The Sand Dollar Principle

Some days, your faith in life has to be renewed. On those days, I think of a very special incident. 

It happened a few years ago when my wife and I were walking along the beach on the Oregon Coast near Seaside, Oregon . There were lots of sand dollars, but they were all broken. 

Neither one of us said anything about the broken sand dollars at the time. We just held hands as the sun melted onto the horizon and finally disappeared.

We were on a short getaway vacation. We explored the beaches and relaxed for a couple of days. It was the morning of our last day when the mysterious event took place.

On the last day of our trip on our last walk on the beach as we were headed back to the resort, I had a very strange thought. I thought to myself, “I’d rather find a whole sand dollar than a treasure chest filled with jewels, coins, and riches of all kinds.” I dismissed the thought and continued walking along the beach with my wife.

No more than 5 minutes later, I observed a woman and her dog walking in the opposite direction along the beach towards us. Suddenly, the dog took off running and did a nosedive into the sand, picked something up, and began running back to its owner. Then it stopped suddenly and dropped what it had found. It looked over at us, sniffed around in the sand, and then returned to its owner.

After the woman and dog continued on their way, I looked at my wife and said, “I think the dog found a sand dollar.” The dog had dropped it about 30 feet away, so I ran over and picked it up. Yes, it was a sand dollar, AND it was a WHOLE sand dollar. I went back to my wife, brushed it off, and showed it to her. We walked back to the resort in silence.

As we were driving home, I said to my wife, “You know… I have to tell you something about that sand dollar. About five minutes before the dog found it in the sand, I had the strangest thought. I was thinking that I would rather find a whole sand dollar than find a treasure chest filled with jewels, coins, and riches of all kinds…”

She stopped me and said, “I have to tell YOU something about that sand dollar. From the very first day, the very first walk on the beach, I was telling myself that if we were to find a whole sand dollar, it would be a sign that something good would happen.”

I got chills up and down my spine.

--------------------- So what does all this mean? ---------------------

I've thought about this a lot. I've told this true story often. It really impacted what I believe about life and it's interconnectedness. Our thoughts are directly related to things and events, AND there is a mysterious connection between people. 

And perhaps the most mysterious of all: events come together for a specific purpose--even what might seem to be an insignificant action of a dog...or the sacrifice of a sand dollar. 

Event 1 – The life of the sand dollar.

Event 2 – Taking the dog for a walk on the beach.

Event 3 – The dog suddenly taking off running and then diving to retrieve the sand dollar.

Event 4 – Us taking a walk on the beach.

Event 5 (a thought) – My overwhelming desire to find a sand dollar for no reason.

Event 6 (a thought) – My wife thinking that a whole sand dollar would be a special sign promising something good.

So, all that being said, sometimes meaning is still hard to grasp. One could say, "So what." 

In my mind, the "specific purpose" in this case is perhaps the most profound part of the whole equation. The specific purpose is "something good." Now, tell me, what could be better than that?

This incident is a reminder that all things come together for good. All we have to do  is pay attention, act on our intuition, and trust that something good will happen.

* I am collecting anecdotes that reveal the 1 True Spirit, which will eventually become part of a book that I hope to get published. If you have any anecdotes that show how this spirit leads and guides our lives, I'd like to hear about them. Email me at VincentMarx@1truespirit.com.