Is there anything to read into coincidences?

[CamZhu]

Hello all,

I have recently started a young family and family life is taking up all my time, so much so that chores seem to take what free time I had and compress it down to a minuscule compartment. I don't mind doing the new types of work involved with raising my son but the household tasks which were always there, now really grate on me. A big one since we're living without a dishwasher since the last move is washing the dishes, and the dishes regularly pile up making the kitchen look like a battlefield until I bring myself to tackle them.

The other night, I picked up what I thought was a random book from my eclectic bookshelf to read to my five-week-old baby boy. Not as story time, but more so he could hear my voice, learn to recognize the tones, and become familiar with the sounds of words. The book I picked up was small and concise, something I considered would be appropriate for an easy read-aloud session.

It was 'How to sit' by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. I was reading the short phrases and anecdotes out to my little one and it occurred to me that I would really like some more time to myself, and would really like to get more involved in learning about mindfulness. After my son drifted off to baby sleep, I went on Amazon and ordered three books by Thich Nhat Hanh.

They arrived the next day and so I opened one of them, 'The Miracle of Mindfulness' and began to read. The first page was about a friend of the author's not having any time to himself due to having a young family, and the second page literally dealt with how to wash dishes so that one gets the job done and done well. I couldn't work out whether this was something mundane and I was getting excited about nothing or whether I should be astounded by the amount of unexpected coincidence.

Should I be reading into the coincidences? What do clusters of coincidences that seem to lead a certain way mean? If anything at all?

[Peter]

Mindfulness isn't about believing. It's about getting as close to the truth as we can by paying attention to what is.

I think that what you seem to be talking about is what's often called 'essence'. It's the value our psychy likes to give to things. Like how much more valuable the toothbrush of JF Kennedy is compared to that of a mondaine person.

You could ask yourself this:
Is there any way to know if it is a coincidence? And does it matter?

[JonW]

I agree with what Peter says. But I'd also say that it's possible that mindfulness is a true calling for you.
Jon

[andree]

i think you may referring to synchronicity??? or perhaps signs from the universe??? i think that is how i came to be introduced to mindfulness??? as you can see from all the question marks... i'm not 100% sure lol