Becky posted this on her facebook wall yesterday and it reminded me of two instances that had preceded the post and which resonated with the message that this conveys.
I was unpacking a parcel my friends Neena and Anil had sent containing Gajak from Delhi which after many adventures reached me intact late on Monday evening.
To get a container to stock these goodies so that they last for a few days, I had just then emptied a bottle that had some chivda which was occupying too little space in a big bottle. I had emptied it into a plastic bag to transfer to a smaller bottle later when the doorbell rang. It was a delivery man from Amazon who was delivering a DVD that I had ordered for. He apologised profusely for coming so late and said that he was held up in a traffic jam. He looked quite tired and haggard and on an impulse I told him to wait and gave him the packet of chivda and some gajak and told him to take a break and snack. The look on his face was priceless and he almost wept at the unexpected treat instead of a tirade that he must have expected!
And yesterday, I went for my monthly haircut and upper torso massage, and possibly sensing that I was in some discomfort, my regular barber Aslam gave me a longer massage than usual. Since the saloon did not have change for a 500 Rupee note, I informed Aslam that I would be at the clinic three shops away from the saloon and that he could give me the change there. While I was waiting at the reception hall of the clinic for my turn, Aslam came around and I gave him double the usual tip that I give and here too his reaction was extraordinary. His thanks more profuse than usual adding that he was badly in need of some additional income that day for some unexpected domestic expenses. I gave him some more and told him to not worry about it and he simply broke up.
On both occasions, I did not do anything extraordinary or with any expectations other than the normal cheerful smile and thanks that is so normal in our day to day transactions. In these two instances however, these two individuals needed some relief from their humdrum existence and call it God or the Universe or whatever, they got that and I was just an instrument to see that they got it.
Serendipity? I would prefer to call it synchronicity.