Synchronicity
In January of this year, I was all amped up on the “new year, new me” energy, looking for every opportunity to keep the momentum going after publishing my first article on Miami New Times in December. Among other things, on January 17th, I applied to be a Getty Images contributor, separately for photography and editorial.
Getty responded to me on January 18th at 2:14am, and later that morning, at 4:49am, I received an email from Seth Godin (not personal, I just subscribe to his daily emails, which I highly recommend). Below is a screenshot of Seth’s email:
As you may have guessed, Getty politely, though perfunctorily, declined my application to join their freelancers. Whether I read Seth’s email right before or right after the disappointing news, it felt profound to receive something so timely and directly applicable to my situation—at the exact moment I needed it (and about an application, no less!).
Most of my life, I’ve been the cynic, the one quick to point out logical flaws in someone’s lofty ambitions. Over the past few years, I’ve worked on changing that. My diagnosis helped me understand why those instincts bubble up within me, but I’ve also changed for the sake of my daughter. She’s still at the age where the line between what’s real and what isn’t can blur, and sometimes she chooses to ignore it. I do everything I can to encourage her to see the magic in everyday life, balancing that with practical guidance and survival skills that apply to the world we currently live in.
It took a long and winding road to reach the point where I began noticing, and more importantly, appreciating all the little ways magic exists around us in the real world. The journey may have been necessary to gain this perspective. But now, I’m trying really hard to help her hold on to that spark we’re all born with, the one that external forces often extinguish over the course of many lives.