I’ve been thinking lately about how I came to adopt my cats Willow (who passed in 2012) and Calla (current kitty) due to friends sending me their pictures. My friend Ellen sent me Willow’s picture because her friend was fostering Willow and trying to find her a home. My friend Jean sent me a Facebook notice featuring Calla’s gorgeous face, posted by a rescue in New Jersey.
Both friends, seven years apart, told me the same thing: that they felt I needed this cat. I’ll be forever grateful to them for being moved by their heart and intuition to match me with my fur babies.
Then I was thinking about the blind dates that end up as forever relationships. Years ago, my mom worked with my dad’s aunt, and his aunt set them up. They’re still together, and my brother and I by all rights should be very beholden to that aunt. What foresight she had.
Yesterday my friend Diana, whom I’ve known for a million years, told me a story I’d never heard before. Eleven and a half years ago, she sat with her husband at an outdoor restaurant right by the water on Lake Michigan. They were discussing if they were ready to adopt a dog again, as some time had passed after losing their previous pup. Diana wondered if she’d be less allergic to a longer-haired dog than she was with the short-haired dogs they’d had in the past.
Just then, a man and his golden retriever disembarked from a boat on the dock. The dog immediately trotted up to Diana at her table, and she petted him enthusiastically. After the man retrieved his dog and set out for their walk, Diana rubbed her hands over her face and neck to see if she’d get a reaction. A little while later, the man and his dog returned from their walk, and the dog ran right up to Diana again on the way to the boat. She repeated the petting of the pooch and the rubbing of her face and neck.
After Diana had no reaction to petting the longer-haired dog, the next day she and her husband took the first steps to decide on a golden retriever puppy. Yogi is currently eleven and a half years old, and lives the Best. Life. Ever. And so do his parents, in great part due to him.
I’m so in awe of that golden retriever from the boat, who intuitively knew what he needed to do. What a cosmic matchmaker.
It’s amazing to me how people and animals can lead us to those with whom our hearts really resonate. Of 7.8 billion people in the world and so many more animals, what are the odds? Think of the times you were connected to someone who became a great friend, mentor, or business partner, and how different your life would have been without that connection. Or maybe you were the one who was the magic matchmaker.
We all have the ability to use our intuition, to go with our hearts, to know what alignment feels like. The coolest thing? It happens when we’re not even trying.
For me, that’s what makes the world go ‘round—when we come back to our essence, our energy, our fundamental knowing of what rings true. Now that’s a match. ❤️