. One of our students was kind enough to inform me that there was a non-profit that was conveniently conspiring by having its semi-annual a book sale on July 12th.
There were also many items that needed a new home and the ARC movers were very accommodating but there are certain items they don’t take. So we called Habitat for Humanity which proved to be the right call—they not only take all kinds of fixtures they also take lumber—the one item I had no solution for recycling. Habitat said they would not have a pick up date available for quite a while—would July 10th work for you?
We needed to sell our home first in order to afford (and to qualify) the purchase of a new home. So we placed our home on the market and it was under contract within a week. The buyer required a closing date of July electronic cigarette for non smokers 10th. Rita and I had weighed the challenge of moving out without a place to move into—this meant renting for a period of time. Once we had the house under contract she went to find a rental–the right apartment was available with an unusual start date: July 11th. In the end we negotiated with the buyer to close on the 10th and take possession on the 11th and the rental place called back to say they would have the apartment ready for the evening of the 10th.
In the end all this was not necessary. On our first day of looking for houses (back in April) we had seen a house we liked. It went under contract within 3 hours. It had a back offer. We had not yet put our house on the market. We moved on and in the ensuing months looked at many properties—prepping ourselves for buying once we sold our house.
Our house went under contract on a Sunday night—the following Friday we received a call from our agent—the house that we had seen initially was back on the market. It had been under contract twice! Events conspired to not have either buyers close. We went to look at it once again. We put in an offer and it was accepted.
It turned into a race to the finish line—to get the sale and purchase to happen. We completed the sale on July 10th and the purchase on July 11th. No need to rent—it was seamless.
A billion is a large number. Small though when factoring in all the moving atoms, cells, thoughts, feelings, pick up times, sellers, buyers, agents, lending companies, inspectors and underwriters conspiring to create a seamless outcome. Was it our destiny to live in our new home? Was it predetermined? My answer is an emphatic yes. Does this mean that no matter what we did or did not do we would now be living in our new home? To that my answer is an emphatic no. Holding those opposites is a wonderful and elusive understanding of how events and our free will conspire to fulfill our destiny.
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