Now I’m not a big believer in “coincidence.” I find that when I remain open to the signs and signals from the Universe my life tends to flow much more smoothly.
That said, there are certainly times when I’m better at picking up on those signs even when the “coincidences” are a bit subtle and require some stretching to turn them into signs.
And there are other times when I’m a bit slow on the uptake and I either miss the sign altogether or the Universe is forced to send me one of those unmistakable, “bang-bang Maxwell’s Silver Hammer on the head” type of signals that does not need a whole of stretching!
I think you know the kind I’m talking about!
Well last weekend I got one of those.
It began on Saturday morning at the monthly meeting of the Drop In Law of Attraction group. We were exploring the connection between the Comfort Zone and the Law of Attraction. A great topic by the way!
During our discussion, after I had led the group through a visualization where they got to explore the edges of their comfort zone, one of the participants shared that the edge of her comfort zone was a circle of fire surrounding her. I immediately began singing the Johnny Cash song, “Ring of Fire.” I’m not sure where it came from. I’m not a big Johnny Cash fan and have only heard that song a handful of times. But out it came.
So there’s #1!
Later that night at a housewarming party for a friend who had just returned to Sonoma County, I was playing my guitar and singing along with a few of the party guests. Although my song list is significantly shorter than before my daughter was born, I was doing my best at taking requests. Some of them I could muddle through, most of them I either didn’t know or had forgotten.
And then, out of the blue, someone asked if I could play… you guessed it, “Ring of Fire.”
Now in all my years of leading sing-alongs at parties I have NEVER had anyone request Ring of Fire! What’s up with that?
Someone there knew the basic chord progression and another person knew the lyrics, so we were able to put together a passable version (although Johnny was probably rolling over).
There’s #2.
The next day at our local Farmer’s Market, my daughter and I ran into one of her pre-school friends and her dad, Mike Emerson. Ella and Sequoia started playing a bit while Mike and I chatted.
I knew that Mike was a keyboard player and since I’ve been interested in taking some piano lessons, I checked in to see if he knew of any good teachers in the area. Turns out he teaches as well as performs. Cool.
So as we talked about schedules he said that he wouldn’t be available until late in the month because he’s doing a quick European tour with… are you ready for this? Carlene Carter.
Now if you’re not a Country Music fan and don’t know who Carlene Carter is – I didn’t – she’s the daughter of June Carter – who happens to have written Ring of Fire - and Stepdaughter of Johnny Cash – who as you now know made it famous! And Ring of Fire is one of the songs they play in their shows.
So there’s the magic #3 and Maxwell’s bang on my head!
Yes I got it!
The sign that is. Still working out the details of the meaning. Sometimes with these “coincidences” the meaning is obvious and sometimes not so much. With this one I’ve got some ideas, but I haven’t come to any conclusive opinion.
I do know that I’ve been having fun imitating Johnny’s deep, gravelly voice as I belt out “I fell into a burning ring of fire…”
What do you think? What message is the Universe sending me? I’d love to hear your take. And in case you haven’t heard Ring of Fire, here are the lyrics:
Love is a burning thing
and it makes a fiery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell into a ring of fire…I fell into a burning ring of fire
I went down, down, down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns, burns, burns
the ring of fire the ring of fire.The taste of love is sweet
when hearts like our’s meet.
I fell for you like a child
oh, but the fire went wild..I fell in to a burning ring of fire…..[etc]
