What's Happening?

What's happening?--A line frequently uttered by the characters of the late 1970s sitcom by the same name.  While the show is a distant memory, the phrase resonates with me this week as I explore what Carl Jung called "#synchronicity", or the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection.

You know the sensation.  One moment you are thinking of a friend, and then all of a sudden your cellphone rings and there she is.  Or, as happened to me this past weekend toward the end of a 35 mile bicycle ride, I called my wife to ask if she wanted to meet me at the beach for a dip, and she said: "I was just thinking about you and wondering if we were going to the beach today."  According to Jung (and many who have come after him) synchronous circumstances while not related through casualty, are connected by intuition, meaning, or purpose.

It is the latter two connections (meaning and purpose) that I am focused on this week.  Deepak Chopra describes the link between the intentions we set and what shows up in our lives as "synchrodestiny".  Let me be clear: setting an intention and noticing what's happening is not the same as causing events to happen.  It's much more loose than that.  Even when we live our lives on purpose (or with intention), many circumstances appear to manifest that are beyond our control or creation.  Some of these seem fortunate, and others are unfortunate.  They are all grist for the mill of life.

As professionals and leaders it is essential that we navigate our work with a heightened awareness of what's happening.  Especially those of us who are fundraisers working with donors.  Notice what's working and what is not.  Be cognizant of your impact, and do your best to ask yourself frequently: "Am I working on purpose?"  

Well, are you?