http://www.blissful-wisdom.com/synchronicity-and-how-i-met-my-wife.html

I am presently going through a career transition. 'Career transition' is the polite term for being 'laid off'.  I cooked in an extended care facility (for 60 residents) for over 10 years.  The management of the care home was recently 'contracted out', and in order for the new contractor to acquire his own profit, he lowered staff wages by 20% and increased their work load.  None of us had received a pay increase in over 10 years.  Even with a family to support, under those conditions, I was rather relieved to be let go.  I tend to believe that whatever happens, happens for good.

A particular encounter occurred while walking out of the Employment Assistance agency the other day.  I passed a couple of fellows and overheard them discussing 'web-site conversations'.  I stopped, turned around, and casually mentioned that I was presently creating a web-site (to promote these short stories).  The taller of the two middle-aged men merrily replied that they were discussing internet dating sites.  To which I instantly smiled and said:  "I met my wife on the web!"

To me synchronicity is all about welcoming such unexpected encounters.
I discovered while talking with these fellows that the taller of the two had also met his Filipino wife on the internet.  I could see he was attempting to inspire his well-dressed friend to consider the idea of meeting an Asian woman to take as his wife. 

I told them how I had returned to Vancouver Island in 2007 after living in an Indian ashram for almost a year.  I had attempted to reconcile with a former woman I cared deeply for, but the consequences of my previous selfish behaviors had left things irrepairable.  There was an attempt on my part to link up with a friend in Eastern Canada, but I just wasn't up to leaving my own family commitments behind anymore.

I found myself living with my ailing mother who, having memory loss, incontinence, diabetes, and an ulcer, was not able to care for herself.  My sister Lynne was working through her own marriage issues and, with the responsibility that came with her own counselling career, could not spend the necessary time with our mother. 

With mom needing constant supervision, I chose to remain on Vancouver Island.  So there, in July of 2007, after a year of absence in India, I was welcomed back as a cook at the elderly care home up the road.   In the evenings I began searching the internet for a possible partner.  I wasn't about to go it alone!

I explained to these fellows how, after a month of searching, I had given up hope of meeting a western woman who would seriously consider me, an ordinary hospital cook living with his 80 year old mother.  In that moment of disillusionment, I decided to extend my internet search outside of my immediate area.  I noticed an Asian woman was on the same web link I was exploring, so I initiated contact with her.  Her profile said she was presently on-line in Hong Kong, so I had no illusions of anything coming out of the engagement but a candid conversation.

The funny part is that I was too candid, and she quickly hung up on me that first night!  Ha!  Surprisingly, the following night, I happened to be roaming on that same website  and noticed she  was 'on-line' again.  Well, the first thing I did was apologize for anything I might have said the night before, and mentioned I had been under the assumption that 'any topic was fair game'.   Needless to say, I discovered she was a Filipino nanny, caring and cooking for two challenging elementary kids (and their parents) in a 40th floor apartment in Hong Kong.  She had been working away from her Philippine farming village for over 16 years! 

We initially talked for hours, and continued communicating over four hours a day, for the next six weeks.  I discovered in that short time, that we knew more of each other than most dating couples do in a year.  And because of that connection, I flew to Hong Kong and confirmed what I had come to believe....that we were more than compatible. I realized if I was to commit to our relationship, I would need to marry her and begin the long, drawn out process of bringing her to Canada as a permanent resident, as my wife.  So, during my visit to Hong Kong, we were married.

I concluded my conversation by encouraging the shorter, well-dressed man to consider the possibility of meeting an Asian woman to take as his wife.   He was literally beaming with enthusiasm as we both continued on our separate ways.  As a matter of fact, neither of us even bothered exchanging names.  Such are the moments of synchronicity!