“Always seek out the seed of triumph in every adversity.” Og Mandino.

I was talking with my wife last week about some places that we could visit and we both laughed when very shortly afterwards they featured in some programmes we were watching. I also thought about some friends that I hadn’t been in touch with recently and they got in touch.

These were examples of synchronicity and I love it when it happens in my life. I’ve always been fascinated by the subject. It’s defined in the dictionary as “The simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.”

Some people refer to it as serendipity. There’s s a film with that title starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale which is often shown at Christmas. It’s set in New York and contains many joyful and beneficial chance events. It also has a happy ending.

Wikipedia suggest that synchronicity is a concept, first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which holds that events are “meaningful coincidences” if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related.

In the past, I experienced an example of synchronicity during the course of one day. Early in the morning when sorting through some papers I came across a piece of writing called Carrots, Eggs and Coffee. Shortly afterwards I read the same passage in a book. Then to my amazement it was included in an email that I received!

I wondered why I had seen this piece of writing so many times in one day. The answer came to me in the afternoon during a conversation with a client. They talked about some of the adversity they were facing and how they were feeling a little downhearted and dispirited.

In an effort to provide them with a bit of inspiration and a different way of looking at the situation I shared the story.

Carrots, Eggs and Coffee

A young woman complained to her mother about the hardships and difficulties in her life. She didn’t know how she was going to continue and wanted to give up. The young woman said, “I’m tired of fighting and struggling. It seems that as soon as one problem is solved, a new one appears.” In response, her mother took her to the kitchen and filled three pots with water, placing each on the stove over a high flame.

Soon the water came to boil. In the first pot she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about 20 minutes, she turned off the burners.

The mother then fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She removed the eggs and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she said, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the daughter replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After peeling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavour.

The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, Mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity, boiling water and each reacted differently. The carrots went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, they softened and became weak.

The eggs had been fragile, their thin outer shell protecting their liquid interior, but after the boiling water, their inside became hardened.

But the ground coffee beans were unique, after they were in the boiling water, they’d changed the water itself.

The lesson that the client was able to draw from the writing was that their perception was their reality. They had a realisation that the way that reacted to the adversity was going to have a bearing on the outcome and they needed to try a different approach.

During the course of this week, why not take a few moments to reflect and ask yourself how you can apply the wisdom contained in Carrots, Eggs and Coffee to any situations that you’re facing. Also why not look out for synchronicity in your life and consider what it’s teaching you.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk