Last week I wrote about taking guitar lessons. And believe it or not, there were a LOT of shamanic teachings in that one. So if you did not quite catch them, perhaps go back and re-read it. I did not point them out directly, but layered them within the story of taking guitar lessons. I am sure you can find them.
This week, I am going to be a little more direct. I would like to talk about synchronicity. Some people think that syncrhonicity is “simply coincidence”. And they would be right, if they were thinking of coincidence in the same way I do, which they would probably not be doing, and so they would be wrong.
For me, coincidence is when things coincide. And who is to say that the path of Spirit does not coincide with the path we are on now and then? Therefore coincidence moments will happen. That is what I mean by synchronicity. It can be as simple as thinking about somone you have not seen in a long time and suddenly getting a phone call from that person. It can be as convoluted and taking a trip to a far away island for a holiday and finding that, lo and behold, your favorite neighbours are also on the very same beach as are you…without either of you knowing that you were going to be taking a holiday at the same time!
So today I also experienced some synchronicity. First, let me do a wee bit of a back story. When I began my guitar lessons I was borrowing my partner’s old six string guitar to learn on. It was not that I did not have my own. But it was electric and did not have the same sound as an accoustic guitar has. Then my step-son needed that guitar for camp. I was triggered by something from my childhood, in that when I was a kid I began guitar lessons at the same time as my neice, who was two years younger than me, had also begun her guitar lessons. I was trying to learn from my dad, which was a mistake. She was taking lessons from a teacher. And because my lessons were not going well, in my father’s eyes, he gave her my guitar. Yep. Just up and gave it away right out from under me. I was devastated.
So when my step-son wanted to practice on a guitar and his dad told him to use the one I was using…I was triggered. I realized part way through my protest that I was triggered and retreated so that I could calm myself down and basically unpack where all this inner turmoil was coming from. After all, my step-son was being given a guitar that belonged to his dad, which is only right. But I did not see how the two of us could possibly use the same instrument when I was needing to practice hard and every day. And then it hit me that this was not about the situation I was currently in, but about the situation that happened way over 40 years ago.
Now let’s fast forward. Picture it, Present Day, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Trent’s first guitar lesson of the year. I played some of my songs for my teacher, who could see some marked improvements. Now we are, because of the whole Covid pandemic thing, doing lessons online with video chat. So the sound quality is not the best. But he could still hear marked improvements. Then he asked if the guitar I was playing was electric? I told him it was both accoustic and electric. He suggested that I try and find or borrow an accoustic guitar because he thought that the sound quality would be richer and match my voice more and that I would likely enjoy it much more than I already do.
Now I am not going to go back to borrowing a guitar. That was something that I just did not want to revisit. So I decided to go ahead and explore my option to purchase. I was told that to get a decent guitar I should plan out for anywhere from $800.00 to $1,500.00. I knew I could afford it because I happen to be really good at saving money for a rainy day and. although there was no rain today, it warranted dipping into those funds. But I was not going to necessarily purchase today. I wanted to simply explore. My partner was at work for the day, so I asked my friend, Penny, if she would come with me. She was all in.
At first it was boring as all get out. I mean, just walking into the room of guitars and figuring out which ones were decent and which ones were not just by sight was challenging, yes, but for the first half hour we just explored and did not really play any. Then a sales representative, Stephen, came in and asked if he might assist us? I explained what I was looking for and that there was one that had caught my eye. It is metalic red and is both an accoustic with the capability to plug into a sound system. After trying that one, and then trying another one, I decided that this was definietly the guitar for me. And it happened to be on special. Someone had originally bought it and then left it with the company to be tuned up and such. The person doing that also attached a shoulder strap peg to the guitar and then realized that it was actually not missing a second strap peg. When whomever was told this, they opted to not buy that guitar and get another one that was “not ruined.” This gave ME the opportunity to purchase it for a few hundred dollars LESS…all because of a simple mistake that did not in any way affect the sound quality of the guitar and because whomever bought it was fussy enough to get in a snit about it. I think it was all manufactured by the Universe…for me. I know that may sound egotistical. But sometimes a dude just has to catch a break and this time it was my turn. I bought it today because I knew that by Saturday, when my partner would be available to come see it, it would be GONE.
This is what I mean by synchronicity. One thing leads to the next and then to the next and it all works out. It alignes with the Divine plan, so to speak. I really had no intention of purchasing one so fast. But I know a good deal when I see it and I knew I had to move on it. And Penny acknowledged that, as I test drove the guitar, it and I began to bond like crazy. So yes, I had to adopt it and take it home with me. And now, my music will reach an entirely new level. This is going to be very interesting.