On my recent visit to Tucson, something happened that proves the Universe obliges us and that what we focus on expands.
My Mom lives in a residential care home and hates the food there so every day when I went to see her, I would stop at the grocery store to bring her some goodies. She loves sweets and even though I know they’re not good for her, I brought them anyway. She’ll be 92 next month and I believe that she deserves to have anything that makes her happy.
One night while reading from Pam Grout’s book, E-Cubed, I decided to try one of the experiments. It’s called Pennies from Heaven and it goes like this: in the next 72 hours be aware of Pennies from Heaven. Most people discount pennies as seemingly worthless, but they represent abundance in its many forms. So I set my intention to consciously put them on my radar. The next day my Mom asked me bring her a Coke, among other things, from the store. When I reached into the cold case to grab the Coke, there was a penny just laying there. I picked it up and let out a big “woo hoo!” People stared but I didn’t care. There was a Penny from Heaven! Proof that the Universe obliged my intention.
After I had swiped my credit card to pay for the groceries, the clerk asked if I had a member card. I said no, so he told me I could use his to get the discounts on the items I purchased. OK, cool, I thought. What happened next blew me away. He gave me $10.20 back in cash. What??? I thanked him and put it in my pocket, still baffled by what had just happened.
Out in the parking lot I noticed there was a woman standing in front of my rental car smoking a cigarette. A homeless man walked up to her and asked if she had a cigarette he could have. She told him she didn’t have one to spare. So he asked her if she could spare some change because he was hungry. She told him she couldn’t help him. Without even thinking, I blurted out “I can.” I pulled out the $10 bill I had been given and gave it to him. He looked me square in the eye and said, “God blesses you.”
I will never forget him or the events that took place in the space of just a few minutes … serendipity. God put me in the right place at the right time. A blessing for that man and me. It wasn’t my job to know what he was going to do with the money. But it was my job to share a blessing. Both of us felt God’s grace.
I got in the car and looked skyward to say my thank you’s and saw the palm trees. I love palm trees so I took this photo, knowing that every time I see a palm tree, I am grateful for my Pennies from Heaven experience.
But it didn’t stop there. When I got back home from Tucson, I had coffee with my neighbor and was relating all of this to her. As we were talking, I set my coffee cup down on the table, and there was a penny. Wow! Neither of us had seen it there when we first sat down. We were both speechless and just burst out laughing at the wonder of it all. And then when I got back to my house, as soon as I put down my purse and keys, the music station hubby and I usually listen to played … you guessed it … Pennies from Heaven. I kid you not. Life is full of magic. Go find it. Namaste’
Regina (Reggie) Arnold is a “flunked retirement” entrepreneur, co-author of The Art & Science of Recruiting, an award-winning photographic artist, and photo blogger.
Eyes to See 