One Man's Trash, Another Man's Treasure

"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Luke Skywalker after witnessing his master complete the impossible.

"That is why you fail." explained Yoda.

I don't believe in coincidences but I have a habit of explaining away psychic phenomenon as merely coincidence. Coincidence is more mainstream and digestible to disbelievers of psychic phenomenon. I am no psychic but some unexplainable stuff has happened to me. Let's not forget that irony is also the cornerstone of Freudian Slips and that is no coincidence.

Let me attempt to explain what is not easy to explain. I try and put into my head what I would like to extract from the day. I don't always find all the pieces to the puzzle and no not where the parts come from. It may sound like a silly notion but I use my mind to engineer my own desired outcomes. I put positive thoughts into the world and see what vibes come of it. It could be called the power of prayer in religious circles, a Guardian Angel in spiritualism, wishful thinking in prosaic precincts, or lunacy in mental hospitals.

Allow me to use the unlikely example of trash picking to further this notion. First let me set the stage. Everyone knows I have a preciosity with order and organization. I replace what is broken. I put things in there place. I am a tireless task oriented worker to a general fault.

Less than a mile from a hardware store where I planned on buying chicken wire, I got a distinct feeling that I no longer needed to make this purchase. That is when I saw a man putting his trash to the curb. In his hand he carried a huge roll of chicken wire. I calmly pulled my car up curbside and lowered my window.

I asked, "Is that chicken wire considered trash, sir?"

"I'm afraid so. I have no use for it."

"I'll take it." Just like that the man hands it to me like efficient service at a drive-thru window.

On my way to Walmart to buy lounge seats for the kids to play their video games, I took a shortcut off the beaten path. I saw a man closing his garage door before retreating back into the house. He must have just set out two black leather video seats by the curb because they were cool to the touch. They were mine a minute later.

While on my way to the drug store to buy a blank videotape, I drove by a yard sale that had can't miss signage VHS Videotapes 4 for $1.00. The hand made sign had everything but my name on it. I was in and out of there with what I needed in a minute.

A more recent example of coincidence occurred two weeks ago. It freaked even me out and I put the original thought out there. Recently, I have been selling big ticket items on Ebay. It is a packaging nightmare often calling for double boxing(two different sized boxes one placed inside the other). I just sold a Fender Stratocaster guitar on Ebay and needed to ship it pronto. I put the positive thought out in the stratosphere that I would find a cardboard box of the right dimensions on the ride home from work. My eyes scanned storefronts and dumpsters. The closer I got to home, the more reality set in. I entered my housing development all but convinced this was an unanswered thought. As I made a left-hand turn into my driveway, I noticed that my next door neighbor had put his trash out early for the next day's pickup. I walked over and picked up not just an empty cardboard box but an actual Gibson guitar box!

Sometimes it is no coincidence to find the very thing you need in the world right outside your front door. You can't always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need.