Karma I

Life is a series of coincidences. Or is it?

For most of us, meeting our spouse is the most important of life changing events. For Jana and me, walking into a McDonald's in Monroe, LA, on the same day, at the same time, has led to a 25 year marriage. I was there because I had been on the road and had no food in the house. Jana was there because her hot water heater broke and flooded her apartment. You could say that our daughter Dana owes her life to a faulty hot water heater. But I digress. Were we fated to meet, or was it pure chance?

A few years ago Jana and I read the novel, "The Celestine Prophecy". Reading this book began the process of being more aware of events, choices and happenstances that are presented to us on a daily basis. Sometimes you just have to say "yes" to something that is seemingly incongruous just to see where it leads.

With that as background, what transpired last Wednesday defies belief. As way of introduction, one of the goals of this journey is for me to decide on a future endeavor that will make use of my talents in an atmosphere that will also be fun. Working in a wine store is one such endeavor that might fit the bill. So here is what happened.

Jana and I took the Sunshine Bus from St. Augustine Beach to St. Augustine. We walked around a little, then ate our picnic lunch on a bench outside Castillo San Marcos. After lunch Jana said that she wanted to find Claude's Chocolate Store to get "some dessert". We were searching on the street where Claude's used to be when the chef from one of the restaurants asked what we were looking for. He said that Claude's moved to King Street, and he proceeded to tell us how good the food is in his restaurant and that we should come back for dinner. We said "goodbye" and continued our walk when a young woman caught up with us and began chatting. She is a sales representative for a wine and spirits wholesaler and she suggested that we might want to participate in a wine tasting going on at a wine store down the block. I at first hesitated, but after a few minutes, Jana convinced me that it would be fun. During the tasting I met the owner of the wine store who told me that she has been trying to hire a professional sales person for her shop. Although she hopes to hire someone now, she felt that she might be able to use someone with my skills once our trip concludes.

Coincidence? Or was the wine sales representative on that street at that time to guide me to a destination or outcome? Had we not stopped to talk to the chef, we would not have met her. Had we known Claude's new address, we would not have even been on that street. This trip will afford us the time to follow these paths as they are presented to us. I wonder where they will lead?